Let Us Eat Cake!: Recipe

An office farewell party would hardly seem right without a cake. So with the departure of a sweet and hardworking colleague upon us, I baked a cake to celebrate her accomplishments and her success in taking a new step for her career.

I modeled this cake after a recipe (really a photo) that looked good but to be truthful I had to modify it so that it does not even look the same, mostly because I couldn't find two ingredients it was requesting. So here is my recipe. Besides, the recipe I was following was for 12 cupcakes. If I were to do this again, I would double the recipe - I didn't feel there was enough cake in this cake. However, the flavor was great and it was relatively easy to produce. I am not a fan, usually, of cream cheese frosting but it worked super well for this delicate cake.

It got rave reviews and it looked pretty. What better way to enjoy something you've baked than to have people taking second helpings?

Coconut-Raspberry Cake with Almonds
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup shredded, sweetened, coconut + 1/4 cup
6 oz. frozen raspberries
1/3 cup sour cream
2/3 cup fresh raspberries

Cream Cheese Frosting
5 Tbsp. butter, softened
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. coconut extract

2 cups sliced, slivered, almonds
5 fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 8" round pan and line with parchment. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between additions. Add in the flours and the 1/2 cup of coconut and mix well. Add in the sour cream and the raspberries and beat lightly but thoroughly.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 50 minutes or until top is browned and springs back when touched. Cool on rack, in the pan, for about 10 minutes and then turn out cake onto wire rack and cool, completely.

Make icing by beating butter and cream cheese together until well incorporated. Add in the extract and then the powdered sugar. Mix well, adding more sugar, if needed, to thicken slightly.

With a large serrated knife, slice the cake in half, gently. Place one half onto the plate it will be served on and ice the inside. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of coconut and cover with raspberries. Add the second layer and ice completely. With clean hands, press almonds to the sides of the cake and top with a few raspberries on top. Keep cold and allow cake to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.