72/99: Heavenly Coconut Seduction Cake

I had a special request from my Aunt Mary this year for Christmas: coconut cake.  I looked through the book and found that this cake is my last coconut flavored cake in the book. It didn't look as exciting as the Southern (Manhattan) Coconut Cake with Silk Meringue Buttercream or as the Coconut Cheesecake but it's coconut and so it seemed like it would be good nonetheless.

My mom and I made a long list of everything that we would need to make for parties and family get togethers each day of the week leading up to Christmas. Since there was so much to do, I decided to make the cake on Thursday and stick it in the refrigerator till Christmas. Sadly, that wasn't the best idea.


I pulled the cake out to come to room temperature on Christmas morning and then looked at the recipe for the icing.  I thought it was going to take some time but I was relived when I saw that all I had to do was whip up some whipped cream and throw some coconut on top!

I finished the cake up and my dad said, "that looks interesting..."

Interesting is usually an adjective you use to sugar coat "that looks horrible."

I asked him what he meant. He said that cakes normally had icing all the way around them.  I corrected him but then got overly self conscious because I thought the rest of my family would think that I had lost my mind since everyone seemed to think that cakes had icing all the way around them.  They definitely don't--some cakes don't even have icing on top of them at all!-- but I caved.  I spread the cream all the way around it right before we left (no photo of that).

The final taste testing was a bit of a disappointment.  I think that if I had eaten it right when I made it then it would have been absolutely divine.   But of course, as I look at the recipe to type out this blog post, I realize that Rose knew this all along.  She writes, "Although the cake still has a wonderful, albiet denser, texture when made ahead, it is at its moth ethereal when prepared à la minute.  In other words: Bake it, cool it, top it with whipped cream and coconut, call the neighbors, and eat it." No wonder I wasn't impressed.... I waited too long.

I guess I'll have to try again for Aunt Mary another day.

Rose's Heavenly Cakes- page 20