Tuesday, March 30, 2010

TWD: Coconut tea cake


I was so excited about this cake that I made it more than a week early. Yup, you read that right. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am never early for anything, but it seems like we've been making lots of cookies and tarts at TWD, and cake is my favourite thing to bake and eat. I even went hunting in my mother's basement to find a bundt cake pan. Unfortunately when I was turning the cake out I saw that it was recommended for microwave use. Oops. Guess that's why the outside of the cake was a bit too brown in spots. It didn't melt, but that was probably just luck. I think this pan dates from the 80s, when my parents bought their first microwave--a behemoth Panasonic Genius. My mother still has it, and she can have the pan back too.
:)

I used fresh coconut both inside and on top of the cake. I also added 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom, but the flavour wasn't that strong, so I'd add more next time. Interestingly, in the TWD P&Q forum (that's problems and questions), some found that the optional cardamom overpowered, but I have been taste-tasting the cake for days (it's a good keeper), and I still can't taste it. Instead of rum and vanilla, I added some of my homemade extrait antillais: a mixture of rum, vanilla beans, mace, tonka beans and sapote. It smells like heaven, even though I only made it a couple of weeks ago and it needs longer to get really strong. I tried to get a photo, but it looks like alien parts in a bottle, so just use your imagination. I also glazed the cake with some cream cheese icing that I thinned with the leftover coconut milk and more rum.

I usually don't like bundt cakes much, but this was nice: the coconut added a nice texture, and it was lighter than I expected, and very moist. Again in the P&Q some found this a bit dry, but I think the fresh coconut helped. The cake lasted 4 or 5 days, and kept very well. This week's recipe was selected by Carmen of Carmen Cooks, so she's got the recipe. Thanks for a fantastic pick Carmen!

31 comments:

Nickki said...

Your cake turned out beautifully :-) I bet the fresh coconut was wonderful!

The Bake More said...

Love the fresh coconut on top, makes it look so classy. And don't give your Mom her bundt pan back just yet. We have another TWD Bundt cake next week. Yummy.

Anonymous said...

I'm soo glad you liked it! I love that you used fresh coconut - I'm still scared to try to split open a coconut on my own. Thanks for baking with me this week! :)

Hindy said...

Gorgeous cake! Your homemade flavouring sounds wonderful.

Jessica of My Baking Heart said...

Beautiful - can't wait to try this one next week. Glad your pan didn't melt, too! ;)

Tia said...

fresh coconut - way to go! I've never even touched a fresh coconut i wouldn't know where to start!

Welcome to our crazy blessed life said...

lovely! Love the fresh coconut!!

Cindy said...

Glad your pan didn't melt! Your cake is beautiful. I thought this recipe was a winner.

Leslie said...

Absolutely gorgeous! Fresh coconut would be fantastic.

Katrina said...

Your cake looks great, this was a yummy one for me. Love the big coconut flakes on the top.

Flourchild said...

Yum your cake looks so good! I love the topping!

Pamela said...

Nice job. The toasted coconut looks SO good!

Cakelaw said...

I love how you decorated the cake - gorgeous.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE the name of your blog!
Your Coconut Tea Cake looks amazing with the fresh coconut! How in the world do you shave the coconut, much less crack it open? Yipes. I'm not a coconut fan, but I really liked this cake! =)

Anonymous said...

Your cake is really beautiful! I'm glad your pan didn't melt! The extract sounds delicious too.

miss kate said...

so pretty, and your additions sound genius! I'm giggling at the microwave cake pan. I remember stumbling on a 1980s microwave cookbook that had cake recipes in it and thinking "ewwwww." :-)

mike said...

Wow - that is really a beautiful bundt cake - truly! I love the fresh coconut - have never tried "making my own" believe it or not. So glad you enjoyed it - I'll all for extract too!

Valerie Gamine said...

Beautiful presentation! And I kind of want to see those bottled alien parts, they sound delicious! I'm glad your Bundt pan survived the inferno. :)

Susan said...

Great looking cake and the fresh coconut looks fabulous!!

Isabelle said...

Beautiful cake, it looks moist and delicious! I love the fresh coconut on top!

Ash said...

This just looks amazing!! I love anything with coconut!!

Cherine said...

This looks delicious and beautiful!!

Kimberly Johnson said...

Your cake is just gorgeous! I would love to try it with fresh coconut but I don't even know where to start with getting one open!

Ashley aka Eclectic Connoisseur said...

Gorgeous cake! I love the fresh coconut on top.

Ms. Meanie said...

That looks like a lovely cake. Love how you decorated it!

Carol Peterman/TableFare said...

What a prety cake and your spiced rum sound fantastic! I'm surprised you didn't pick up much cardamom flavor. Cardamom is one of the most volitile spices, losing flavor very quickly once ground. If you didn't grind your spice fresh, try buying cardamom in the pod, or at least as whole seeds and grinding fresh each time you use it. I bet you will notice a difference if you have been using pre-ground.

Andrea at Nummy Kitchen said...

Gorgeous cake! I love the long flakes of toasted coconut! Too funny about the microwave pan, glad it turned out okay and you didn't end up with a mess in the oven :)

Marthe said...

Wow, this looks absolutely gorgeous!!!

Lynne Daley said...

Beautiful cake! I've never heard of antillais-will have to look that one up. I liked this recipe very much and will make it again. Thanks for commenting on my blog, Cafe Lynnylu.

Becky @ Project Domestication said...

okay that fresh coconut on top looks amazing! YUM!

mine just got out of the oven. i used grapefruit zest and juice and will be posting on tuesday.

YUM!

Liz said...

LOVE it! I love the look of fresh coconut and bet that gave the cake a great flavor. I'm also a huge cardamom fan and would love to try that variation next time.