MangiaMore: COCONUT layer cake

RER 4.5.15

Coconut cake means Easter (or maybe it’s the other way around). But somehow, coconut cake frequently makes an appearance after our family’s fresh Easter dinner. I always associate this kind of cake with Easter, white patented leather shoes for Easter mass, fragrant lilies and warmer weather.

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There’s no way around it; cake is sweet and coconut cake can be super sweet. It’s that too good batter, dense with flaked coconut and sometimes pudding mix, and the creamy butter cream frosting, made with all that butter and powdered sugar, and a liberal coating of sweet flaked coconut.

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This year, we opted for Melissa Clark’s recipe for Coconut Layer Cake adapted from a Telepan favorite. My mother and I stalk cooking.nytimes.com and read Wednesday’s edition of the Food Section, and this recipe immediately grabbed our attention. Clark implies that this version of the classic coconut cake is less cloying and less sweet in her piece “A Sugar Rush, Not Crush,” making it even more desirable for our Easter treat.

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Even though the cake ended up tasting less shockingly sweet, this coconut cake was super rich with butter and eggs. It was moist and dense, but fluffy and almost savory at the same time. Unlike the recipe, we mixed sweetened and unsweetened coconut flakes into the batter, which added texture and life. The rum and orange juice added a mature flare, while the smooth and light cream cheese frosting continued in that vein. Toasted sweetened coconut added more complexity with nutty caramel tones and a crunchy crust. 

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The coconut Easter cake turned out to be a beautiful confection—gorgeous to look at and lovely to taste.

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4.5.15

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re.CAP: EASTER

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Easter at our house is always small, but there is something comforting and delicious about the close company. This year was no different (last year was, though). The early spring light flooded our kitchen, where we cooked, baked and ate our Easter dinner. 

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Lively shadows were cast on our simple table topped with pretty whites and cream plates. The effortless feast brought vibrant colors like fresh bright greens from our tangy dressed shaved asparagus salad, dark rich forest from our slow simmered kale, burnt orange yellow from the generous layer of bubbling gruyere topping our scalloped potatoes, dark and light pinks from our salty baked ham, and deep sumptuous burgundy from our delectable red wine. But dessert was white-washed as well glimmering with golden brown notes of toasted coconut and smooth cream cheese frosting (more on this later).

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What did you do to celebrate Easter? Eat anything tasty for Passover? Indulge in any traditions? Follow on facebook, instagram, twitter, and yelp to keep up with foodie ventures.

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4.5.15

RER 4.5.15

photo op: SWEET mini cupcakes

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The clock is ticking. The weeks are flying, but at the same time, these last few months also seem as if they have dragged on forever. You know how time has that funny talent of manipulating moments, stretching, shrinking, taunting. Well, this week I will be heading out west for a great friend’s wedding, and I am pumped. There is so much to do and so little time.  Might as well start the celebrating a little early with a fat dose of these mini cupcakes from Sweet in Hoboken like I did last week.  It was sweet times with a sweet friend and super sweet sweets!

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Don’t forget to follow on facebook, instagram, twitter, and yelp to keep up with all the food adventures while I am on my trip!

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8.18.14

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MangiaMore: ZUCCHINI bread

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There’s nothing like seasonal summer produce, so alive that you don’t want the days to get shorter. Farmers’ markets are rainbows of grown goodies; favorite summer fruits like tangy strawberries, royal colored blueberries, and pretty plump peaches or warm weather vegetables like sweet corn, deep red beets, and mysterious eggplants. Each long to be consumed in any way, shape or form.

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For us, summer means loaf after loaf of homemade zucchini bread. Once zucchini starts popping up at stores, it’s game on. We might have a legit problem; we can’t get enough of that subtly sweet, textured moist bread. Using this recipe, we make our zucchini bread like how we make our blondies— we toss in whatever deliciousness our hearts desire. 

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I’ve made consecutive loaves, and I am planning to whip up more (though these are hopefully headed for the freezer.) Zucchini bread is wonderful all year round. A hint of cinnamon and nutmeg add warmth for the colder seasons, while the freshness of the green zucchini and coconut feel like sunlight. Tangy dried cranberries and meaty walnuts add unexpected turns in texture and taste. Just so much yum!

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I want to try a sweeter variety, like a cake dense with craisins and white chocolate chips, topped with a savory sweet cream cheese frosting. Or play up zucchini’s affinity for chocolate and stud the cake with chocolate chips and fleshy nuts. Maybe this week…

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How do you use fresh summer produce? A blueberry pie or strawberry shortcake perhaps? A pretty salad? Corn chowder, even? Time is running out for these seasonal goods, and I want to taste the rainbow. 

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