Let me start with this caveat; this is my first ever recipe post.  Now that I think about it, that’s crazy.  I love food.  My husband and I border on being declared “foodies”.  Entire vacations are planned around the best-of hit list of foods in whatever city we are in.  I love eating.  Cooking, hmmmm, not quite so much since kiddos.  But I used to cook often, and lately, I have been stirring up my old passion for the art.  This Valentine’s Day I meshed a couple of recipes together to create a favorite dessert.  A light and airy vanilla cake with coconut cream cheese frosting.

I’ve got a Valentine’s post coming up that would be cruel to show you, without also including a recipe.  So here goes…

FOR THE CAKE

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

Beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl.

Slowly drizzle in oil.

Split batter in two 8 or 9″ pans, bake, and cool.  Once cooled frost with cream cheese frosting + sprinkle abundant coconut flakes.  That’s it!!  Who needs a box cake??!!!

VANILLA CAKE

Prep: 30 Min

Cooking: 40-55

Servings: 12

INGREDIENTS

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup canola oil

1  1/4 cup milk

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350, butter 2 8″ round pans, line the bottom with parchment paper and set aside.

In a bowl combine the flour, powder, salt, and set aside.

In another bowl beat the eggs, sugar & vanilla with an electric mixer for about 10 minutes until thick, light, and triple in volume.   Drizzle in oil while beating.

Add dry ingredients alternating with the milk until batter is smooth.  Divide into two pans.   Recipe called for 50 to 55 minutes bake time, and I felt it was way more than ready at 45 so definitely check in on that cake earlier with a toothpick.   Cool 15 minutes, remove from pans and let cool on wire rack.   Once cooled I wrapped in parchment paper and put in freezer for 30 minutes before frosting.

CREAM CHEESE COCONUT FROSTING

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup unsalted butter softened

8 oz cream cheese softened (use brick-style cc)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 cups powdered sugar

3 cups of sweetened coconut flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

Beat butter and cream cheese in a bowl until creamy & lump free.

Add vanilla extract and salt, stir well.

With mixer on low, gradually add powdered sugar until completely combined.

FROSTING

Completely cool cakes.  To get smooth layers, I shaved off rounded top of cakes with bread knife.  Add frosting to the middle layer + sprinkle a good dose of coconut flakes.   Frost outside cake, and sprinkle coconut flakes on entire cake.

note: I doubled the recipe so I’d ensure a nice thick slather of icing + used the extra for my second small cake.  I’d probably do this again to ensure a good icing ratio.