This past Thanksgiving I learned something new about my older brother Marshall Noel Opie—named after the first African American Supreme Court Judge Thurgood Marshall and named Noel because he is a Christmas baby. Marshall can make a serious coconut cake. Cake on Christmas has a very old history. Christmas is the Birthday of Jesus so baking a cake for the occasion seems appropriate. I found a source that described how a female slave owner on a plantation in nineteenth century Norwood, Louisiana served her slaves a lavish Christmas meal including “frosted cake” among other special occasion items. Christmas would have been one of those rare times during the year that the marginalized—be they enslaved Africans, freedmen, or impoverished whites—ate cake. Here’s a coconut cake recipe that you might consider for the holidays it derives from the work of my friend food chemist Shirley O. Corriher of Georgia. Here’s link to Shirley’s latest book Bakewise and a video in which she explains why the book is essential reading for anyone serious about baking http://books.simonandschuster.com/BakeWise/Shirley-O-Corriher/9781416560784.Cake:
Pam
Wax paper
2 large eggs at room temperature or substitute
3large egg yolks at room temperature or substitute
½ cup buttermilk or substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups cake flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened or substitute
1/3 cup almond oil
Cake Method:
Cake: place oven shelf at the top of the lower third and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 x 2 round cake pan with Pam; shortening will work too. Note: mixing all the fat with the dry ingredients greases the proteins, which prevents the gluten formation and makes for a very tender cake. Mix eggs, yolks, buttermilk, and vanilla extract in a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt with a cake mixer on low to moisten dry ingredients. Then increased speed to medium and mix for 1.5minutes. Next introduce the egg mix and beat for 20 minutes. Again until all of the egg mixture is incorporated. Pour into the cake pan and bake for about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for approximately 10 minutes. Loosen the sides then turn upside down onto wax paper and then a cooling rack; be sure the cake is cool before icing.
Icing:
1 ½ cups of sugar
16 ounces of sour cream or substitute
18 ounces flacked sweetened frozen coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Icing Method: 30 minutes before icing the cake, stir together the sugar, sour cream, coconut, vanilla, keeping 3tablespoons coconut to garnish the cake. Refrigerate mix for 30 minutes. While the cake is still warm, cut horizontally into three layers. Using a tooth pick, poke holes approximately 1-inch apart until entire cake has been poked. Spread 1/3 of filling mixture on cake layer. Top with second layer, repeat process. Top with last layer and repeat process again. (As you stack layers together stick them with toothpicks to prevent cake from shifting). Garnish the entire cake with remaining coconut flakes. Refrigerate for about 2 hours before serving or over night for best results and serve cold.
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