Coconut Cake

From "The Cake Doctor"

• 1 package plain white cake mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 8.5 oz can cream of coconut (or 1/2 of a 15-17 oz can, and make sure it is cream of coconut, not coconut milk. Very different).
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs

Grease and flour a 9x13 sheet cake pan or spray it with vegetable spray. Preheat the oven to 350.

Mix the liquids and 1 egg (sour cream, cream of coconut, vegetable oil, and one egg) together until well blended. Add 1/3 of the cake mix and blend well. Add 2nd egg and blend well. Add 1/3 of the cake mix and blend well. Add the 3rd egg and blend well. Add the rest of the cake mix and blend well. Or you can just dump it all in at once and mix for several minutes and it won't make that much of a difference. But the crumb seems to be finer if you alternate.

Pour the batter into the greased/oiled sheet cake pan. Tap the pan on a counter or table top to get the air bubbles out of the batter. Bake at 350 for around 35 to 40 minutes. It's done when the cake springs back when lightly pressed and it is starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. If you insert a toothpick it should come out clean. When it is done take it out of the oven and put it on a cooling rack.

Coconut Soak (optional)

• 1 8.5 oz can cream of coconut
• 1 tablespoon orange marmalade (optional - this can be used here or can be put in the frosting. Or you can leave the orange marmalade out.)

Put the cream of coconut (and optional orange marmalade) in a bowl and microwave it for 30 secs or so until hot. Poke holes with a fork or large toothpick in the cake and pour the mixture over the cake to soak in. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in a fridge overnight. (note - once you mix the cream of coconut and the orange marmalade together be sure to, carefully because it may be hot, taste it. You can add more marmalade if you want. It is ridiculous how good this mixture tastes.)

White Chocolate & Cinnamon Frosting

• 1 cup butter, softened (not melted and no substitutions. It has to be real butter.)
• 2 cups confectioner's sugar
• 6 oz white chocolate, melted and then cooled a bit
• 2 to 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (optional, it makes the frosting a bit lighter)
• 1 to 2 teaspoons cinnamon (more or less according to your preference, or leave the cinnamon out if you prefer and just have white chocolate frosting)
• Shredded coconut

In a large bowl, whip the butter and the confectioners sugar until fluffy.

Add the melted and cooled white chocolate. Whip well. Add the whipping cream and whip on high speed for several minutes until fluffy. Add the cinnamon and whip until well blended. Taste and add more cinnamon if desired.

Put the frosting on the cake and spread evenly. Then sprinkle the shredded coconut on top.

Chocolate Cake

This is another cake that goes well with the white chocolate and cinnamon frosting. It works well as a layer cake since it doesn't have the coconut soak.

• 1 package plain devil's food cake mix
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/3 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Grease and flour two or three 8 inch cake pans. Preheat the oven to 350.

In a large bowl, mix the cocoa powder, buttermilk, vegetable oil, one 1 egg, and vanilla extract together until well blended. Add 1/3 of the cake mix and blend well. Add 2nd egg and blend well. Add 1/3 of the cake mix and blend well. Add the 3rd egg and blend well. Add the rest of the cake mix and blend well. Or you can just dump it all in at once and mix for several minutes and it won't make that much of a difference. But the crumb seems to be finer if you alternate.

Pour the batter into the greased and floured cake pans. Tap the pans on a counter or table top to get the air bubbles out of the batter. Bake at 350 for around 28 to 30 minutes. It's done when the cake springs back when lightly pressed and it is starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. If you insert a toothpick it should come out clean. When it is done take the pans out of the oven and put them on cooling racks. If the middles of the cake layers are higher than the edges you can put a clean towel or paper towel on the layer and press the middle down to it is more even. It won't hurt the cake any. Do this while it is still warm. Then allow the cakes to cool completely.

Prepare the white chocolate frosting and frost the cake as desired.