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A New Recipe from Debby Maugans, author of Small Batch Baking

April 22, 2009 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

I began dreaming about small batches of rich desserts when I was in college.  Baking soothes me, so I often relieved myself of stress by whipping something up. The completion of that task – baking fudgy brownies or an old-fashioned Southern layer cake with coconut frosting– was a welcome distraction from what I really should have been doing – studying, for example.  But I was not happy when that over-indulgence was there to tempt me in the morning.

I did not bake only for myself; my girlfriends could expect a decadent flourless chocolate torte or my grandma’s pound cake if they expressed job angst or man troubles. However, pondering life’s larger questions might have been better served had we nibbled on only one slice instead of devouring the entire dessert. The concept of baking smaller batches developed roots.

Today I gaily bake mini layer cakes, homemade pies with my own piecrust, fruit crisps, chewy cookies, breakfast muffins, yeast breads, and special holiday treats. Baking in small batches means there no alluring leftovers to morph extra pounds onto my frame that I try so hard to keep from expanding in the wrong places.

So have your cake and eat it all, too.  To make the coconut cake batter, you need a hand mixer and a small, 1 1/2-quart bowl that is deeper and taller than it is wide. I bake baby layer cakes in cleaned-out aluminum cans, such as diced tomato cans, with the labels removed. They are completely safe to bake in. You can also find very small, round cake pans at specialty food stores and cookware Web sites.

Coconut Layer Cake

From Small-Batch Baking, published by Workman Publishing

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the cans
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted, plus more for flouring the cans
3 tablespoons beaten egg or egg substitute
3 tablespoons well-stirred canned sweetened cream of coconut (such as Coco Lopez);  see Note
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon baking powder (measure half of 1/4 teaspoon)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Coconut Cream Frosting (recipe follows)

Pans required: two (14- or 14.5-ounce) cans, one baking sheet

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease the insides of the cans and lightly dust them with flour, tapping out the excess.
3. Place the egg, cream of coconut, and vanilla in a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of water and whisk to mix.
4. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium-size mixing bowl and whisk to blend well.  Add the butter and the egg mixture. Beat with a hand-held mixer on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the mixture is lightened and increased in volume, about 1 minute.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared cans, dividing it evenly between them. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
6. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the cans to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. (Leave the oven on.) Then run a thin, sharp knife around the edge of each can, and invert them to release the cakes. Place the cakes upright on the rack and let them cool completely.
7. While the cakes are cooling, spread the coconut on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring once, until it is lightly toasted, 10 to 12 minutes.
8. To frost the cakes, cut each cake in half horizontally. Spread a layer of Coconut Cream Frosting about 1/2 inch thick on cut side of one cake half, then stack the other half on top of it. Frost the top and sides of the cake.  Repeat with the remaining cake and frosting. Sprinkle the toasted coconut all over the frosting. The cakes can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated.

NOTE:  Cream of coconut is the secret ingredient. To measure, pour and scrape the cream of coconut into a bowl and stir well to mix it up. Measure out the 3 tablespoons for the cake, and pour the rest into a jar to store it in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.  Use it to flavor sweet and savory Thai dishes; substitute a tablespoon or two for whipping cream when you make chocolate ganache or frosting. Stir a teaspoon or two into your morning latte.

Coconut Cream Frosting

1/2 cup cold whipping cream
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon well-stirred canned sweetened cream of coconut (such as Coco Lopez)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl, and beat with a hand-held electric mixer until firm peaks form, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

Debby Maugans, the author of Small Batch Baking, published by Workman Publishing, has over 25 years of experience writing about food, styling food and creating recipes for cookbooks and national magazines. She writes a weekly “Tables for Two” food column for the Birmingham News.

You can email Debby at debby@smallbatchbaking.com

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