Cooking With Amanda

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Coconut Poke Cake

My dad was really into cycling when I was a little girl. One of his cycling buddies had a potluck at the end of the summer that we all got to go to. Well at this potluck, someone had brought a coconut poke cake. And I've heard about this cake dozens of times through my childhood. I don't remember it, or remember if I had any of it, but my mom hasn't stopped singing its praises for almost 20 years. It must have been one awesome cake!

Anyway, it was basically a white coconut cake with frosting and more coconut, but the thing that made it really special was that before it was frosted, cream of coconut was poured all over that cake and it just soaked in…

Apparently it was life-changingly amazing.

Just in case you aren't a cocktail drinker, let me tell you what cream of coconut is, and where you can find it. My family didn't drink alcohol, so we'd never been to a liquor store. I think that was part of the mystery and awe. "Cream of coconut? What is cream of coconut? It must be the ambrosia drink that all the Greek gods had, or something." Cream of coconut is basically a coconut syrup, and boy it is tasty! You will find cream of coconut in the liquor section of the grocery store near the margarita mix and other mix-ins. It is really sweet so I mixed it with some canned coconut milk. That way it didn't lose any awesome coconut flavor, but just wasn't cloyingly sweet. It was still pretty sweet though.

Poke cake is actually pretty simple, and I wanted to layer in as much coconut flavor as I could. To keep things simple I used homemade gluten free white cake mix. You can use whatever cake mix you want for this coconut poke cake recipe! To up the coconut ante when you bake your coconut poke cake use canned coconut milk instead of the milk or water in the box mix recipe, and use coconut oil instead of the oil or butter. Then mix in a little shredded coconut for good measure. Once baked you just poke holes in the cake (coconut "poke" cake) and then pour the cream of coconut all over and let it soak in. I topped it off with some whipped cream (flavored with a little coconut milk) and some more coconut, toasted this time. If you want you could add a little coconut extract to the whipped cream for even more coconutty goodness. Or if you are a Cool Whip kind of person feel free to sub it in. Who am I to judge? It is one less thing to worry about.

The result is a super moist coconut poke cake that is just loaded with sweet coconut flavor.

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Coconut Poke Cake Recipe

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Ingredients

1 box white cake mix, plus necessary ingredients
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

For the syrup:

1 cup cream of coconut
1/2 cup coconut milk, canned

For the topping:

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup coconut milk, canned
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

Mix the cake mix according to the package directions. Use canned coconut milk instead of the milk or water, and using coconut oil instead of the oil or butter, if you like. Add the shredded coconut.
Bake according to the package directions in a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Once the cake is baked and cooled, poke holes in it about 1 inch apart using the handle of a wooden spoon.
Mix together the cream of coconut and the coconut milk and pour evenly over the cake into the holes.
Whip the whipping cream to medium peaks, add the coconut milk and powdered sugar, and whip until combined. Frost the entire cake with the whipped cream.
Toast the 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut at 400°F for 5-8 minutes or until it is just starting to turn golden brown. Top the cake with the toasted coconut.

Notes

Substitute canned coconut milk for the milk or water and coconut oil for the oil or butter to bring your cake to the next level
I used a home-made gluten-free cake mix.

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Friday, August 28, 2015

Blueberry Banana Bread

There are many reasons why banana bread is the perfect snack. First, it contains fruit, a lot of it, which instantly makes it healthier than cake or cookies. Second, it appeals to people of all ages, and it is even a great soft food for toddlers.

It is a snap to prepare and it freezes beautifully if you want to save some for later, or double a recipe and keep an extra loaf for the weeks when you just don't have time to bake.

Another thing I love about banana bread is how it is infinitely adaptable. When I am in need of a healthy boost, I reduce the sugar and add a cup of wheat germ to the batter. For a sweet touch, it is easy to add chocolate chips or top it with a cinnamon streusel. If you need a more formal banana bread, toss in some walnuts and dried cranberries and you've got a terrific tea cake to serve guests.

The other day I decided to add some blueberries to my banana bread because I had some leftover from making jam after blueberry picking. I also topped it with a simple dusting of cinnamon sugar because I wanted an extra touch of sweetness to make it almost coffee cake-like.

It turns out that the blueberries were the perfect addition to the delicious banana bread. They were sweet, but not overly so, and paired beautifully with the soft banana flavor of the bread.

I doubled the following recipe and froze the second loaf for later. There is no question that I'll be pulling it out for brunch when we have guests come to visit. I also will make two more loaves next week to put in the deep freeze for September. It will make the ultimate delicious snack for the lunchbox this fall!

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Blueberry Banana Bread Recipe

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Ingredients

8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9x5 loaf pan.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla and mix until fully combined. Add the bananas one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups of flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Turn the mixer on low and add the dry ingredients slowly, mixing until just combined.
Toss the blueberries with the remaining flour and stir them carefully into the batter with a spatula.
Spread the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the center is set and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.