Alright. My first major cake undertaking: a coconut cake compliments of the Barefoot Contessa. So I donned my Anthropologie apron to feel more official, and went at it full steam. What followed was a lesson in getting draped in whiteness: flour, confectioner's sugar, coconut, sugar, cream cheese...there's A LOT of white in a coconut cake and it gets EVERYWHERE. The plus side: I did it right, apparently. The cakes baked beautifully and after an unfortunate icing experience it actually tasted like coconut cake! JD found it to be pretty darn delicious, and when I took part of it to work, the office ladies (all of whom are country-style bakers) gave their vote of approval. Yay!
Now, I learned a couple of key lessons during this maiden baking voyage:
1. I bake well while drinking white wine.
2. Let the cake cool completely before attempting to ice it.
3. I don't like coconut cake.
Lesson yet to be learned: How long can cream cheese icing sit out and still be safe?
I don't like coconut anything but shrimp. Because I'm your mother and you want to please me (the importance of which cannot be overstated...it's in all the books), you'll want to remember that.
ReplyDeleteHelpful hint about icing from a can: add a bit of water and it will go twice as far and still be yummy. (I read that while looking up 25 things to do with toothpaste besides brush your teeth.)
Another hint: The icing with all those colorful little round bits beats coconut icing all to heck. You loved it as a kid (or was that Jessica? Hummmm. Never mind).
Finally: EVERYTHING goes better with wine (except, perhaps, cereal).
To save my baking reputation: I made the icing myself.
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