Totally Coconut Cake
When I was growing up my mother would buy a fresh coconut, use the coconut water in a white cake mix, frost with an Italian meringue frosting, called White Mountain Frosting by Betty Crocker, then grate the fresh coconut onto the cake. The Italian meringue frosting would hold the fresh grated coconut quite well.
Mom decorated the cakes in a number of ways over the years. I remember her cutting up layers and putting them together so it looked like a rabbit one year. But one of my favorites was when she put jelly beans on the fresh coconut and the color bled into the coconut just a little. It was very pretty and festive for Easter.
Today, it’s so much easier to get coconut products and I like to stay as gluten free as possible for myself. I also like to sweeten with maple syrup instead of regular sugar so this cake was perfect for us. With just the three of us for Easter this year, one layer was perfect too.
I wasn’t able to get fresh coconut this year, but I know from past cupcakes I’ve made that using coconut oil, coconut flour, and coconut milk will pack plenty of coconut flavor in.
I’m not big on sugar based candies like jelly beans, but who could resist the beautiful, bright color they bring to the mostly white background of the cake. Perfect for Spring!
This year I used the recipe from Savory Lotus at https://www.savorylotus.com/simple-coconut-flour-cake/ because it was fairly similar to a cupcake recipe I’ve used before that we loved. I was a little disappointed that the cake turned out so flat, maybe three-quarters of an inch thick, and that’s with beating the egg whites then folding them in AND using a slightly smaller pan than called for. I sure hope it tastes good.
I picked a frosting from a different cake recipe at Well Plated to use – https://www.wellplated.com/coconut-flour-cake/ Mostly because it used coconut milk in the frosting and I thought that would give it an extra flavor boost.
Maybe I’ll stick to my favorite coconut flour cupcakes from Treasured Tips next time, though I do use maple syrup instead of honey in them. You can find that recipe at https://www.treasuredtips.com/vanilla-paleo-cupcakes-recipe/
I’ll update with how the cake tasted after we eat it. 🙂
ETA: Husband liked it but I will definitely stick to the cupcake recipe in the future. C’est la vie.
Melora Johnson's Muse 
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