Germerican Adventures: Strawberry Coconut Cake

Although I don't get many opportunities to bake big cakes or fancy desserts, I jump at any event that I can sneak one in. This time, it was Valentine's day. <3

Simon really likes strawberry cake. For his birthday a couple years ago I made one that turned out really yummy; However, I wanted to try a different recipe this time since my experimenting chances are limited. Why make the same thing twice. Haha.

Previously, I searched painstakingly for a recipe that did not include box caked mic or strawberry gelatin. I caved on this one because of how delicious it looked an sounded, and because I couldn't find one, apart from the one I made before, that did not include either of those things.

I am so happy that I did branch out, though, because this turned out to be, possibly, the best dessert I have ever made!

The whole thing took me about 4 hours but that is including the waiting time required before icing was possible. It also would not have taken as long if I had 2 round cake pans. I only have one, so I had to bake each layer individually.

I found this recipe on one of the blogs I follow. http://candyjamamas.blogspot.com

Okay, here is the slightly altered recipe. I made a few changes as I went along: ex. I did not have coconut extract and therefore did not use any.

A few of the prettiest ingredients

Cake:

1 (16-18 ounce) box white cake mix

4 Tbsp. strawberry gelatin powder

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

3/4 Cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1/4 Cup water

1/2 Cup pureed strawberries

1 Cup coconut, finely shredded in food

processor

1 tsp vanilla

(1/2 tsp coconut extract) optional

1/2 Cup fresh strawberries, finely diced

Several sliced strawberries to fill cake

3-5 whole strawberries for garnishing

Shredded coconut for garnishing

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour two 8in or 9in round baking pans.

Combine dry ingredients in mixer bowl; stir. Beat in oil, eggs, water, vanilla, and coconut extract. Mix well.

In food processor, purée 1/2 cup strawberries and 1 cup coconut. Add this to mixture and stir until well combined.

Pour into prepared baking pans.

Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean and the cakes are pulling away from the sides of the pans.

Place pans on wire racks and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and place in racks to cool completely. (25-30 minutes).

Layering

Cream cheese icing:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add vanilla. Slowly beat in powdered sugar until desired consistency. Add a tablespoon or so of milk if icing is too thick. (I used the entire 4 cups and had only a little icing remaining).

Finishing Cake:

Thickly spread icing atop bottom layer, cover with a layer of thinly sliced strawberries.

Place second cake on top and ice the rest of the cake. Carefully cover entire cake in shredded coconut and garnish with fresh strawberries.