Recipe: Fresh Coconut Cake and Frosting for Kathy

FRESH COCONUT CAKE
Source: Tropical Tastes and Tantalizing Tales by Carol Garvin

Author's note: This is my Mother's recipe. It's everything you always thought a coconut cake should be.

2/3 cup margarine
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 cups cake flour*
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
Whisper of ginger
1 1/3 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut or 1/2 cup shredded commercially prepared coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Grease 3 (8-inch) round cake pans.

In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, cream margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Mixture will be lemon colored. Add yolks and blend well.

Sift together, salt, flour, baking powder, and ginger. Add alternately with milk to above mixture. Blend well after each addition. Add vanilla, blend well. Set aside.

Wash beaters in hot soapy water. Making sure bowl and beaters are absolutely grease-free, whip the egg whites until stiff. Fold egg whites and coconut into batter. Pour into cake pans.

Bake about 30 minutes, toothpick inserted should come out clean. Cool completely.

Frost with Coconut Frosting (recipe to follow).

*If you don't have store-bought cake flour, here's the substitute.

Cake Flour:
Put 2 level tablespoons corn starch into a measuring cup. Fill to 1 cup mark with all purpose flour. Sift 3 times. Makes 1 cup cake flour.

COCONUT FROSTING:
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 cup margarine or shortening*
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Juice of one calamondin or 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (optional)
2 cups fresh grated coconut or 2 cups commercially prepared shredded coconut

Sift flour into saucepan, slowly add milk, stirring constantly until all milk is absorbed and mixture is smooth. Cook over medium-low heat stirring constantly until very thick. Set aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl, beat sugar and shortening or margarine at high speed until light and fluffy. Blend in flavorings. Add cold flour mixture, beat until frosting stands up in stiff peaks. This cannot be over beaten.

Fold in one cup coconut. Frost cake. Sprinkle or pat remaining coconut on sides and top of cake.

Wow! It tastes as great as it looks.