Recipe: Coconut Pound Cake

For the Cake

• ¾ lb European style unsalted butter, softened
• 3 cup sugar
• 5 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp coconut extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup coconut cream
• 2 cups coconut

For the Glaze

• ½ cup water
• ½ cup confectioner’s sugar
• ½ tsp coconut extract

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare a bundt, tube pan, or 2 9 x 13 loaf pans with cooking spray or butter and flour.
2. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl.  
3. Beat in eggs and extracts.  
4. Add dry ingredients alternately with coconut cream
5. Stir in coconut.
6. Pour into prepared pan.
7. Bake for 1½ hours or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.
8. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes.
9. Mix all glaze ingredients together, whisking to ensure there are no lumps. Pour on top of cake.
10. Depan before cake fully cools. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with toasted coconut to garnish.

My friend Emily Chin, whom I met in music school, shared this cake recipe with us. For someone who is not a fan of coconut, I took quite a liking to this cake; it is quite moist and decadent. We have served this at the inns with fresh berries.

Get creative: One of my innkeepers made some rosewater from one of our rose bushes. We substituted the rosewater for the coconut extract in both the cake and the glaze. We also added the rosewater to the fresh berries. It imparted a light, floral scent to the cake. I have also used this recipe with lavender, substituting a bit of ground lavender buds in the cake and using a lavender syrup for thee glaze instead of the coconut extract. This cake can be made a day or two in advance, and also freezes well.