Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

President Biden is doing good where he can, and getting it done.

Bark louder, little dog.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

Giving up is unforgivable. ~Joe Biden

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

White supremacy is terrorism.

You are here: Home / Food & Recipes / Cooking / Friday Recipe Exchange: Sweet Treats

Friday Recipe Exchange: Sweet Treats

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tamara coconut lemon cake

Coconut Lemon Cake

From our Food Goddess, TaMara:

Something about frigid temps makes me crave sweets. So when I was thinking about tonight’s recipes, that is what I was drawn to and lemon themed recipes rose to the top. I suppose because it brings with it a reminder of warmer climates. Which is where I am headed later in the month. Beach weather. I’ll be the pale, wind swept one by the eucalyptus tree.

One of my favorite tangy, sweet desserts is Sour Cream Lemon Poppyseeed Cake, yum, recipe here.

tamara sliced-lemon-poppy-seed-11

Since next week bring with it the ultimate date night, I thought it would be a good idea to include some special sweets: Valentine’s Day Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies, recipe here and Valentine’s Chocolates, recipes here.

Which is a good time to let you know there will be no recipe exchange next Friday. Do you have Valentine’s plans? Do you go out or stay home and cook? Or do you ignore it all together? (You should probably make sure your romantic partner is on board with that, if that’s your plan. Right?) And during these cold, cold days, what do you like to cook?

jeffreyw peanut butter granola bars

Let’s not leave JeffreyW out of the mix, he and Mrs. J spent the cold week giving their kitchen a work out and this is one of the recipes that fortified them. Peanut Butter Granola Bars, click here.

And finally, tonight’s featured recipe (pictured at top):

Lemon Coconut Layer Cake
I have a friend who loves coconut cream pie. I’m not a big fan, so I’ve never made one. But when I saw a photo of a coconut-lemon cake, I thought she might like it, so I gave it a whirl. The original cake was 6-layers, I just couldn’t fathom that, so I reduced it to a 4-layer cake. Layering is easier to do if you use pie pans instead of cake pans. This eliminates the need to cut each cake in half to achieve thin, even layers. This cake works best if made the night before. Refrigerate so the lemon filling stays firm. And shredded coconut covers any number of baking sins.

Coconut Cake:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
½ cup butter
1 ½ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups sifted flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
13 oz coconut milk
3 eggs, separated

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9-inch pie pans

Cream the butter in a mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar and beat until very light, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks, blending well.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and add to the creamed mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the coconut milk, and beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Add the vanilla and beat to thoroughly combine.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, and then gently fold into the cake batter. Divide evenly and pour into the pans, spreading to the edges. Bake until a toothpick inserted into one of the cakes comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Loosen and invert onto racks to cool completely.

Lemon cream filling:
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon butter

Combine the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, water, lemon juice, lemon zest and butter in the top of a double boiler set over, but not touching, boiling water. Cook, stirring, until thick and creamy, about 5 or 6 minutes. Cool thoroughly before spreading on the cake layers.

Okay, so all the recipes for lemon filling wanted a double-boiler. I started with one, but after 5 minutes of stirring and not thickening, I changed over to a saucepan and whisked it for 5 minutes while it boiled and thickened and had no issues with it burning or sticking. High altitude may have been the reason for my original troubles. Water boils at a lower temperature here, so the double boiler may not have offered enough heat to thicken the sauce.

Butter Cream Frosting:
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
6 tbsp butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup coconut milk
2 cups shredded coconut

With a mixer, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

Add vanilla and milk and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

To assemble: Place first layer on cake plate, bottom side up, spread with a third of the lemon filling, sprinkle with coconut, place next layer, bottom side up, repeat and again with the third layer. Place fourth layer, top side up. Frost and garnish with more shredded coconut.
***********
That’s it for this week. On Monday the full dinner menu and shopping list will post and it will be a Valentine’s dinner if you need ideas. Happy Valentine’s Day! – TaMara

Reader Interactions

93Comments

  5. 5.

    IowaOldLady

    There are some things I cook only in the winter. I make stock, for instance, and then use it to make soup.

    Sadly, I’ve had to stop making sweets. We just eat them and get fat.

  6. 6.

    Mnemosyne

    @IowaOldLady:

    Sadly, I’ve had to stop making sweets. We just eat them and get fat.

    This is one of the upsides of working in an office of 20+ people — I can bring most of the sweets in and they’re gone by the end of the day.

    If you really miss them, there’s a great book called Small-Batch Baking that has recipes for things like 6 cookies (instead of 24-36, which is what most recipes make). It’s really handy if you don’t have an outlet for distributing extra baked goods but would still like some occasionally.

  9. 9.

    Mike E

    Love the food blogging but…

    OT omfg the Sochi opening ceremony is an SCTV skit, sweet jeebus.

  10. 10.

    TaMara (BHF)

    @IowaOldLady: When I make cookies, I make a half batch, bake six, shape the rest into cookie balls and freeze. Then when I want cookies, I bake another 6. Repeat until gone. Usually takes a couple of weeks.

    I like cookies fresh out of the oven, instead of the cookie jar, and it keeps us from eating an entire batch in one sitting.

  18. 18.

    Baud

    My favorite part of the opening ceremonies is listening to the announcers be condescending to other countries. Although it was more fun when Costas was doing it.

  19. 19.

    raven

    “Stranger in Paradise” is a popular song from the 1953 musical Kismet and is credited to Robert Wright and George Forrest. Like all the music in that show, the melody was taken from music composed by Alexander Borodin (1833 –1887), in this case, the “Gliding Dance of the Maidens,” from the Polovtsian Dances in the opera Prince Igor. The song in the musical is a lovers’ duet and describes the transcendent feelings that love brings to their surroundings.[1] Later versions were mostly edited to be sung by male solo artists.[2]

    Yes!

  23. 23.

    Mike E

    @WaterGirl: It’s as if Gov. Christie started taking meth, took over the Super Bowl site by executive fiat, spent like a million on cocaine, used it all in a day, and, well , the Sochi games happened all of a sudden.

    /CBS cares

  26. 26.

    Violet

    And during these cold, cold days, what do you like to cook?

    Hearty things. I’ve got lamb shanks in crock pot and the potatoes are on the stove for making mash. The thought of a salad or something else “light” seems really wrong. It’s cold out. I need hearty, filling food.

  39. 39.

    Villago Delenda Est

    More fun from Noisemax:

    Putin Minister: Shower Spycams Defend Russia

    Apparently Deputy Prim Minister Dmitry Kozak told The Wall Street Journal “We have surveillance video from the hotels that shows people turn on the shower, direct the nozzle at the wall, and then leave the room for the whole day,”

    Later in the article, this: A spokesman for Kozak later told the Journal that the official misspoke, and there were no surveillance cameras inside hotel bathrooms.

    He “misspoke”. Sure he did!

  41. 41.

    Belafon

    I thought this quote from Jay Leno for his final Tonight Show was pretty good:

    I got to work with lighting people who made me look better than I really am. I got to work with audio people who made me sound better than I really do. I got to work with producers and writers and all kinds of people who made me look smarter than I really am. … I’m also proud to say, this is a union show. And I have never worked with a more professional group of people in my life. They get paid good money and they do a good job.

  42. 42.

    WereBear

    I am also off sweets, and recently, coffee. (Sigh like a big dog at the end of a long run.)

    But then, today, I tried Crio Bru… and this isn’t just a coffee substitute.

    It’s better!

    Cocoa beans, roasted and ground and brewed like coffee. I’m back, babee!

  48. 48.

    Gex

    Can I just say fuck cancer? My aunt was just diagnosed with stage 3a colon cancer. She’s been confiding in me because of the experience I had with Kate, but she isn’t ready to tell the rest of the family yet. And of course this means I need to start getting screenings NOW and not wait until the recommended age.

    So much time spent in hospitals. At least I am good at tending to and comforting the patient.

  53. 53.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Baud:

    Ralph Lauren’s goal, it seems, was to create a uniform ensemble that no one with any fashion sense would be caught dead in.

    This is camouflage for any gay members of the US Olympic team.

  63. 63.

    WaterGirl

    @WereBear:

    Cocoa beans, roasted and ground and brewed like coffee. I’m back, babee!

    And it’s apparently not lacking in caffeine! :-)

  64. 64.

    Gex

    Thanks you all. Right now I am just focusing on the good news that it is stage 3a and not 3b or 3c. For some reason, stage 3a has about the same survival rate as stage 1, it has a better survival rate than stage 2a,b, or c, and better than 3b or c. At least there is that.

    And it is weird to know when others don’t. My mom just talked to me about visiting my aunt tomorrow and I just wanted to say something so bad.

  67. 67.

    WereBear

    @WaterGirl: Well, it is… lower in caffeine than even decaff or tea, for that matter. :)

    That’s why I’m not turning to tea, either… I need to avoid the caffeine, I’m over-stressed and that makes my sleep worse. Never used to have this problems, but 2013 was horrendously stressful, got a promotion that is much more physically demanding… it all adds up.

  72. 72.

    WereBear

    @schrodinger’s cat: That is an excellent suggestion :) I would like it more than him!

    So, I’m heading for bed now. I had a cup of my “brewed cocoa” at seven, and now I’m ready to go to sleep. That wouldn’t happen with coffee, for certain.

  79. 79.

    Helen

    Does anyone have a recipe for hazelnut cake? Had it in a restaurant once, both the cake (hazelnut flour??) and the icing were hazelnut. YAY Frangelica.

  87. 87.

    Mnemosyne

    If anyone is still reading about food in this thread, I threw hot Italian sausage, onions, garlic, tomatoes, green chiles, black beans, and hominy together and am calling it stew. So far, so good.

  88. 88.

    2liberal

    rum balls
    ————–
    1 – 6 oz pack semi sweet chocolate bits
    .5 cup sugar
    .333 cup rum
    3 tblspn light corn syrup
    2 cps crushed vanilla wafers (44)
    1 cup ground walnuts

    melt chocolate bits, stir in sugar, rum and syrup. Fold in wafers and nuts. Make 1 inch balls, 2 tsp each. Roll balls in sugar adn store in air tight container

  89. 89.

    ruemara

    I’m planning the sweets I’ll bake for the next flea market sale.
    So far, white chocolate ginger cookies (with freshly grated ging) and an experiment I’m calling the Devil’s Own Brownie. Dark Chocolate Chipotle Brownie with Raspberry Sriracha Glaze. And a gluten free breakfast pizza, escarole, caramelized onions and bacon.

  90. 90.

    Mnemosyne

    @ruemara:

    And by “flea market sale” you mean you’re going to bag some of them up and bring them on the train to sell to drooling Juicers at the meet-up, right? :-)

  91. 91.

    NotMax

    Arising from an extended nap, refreshed the BJ page and, still groggy and unfocused, quickly glanced at the screen and promptly misread the headline on the post as

       Friday Recipe Exchange: Sweetbreads.

    “Hm,” thought I, “that’s a bit off the beaten track for the cooks and gourmands here.”

  93. 93.

    Miss Bianca

    yum! I can’t believe the awesome things I learn from this group! I have just ordered a sample pack of that brewing chocolate and I am stepping out to find some coconut flakes! thank you all so much!

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