The original recipe for this post is from Paci Restaurant in Southport, Connecticut. I love Paci's Coconut Cake so much that I wrote to Gourmet for it in July, 2000. I was pregnant, out of work, and apparently had a lot of time on my hands. I'm pretty sure if I had called, and asked nicely, they would have shared the recipe. Bob Patchen and his wife, Donna, are two of the nicest people in the entire universe. But I was SO excited to be "published" in Gourmet magazine I can hardly tell you. I blame it on pregnancy hormones and, of course, REALLY loving their coconut cake. You should make it - their version or mine. Honestly, I love both!
My own version has some minor adjustments, a little less sugar, a little more vanilla and sweetened coconut instead of unsweetened (available at most health food stores).
Coconut Cake
2 cups (270 grams) all-purpose
flour
 |
| Just out of the oven - golden brown! |
Coconut Cake
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Serves 10-12
1 teaspoon baking
powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) (225 grams) unsalted butter
1 cup (200 grams) sugar
2 teaspoons
pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup (8.6 ounces) whole milk
1 1/2 cups (135 grams) sweetened, flaked coconut
Grease a 10- by 2-inch round cake pan and line bottom with a round of parchment. Grease paper and
dust pan with flour, knocking out excess. Or, if you are in a hurry, use a cooking spray.
Have all
ingredients at room temperature.
Whisk together
flour, baking powder and salt.
In the work bowl of
an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter with sugar on
medium speed until light in color and fluffy.
Add vanilla, then
beat in eggs, 1 at a time. (Mixture may look curdled.)
Alternately beat in
flour mixture and milk in 3 batches on low speed. Begin and end with flour mixture.
Increase speed to
medium and beat batter 1 1/2 minutes, or until smooth. Fold in coconut.
Spoon batter into
cake pan and spread evenly with a butter knife or small offset spatula. Bang pan once
or twice on counter to remove any air bubbles that may have formed.
Bake cake until
golden brown and a tester comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes.
Cool cake in pan on
a rack 1 hour, then invert onto rack. Remove paper and reinvert onto another
rack to cool completely.
Serve with
Chocolate Espresso Sauce (recipe follows and is a modified Paci recipe as well).
 |
| My version, with a little puddle of Chocolate Espresso Sauce. |
Chocolate
Espresso Sauce
Yield:
1 1/2+ cups
6
ounces espresso
1
teaspoon sugar
1
teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1
cup heavy cream
12
ounces best quality semi-sweet chocolate
In
a small sauce pan over medium heat add espresso and sugar and cook to reduce by
half.
Bring
mixture to room temperature. When cool, whisk in vanilla.
In
a double boiler over simmering water (I don't own a double boiler and
instead use a stainless bowl that fits in a medium size soup pot), melt semi-sweet chocolate with heavy cream. When melted,
remove from heat and gently whisk in espresso mixture.
This
sauce is best used immediately or gently rewarmed prior to serving.
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