Spotting Birthday Cake - Coconut Cake

Who has a birthday without cake? This is a special edition to the daily "Spotting" series of posts in honor of my birthday today.

I love coconut cake. It's probably something I would have turned my nose up at as a child, but for the last few years it's been my "thing". Sometimes I'd even try to think up reasons to have dinner at Lilly's on the Canal in Lambertville, New Jersey just so I could order a slice of their Coconut Dream cake with raspberry syrup to either eat there or take home. Yes, if I eat there and I'm not having dessert I at least get a slice of that cake to take home with me. I found Tartelette's coconut cake with cream cheese buttercream on TasteSpotting and thought it looked amazing.

Photo from tartelette

Coconut Cake:
via tartelette
Seves 8-10
Printable Recipe

For the cake:
6 large eggs, separated
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut liqueur such as Malibu for soaking in the layers

Separate the egg whites from the yolks in 2 different (well cleaned) bowls.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl or over a piece of parchment paper that you can easily pick up when the time comes to add the flour to the batter in progress.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream 1 cup of the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
In a small bowl, or a measuring bowl with a spout (easier to pour), combine the buttermilk and the coconut milk. Set aside.
Turn the mixer to low speed and alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture to the butter, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
If you have only one KA bowl, pour this mixture into a large mixing bowl while you whip the egg whites.
In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar until you get nice stiff peaks. Stop before the meringue becomes dry.
Gently fold the egg whites into the flour/butter mixture.
Pour the cake batter into 2 separate 9X9 square inch pans and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes at 350F or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Place the cakes on a wire rack to cool, in their pans, for about 10 minutes. Invert onto a greased cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Buttercream:
3 sticks butter at room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, softened
5 egg whites
1 cup sugar divided
1/4 cup water
2 tsp. coconut extract
1 cup coconut flakes

In the bowl of stand mixer, whip 5 egg whites until they have soft peaks. Slowly add 1/4 cup of sugar until you get a glossy meringue. In the meantime, combine 1/4 cup water with 3/4 cup sugar to a boil in a heavy saucepan and bring the syrup to 250F. Slowly add the sugar syrup to the egg whites. If you use hand beaters, this is even easier and there is less hot syrup splatter on the side of your bowl and in the whisk attachment of the stand mixer. Continue to whip until the meringue is completely cooled. Slowly add the butter, one tablespoon at a time. The mass might curdle but no panic, continue to whip until it all comes together. Add the cream cheese, the same way, a little at a time until everything is smooth. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
Slice each cake square into 2 pieces horizontally. Brush the bottom layer with some coconut liqueur, spread 1/3 cup of the buttercream over and add another layer of cake and repeat the soaking and layering. Finish by frosting the entire surface of the cake and sprinkle coconut flakes all over.....and eat!


Maybe if I give this recipe to my mom - she'll take to baking coconut cakes for me...

Here's to really big nuts and full bellies.
- Cait

Spotting Breakfast - Orange Vanilla Bundt Cake

Sometimes I crave something sweet for breakfast... In my house, if there's leftover cake from a birthday or occasion of some sort - it often becomes a morning treat. I don't know how that habit started, but my whole family does it and we've done it for as long as I can remember. When I found uptowngirl's bundt cake on TasteSpotting, I thought that would be perfect. Why? Because it has orange in it! Yeah, I know... Cake that is flavored with orange doesn't count as a serving of fruit, but it would be amazing WITH fruit. Orange is a wonderful flavor to go along with something like fresh strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. So yes, orange cake with a cup of coffee or strong black tea and fresh fruit would make a nice sweet breakfast.

Photo from erinsfoodfiles

Orange Bundt Cake
via erinsfoodfiles
from Taste of Home

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 Tablespoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk

GLAZE:
2 cup powdered sugar
2 1/2 Tablespoons orange juice (I used freshly squeezed)

In a bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy; beat in the eggs, orange peel and extracts. Combine flour and baking powder; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk.

Pour into a greased and floured 12-cup fluted tube pan. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool. For glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and juice until smooth. Spoon over cake. Yield: 12-16 servings.


Bake up this cake and brew yourself some french press coffee or a espresso. Enjoying this outside in the morning on a sunny day would definatly be a great days beginning.

Here's to Florida and full bellies.
- Cait

Spotting Breakfast - Scones with Honey and Dried Fruit

Sometimes I'm not in the mood for a full blown breakfast. That feeling really kicks in after something like a holiday weekend filled with all kinds of food goodies. I often enjoy a muffin or scone and a cup of tea or coffee instead of a whole meal, so when I saw carina's scone with honey and raisins on TasteSpotting I thought it would be the perfect addition to a morning checking e-mails or editing photographs. Not only did the scone itself look amazingly yummy, but carina's photography is breathtakingly beautiful. The only downside is that carina's website "carina-forum" isn't in english. The recipe is kind of "funny" looking because of the google translation, but it looks simple enough to mess around with to figure out.

Photo from Carina-Forum

Scones with Honey and Dried Fruit
via Carina-Forum

400 ml wheat flour
2 st.l. honey
50 g cold butter
2 st.l. orange liqueur
200 ml natural yogurt
70 g dried fruit
50 g chopped walnuts
1 ch.l. baking powder
1 ch.l. baking soda
dried peel of half an orange
1 egg
pinch of salt

preheat oven to 200 degrees C (392 degrees F)

cut dried fruit into pieces and put into orange liqueur

toast nuts in frying pan until golden

mix flour with baking powder and baking soda

cut butter into flour mixture

add orange peel, lightly beaten egg, yogurt, salt, honey and knead dough

add fruit and nuts last

sprinkle work surface with flour and roll dough to 3cm thickness

use circle cutter to cut scones

line baking pan with parchment powder, and put scones in a single layer

bake for 13-15 minutes until golden brown

slice and serve with butter or jam

* carina's notes - The amount of flour depends on the thickness of the yogurt you use. It's better to use very thick yogurt.

I'm not super sure about the tempature. I'd probably choose to round it up to 395 degrees F and make sure to keep an eye on the scones. I'm going to have to experiment with this recipe... It was disappointing to find out the website wasn't in english, but I couldn't use that as an excuse to not post about the scones.

Here's to google translations and full bellies.
- Cait

Spotting Breakfast - Bacon and Egg Breakfast Tart

After poking around on TasteSpotting.com I found a wonderful breakfast tart... I actually saw the recipe before in an old Williams-Sonoma catalog (I believe) and wanted to make it, but never did. Well, I'm newly inspired! The photograph was posted by YUMSUGAR, and I'm happy I found it. I'm going to be making this sometime soon, maybe even this upcoming weekend. You can find the post by YUMSUGAR - here.

I'm including the recipe...

Photo from YUMSUGAR

Bacon and Egg Breakfast Tart
From Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry dough
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tsp. water
3 oz. crème fraîche
2 oz. shredded Gruyère cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
8 bacon slices, cooked until crisp
3 eggs
10 fresh chives, cut on the bias into 1/2-inch lengths

Directions

1. Thaw the puff pastry dough according to the package instructions.
2. Preheat an oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
3. On lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to 1/4-inch thickness and cut into a 10-by-8-inch rectangle. Place the pastry on the prepared baking sheet. Using a paring knife, score a border 1/2 inch in from the edge of the pastry. Using a fork, prick the center of the pastry. Brush the border with the egg wash and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, stir together the crème fraîche and cheese, and season with salt and pepper.

Spread the crème fraîche mixture on the pastry, keeping the border clean. Lay the bacon on top, slightly overlapping the slices. Bake the tart for 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking.

5. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place it on a level heatproof surface. Using a fork, prick any large air pockets in the pastry. Crack the eggs onto the tart, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake until the egg whites are set and the yolks are still soft, 7 to 10 minutes.
6. Transfer the tart to a platter, garnish with the chives and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

You could easily take this recipe idea and add other ingredients you truely enjoy... Tomatoes, spinach, asiago cheese and eggs could make a sort of florentine version. Or perhaps some garlic chicken sausage instead of bacon. Hmmm...

Here's to starting the day with a full belly.

- Cait

Annie's Oreo Cupcakes

I was checking out new posts on TasteSpotting.com and fell in love with these darling Oreo Cupcakes. The post was made by a woman named Tracy who apparently keeps a food blog, Tracy's Culinary Adventures.

Photo from Tracy's Culinary Adventures

It turns out that she didn't make the recipe but found it from yet another food blogger named Annie. Annie's blog is called Annie's Eats and she includes recipes along with her photographs... Her food photographs are really great and, the food itself looks awesome. If you also love these cupcakes - here's the recipe!

Oreo Cupcakes
from Annie's Eats

Cupcakes
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature

Whipped Cream Frosting
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons Oreo cookie crumbs

Garnish
24 Oreo cookie halves

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add the brown sugar and continue beating until fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated, being careful not to overmix.

Divide the batter between the prepared cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature.

To make the frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until the whipped cream holds stiff peaks. Gently fold in the cookie crumbs with a rubber spatula.

Transfer the whipped cream to a pastry bag and pipe frosting decoratively on top of the cupcakes. Garnish with Oreo cookie halves.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

Now all I need to do is find an occasion where chocolate cupcakes would be appreciated... Any ideas? Twenty-four cupcakes is a lot of cupcakes to make just because, especially if you're the only person that can eat chocolate in your house... Hmmm.

Here's to warm ovens and full bellies.

- Cait

Grab a Knife and Fork

Pull up a chair and enjoy my plate...

I've been working on the idea of a food blog for awhile now... The thought sprang into my mind one night, I'm not sure what exactly brought it on - but I knew it would be a fun idea. I love to cook and share the things that I make with others. I also love the restaurants around Bucks County and I'm always up for trying a new one. There's also an abundance of fresh produce from local farmers markets, farm stands, farm co-ops, and pick your own in the area.

I plan on posting daily (or close to daily) about the meals I've made (perhaps even just made that day), about some of my favorite cooking shows on Food Network, cookbooks I love and use often, cookbooks I'm looking forward to getting, kitchen tools/gadgets, restaurants I've recently visited, and any food adventures that happen to pop up (like apple picking, the Strawberry Festival in Peddlers Village, berry picking, etc). I've been wanting to plan days to post things like cookbook and restaurant reviews - but I haven't really settled on which day I'd like to do that...

I was going to start this blogging journey on a Sunday or Monday - but after messing with Photoshop CS4 and creating a header for the blog I had to post something. I was pretty happy with the result and excited to start sharing. I have a lot of pictures to edit and organize and I need to try and find links to some of my favorite restaurants. I also might head out with my camera and photograph some of the restaurant locations because some of the places are in amazing spaces.

Here's to warm ovens and full bellies.

- Cait