Sometimes nothing beats a case of the blues like a delicious slice of cake.Here I'm offering you some delightful options. The first, a feathery light chiffon cake speckled with fresh coconut and drizzled with a light and lemony frosting. The second, a moist pumpkin cake flavoured up with a special blend of island spices, and a delightful cocoa cake with chocolate buttercream.
Happy baking!
COCONUT CHIFFON CAKE WITHLEMONY COCONUT DRIZZLE
1 cup finely grated coconut (fresh)
5 egg yolks
6 egg whites
1 egg
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Method
Preheat oven to 325?F.
Place coconut onto a baking pan and toast for about ten minutes until dried.
Take 1/2 cup and finely chop in a food processor combine with flour after sifting, reserve the other half cup coconut.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt, sift, and add. Place egg yolks and whole egg into a mixer bowl with beaters or whisk attachment, beat until frothy, add one-cup sugar gradually, and beat until thick fluffy and light in colour.
Slowly pour in oil in a steady stream, continue beating for about one minute longer.
Divide dry ingredients into three parts, add to yolk mixture alternately with orange juice, beginning and ending with flour.
Wash and dry beaters and beat egg whites with cream of tartar until frothy, add 1/3 cup sugar gradually, and beat to a soft meringue.
With a large spatula fold 1/4 of the yolk mixture into the whites and then fold the whites into the yolk mixture in four additions taking care not to over fold.
Gently pour or spoon batter into a 10-inch increased angel food pan.
Bake for 60 � 65 minutes until springy to touch.
Invert cake and cool completely in pan before removing.
LEMONY COCONUT DRIZZLE
4 cups icing sugar, sifted
4 to 6 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Coconut to garnish
Method
Combine icing sugar with lemon juice until you get a firm but soft texture, drizzle onto cake and sprinkle with coconut.
Best-Ever Chocolate Cake
1 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup powdered cocoa
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla essence
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream or pourable yogurt
Method
Preheat oven to 350?F.
Grease sides and base and line two nine-inch cake tins with waxed paper.
Cream margarine and sugar until light and fluffy and doubled in volume.
Sift flour three times add baking powder and baking soda, sift cocoa and combine with flour.
Add eggs one at a time to creamed margarine mixture, making sure to beat well between additions, batter must be fluffy. Add vanilla to milk. Add flour to batter alternately with milk in three additions. Beginning and ending with the flour/cocoa mixture.
Spoon batter evenly into prepared tins, bake for 35-40 minutes until done and cake pulls away from the sides of the tin.
�2 Makes two nine-inch cakes
CHOCOLATE BUTTER FROSTING
1 1/3 cups butter
8 oz melted chocolate (bitter sweet or semi sweet)
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup milk (approx)
Method
Cream butter, add melted chocolate and cocoa, mix well.
Add icing sugar gradually and add milk just to smooth frosting if seems too dry.
Frosts two nine-inch cakes.
Pumpkin Spice Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground all spice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups finely grated (uncooked) pumpkin
1 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Method
Preheat oven to 325?F.
Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan.
Sift flour then add baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and ginger powder.
Cream butter with sugars until light and fluffy, add eggs one at a time beating well.
Add flour mixture alternately with pumpkin.
Add vanilla.
Spoon into baking pan and bake for about 60 minutes until tester inserted near centre comes out clean.
Cool for 20 minutes in the pan before turning out.
Sprinkle with icing sugar.
�2 Serves 10 to 12