Coconut Cake- Attempt # 1

Last weekend I had the urge to bake a cake. I posted this on Facebook and got a ton of comments, people apparently do not eat enough cake! :) I wanted to make a classic cake so was debating either chocolate, vanilla, or coconut. I decided on coconut and choose a recipe from my Baking Illustrated cookbook this recipe was a bit complex but I was up for the challenge.....and oh boy did the challenges reared their ugly heads.

First, I only had whole wheat pastry flour. This apparently does not make for a light and fluffy cake. I had it on hand for muffins and breads which it is great for, learned my lesson and will not use it again in a cake like this one.

Second, my sister and niece stopped by for a quick visit while I was mixing the batter. Instead of paying attention to what I was doing I was chatting away and forgot to add the sugar. Remembered this at the very end as I was pouring the batter into the pans. Had to transfer it back into the mixing bowl and add the sugar. This caused too much mixing and the batter was not as light as it should have been so we had a fairly dry cake when it was all said and done.

Here is the finished product. Pretty, but not as wonderfully light as I wanted. The coconut flavor shined through and the frosting was AMAZING!

So, what I've decided is that this is a great recipe and I need to tackle it again. Next time (which will be soon) I will use regular pastry flour, will be sure to not be distracted and will remember the sugar!