Yummy Lemon Coconut Cake!!!!
Lent was a lllllooooonnnnnggggg 46 days so I celebrated by making lemon coconut cake for Easter Dinner. Yes- That was dinner. OK, so I did actually make an Easter Dinner but I dreamt about this the whole week before.
I am not a baker by any means. Bread has gone straight from the oven to the trash but I was still excited (and brave) to try this cake. I had to forgo the wonderful coconut cake at the Peninsula Grill in Charleston when I was there during Lent so this was my make up cake.
I was nervous but I found that this cake with all of its glorious fatty deliciousness was easy and divine.
My lemon came from lemon curd that I used as icing between the layers. Although I have made lemon curd from scratch in the past, we were going for ease since there was another entire meal to be made.
The frosting was a cream cheese frosting that I modified just a bit and may never be able to make again. :) But I will try and promise to write it down this time. The cake recipe is below.
Coconut, coconut, yummy yummy coconut. Everybody sing.... okay maybe not.... :)

1 c unsalted soften butter

2 c sugar

4 large eggs separated

3 a-p flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 c coconut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 of a teaspoon of salt

Lemon curd

Frosting

1 c flaked coconut

-Beat the butter at medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add sugar, mixing well. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating after each addition.

-Combine flour and baking powder , add to butter mixture alternately with milk beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

- Beat egg whites and salt at high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Stir about 1/3 of the eggs whites into the batter; fold in remaining egg whites.

-Spoon batter into greased and floured 9" round cake pans.

-Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

- Spread lemon curd in between layers. Spread frosting on top and sides of cake and sprinkle with coconut.

I like the idea of using lime curd in between the layers but that just opens the door to having a certain song stuck in your head all day long...

Ummm... Bad- Really, Really Bad

Yep out of the oven and into the trash! No Bread for You was the mantra this weekend. I really do wish I were joking but one slice of the Bread o' Lead and it went into the "garbahhhge" as my deddy would say.

Nope- Not a single picture to document the disaster. But it is through our mistakes that we learn bread has to be kneaded. Who wants a 2 minute massage, not me, and neither did my poor unloved bread. :) It wanted and kneaded (get it? Ha- sorry I am not above really bad jokes) 10 minutes of kneading. I am trying again this weekend. Hopefully, I will have pictures to post of a lovely loaf.

As for the cake... Well, my in-laws dropped by for dinner and I ran out of time. The sweet potato cake became chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. But I will conquer it this weekend as well.

Pie crusts will just have to wait...

No Really...

I am starting this, truly I am. I think, well maybe. Actually a new computer with wireless (hello friend!) and rising food prices mean I am going to learn to bake (if it kills someone) and can/freeze more veggies this year. Not only is it a sound practice for the sake of my pocketbook, it makes me happy because I have such wonderful memories of my grandmothers and the wonderful Sunday dinners with family.

Just a little translation for everyone. Dinner in the South is lunch and Supper is well supper. (Uncle Greg would be proud of me using proper Southern.)

It is almost Spring here in North Carolina and we are teetering between 75 and 55 degree highs. I am ready for warm weather but it is cool outside so I am hoping to fill the house with yummy smells. So... Today I am tackling 2 things that have always kicked my butt. Bread (let me know if someone needs help patching their foundation- that has been the case in the past) and cake. Not just any cake Old Fashioned Sweet Potato, think carrot but with sweet potatoes.

I am hoping to have pictures and even recipes when I am done.

*Disclaimer- my wonderful grandmother, whom I loved dearly and still do, would say the uglier the cake the better. That is my story and I am sticking to it.

The uglier the better...

My wonderful friend Beth and I had a CRAZY idea this summer... Why not "put up" our own food. If you are not from the South you may not be familiar with the term put-up, it means canning, preserving and freezing our own veggies. We wanted to be able to sit back this winter and know what we were feeding our bodies. Good food that is organic or as minimally treated as possible. The vote is still out on whether we have lost our ever loving minds or if we have wizened up. Brad (the hubby) has been all for it and has even helped me freeze corn. Ella (the yorkie/four-legged baby) has enjoyed anything that has hit the floor.

I thought a blog would be a wonderful way to document the escapades of canning with wine (poured in a glass and gulped, I mean sipped, when necessary); how not to blow up a pressure canner; tomatoes an excellent hair accessory and last but not least ugly food deserves love too. And a wonderful way to open up discussions on the how to's and benefits of home preservation. So bring on the recipes and funny stories.