Coconut Cake

My grandmother used to make coconut cakes, and I used to stare at them and think how beautiful they were.  To me, they looked like snow-covered mounds of happiness.  My birthday is December 20, and I just think this is a perfect cake for a winter birthday or even for Christmas.  

Cake Ingredients:

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pans
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup milk
4 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

Frosting Ingredients:

1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
6 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans, then line them parchment paper. Grease them again and dust lightly with flour.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl once during mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. The mixture might look curdled; don't be concerned.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in the 4 ounces of coconut with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter evenly into the 2 pans and smooth the top with a knife. Bake in the center of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until the tops are browned and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack for 30 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a baking rack to finish cooling.

For the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extract on low speed. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until just smooth (don't whip!).

To assemble, place 1 layer on a flat serving plate, top side down, and spread with frosting. Place the

second layer on top, top side up, and frost the top and sides. To decorate the cake, sprinkle the top with coconut and lightly press more coconut onto the sides. Serve at room temperature.

Thanks, Ina!

How to Roast a Turkey

It seems like a daunting task if you've never done it before, but it's really quite easy.  You don't even have to get up at 3 am to stick it in the oven.  I used to believe that my grandmothers got up in the middle of the night to put the turkey in to roast all day, but when I found out I didn't have to do that, all was well with the world.  

What to do....  Most people buy a frozen turkey.  You need to let it thaw in the refrigerator for about 3 days.  Any other way could be unsafe.  Once it's thawed, take it out of the covering.  Remove any packaging or giblets, which are stuffed into the turkey's backside and/or neck cavity. 

Rub the turkey, inside and out, with a couple of sticks of butter at room temperature.  Put the turkey in a roasting pan.  Put in 2-4 cups of chicken broth in the pan.  Sprinkle on some fresh rosemary, thyme, and cracked pepper.  If you want, put some sliced lemon and a couple of cloves of garlic in the body cavity. 

Cover the turkey with an aluminum foil tent, loosely.  In a 350 degree oven, place the turkey inside. The rule of thumb for cooking a turkey is 13 minutes per pound. So our 16-pound turkey should have taken about 3 1/2 hours to cook.  Take the foil tent off about an hour before you take the bird out of the oven.

Every 45 minutes, baste the turkey with it's own juices.

To make sure that turkey is fully cooked through and through, we like to check its temperature in three places: the breast, the outer thigh, and the inside thigh. In every case, the meat should be at least 165°F. If any place is under that temperature, put the turkey back in the oven for another 20 minutes. Shield the breast meat with foil if needed to keep it from overcooking.

Then, lift the whole turkey and transfer it to a cutting board. Tent the turkey with aluminum foil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. This gives time for the meat to firm up and the juices to be re-absorbed into the muscle tissue, making the turkey easier to slice and taste juicier. 

Carve and enjoy!