Nuts for coconuts?

   Last Christmas my aunt sent me the best Christmas card ever.  Rather than adding a picture or a letter she inserted a recipe for a delicious coconut cake. How cool is that? So simple, but yet so thoughtful. I am a little bit embarrassed that it took me three months to finally make the cake, but I guess it's better late than never. Justin is not too crazy about coconut in general, so I took it as my personal challenge to change his mind. It worked just great, the cake turned out delicious, Justin had a huge piece of it, and didn't mind the coconut at all! Here is the recipe:

*  2 cups toasted sweetened coconut
*  2 cups all-purpose flour
*  1 cup butter (room temp.)
*  6 eggs
*  0.5 tsp salt
*  1 tsp baking powder
*  1.5 cup sugar
*  2.5 tsp almond extract

   To toast the coconut spread it thinly in a shallow baking dish and bake at 350F for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently until it's a little bit brown. Do not leave it in the oven for too long because it browns pretty fast. After it's done, set it aside to cool down before mixing it into the cake. In a large bowl beat the butter until creamy and then gradually add sugar while beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs (one at a time) and almond extract, mixing well after each addition. Remove the bowl from the mixer and using a big spoon stir in all dry ingredients and coconut. Transfer the cake batter into a baking pan and bake at 325F for about one hour.

   It's delicious on its own, but I decided to "dress" it up a little bit with drizzle of chocolate. I melted a few pieces of chocolate with 2 tbsp of milk and an orange zest and drizzled it over the cake. It's yummy, super coconuty, and super rich, so it's the best when served with a scoop of refreshing fat free raspberry sorbet!

 

   Do you see how fluffy the cake is? The almond extract and toasted coconut is just a perfect marriage of flavors and make this desert super tasty. I'm sure everybody will love it.

Good luck.
Magda.