The beginning of last year with a couple of my brothers we began to organize the family archives. We still have stuff to sort through, but thanks to Google Drive what the Vári siblings accomplished across the continents has been phenomenal. Just in photos, negatives and slides we scanned over 15000 images. We had glass plate negatives, portraits, experimental photos, creative compositions, formal and informal group photos and candid shots of everyday family life spanning five generations. Some of the photos were immaculate and some were so damaged they required days if not hours of restoration. Aside from the scanning and editing of photos, I took on the job of sorting though endless footage of digitized home movies. I had to splice and organize them, adjust the speed, the light, and frame by frame edit out the flairs, the rips and the dark spots. Up until 1988 home movies were silent, so I searched out the perfect music for each little segment to tell the story. Just in the first run I cut over 160 videos. In length these range from 4 to 5 minutes and up to 12 minutes. Yes I have been busy.
It was almost a year ago I posted my last recipe. Regular readers deserted my blog, but traffic has been steady and if anything my readership has grown since I turned my attention elsewhere. I stopped visiting friendly blog sites; the social aspect of blogging takes time and effort. I never stopped taking photos of my cooking though, I kept thinking I will post again. I made this coconut sheet cake a few weeks ago for my coconutaholic daughter. The recipe was adapted from bakedbrie. It didn’t specify what sort of coconut milk to use so I opted for Thai Premium Coconut Milk. [It’s in a can] It didn’t make any sense to use light coconut milk, not with all the butter and sugar the recipe called for. This is one of those delicious, solid cakes you like to serve for a coconutty family.
COCONUTTY SHEET CAKE
Cake:
3 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp coconut extract
1-1/4 cups premium full fat coconut milk
Frosting:
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 Tbsp coconut milk
1 tsp coconut extract
3 cups icing sugar
1 cup shredded coconut for top [optional]
• Combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Whisk well to aerate the mixture and set it aside.
• Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and set them aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well.
• Add extracts and beat to combine.
• Gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with the coconut milk.
• Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
• Pour the batter into a parchment lined 9x13 inch metal baking pan.
• Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• To make the coconut frosting, beat the butter, coconut milk, vanilla, and the coconut extract until fluffy.
• Gradually add the icing sugar and beat at high speed for 4-5 minutes. If the frosting is too thick, add a bit more coconut milk. It is important to beat the butter and the icing sugar because the beating incorporates the ingredients. Barely beaten frosting just tastes like icing sugar.
• Let the cake cool down completely before icing the cake.
• Spread the frosting on the cake and sprinkle with shredded coconut if desired.
3 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp coconut extract
1-1/4 cups premium full fat coconut milk
Frosting:
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 Tbsp coconut milk
1 tsp coconut extract
3 cups icing sugar
1 cup shredded coconut for top [optional]
• Combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Whisk well to aerate the mixture and set it aside.
• Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and set them aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well.
• Add extracts and beat to combine.
• Gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with the coconut milk.
• Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
• Pour the batter into a parchment lined 9x13 inch metal baking pan.
• Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• To make the coconut frosting, beat the butter, coconut milk, vanilla, and the coconut extract until fluffy.
• Gradually add the icing sugar and beat at high speed for 4-5 minutes. If the frosting is too thick, add a bit more coconut milk. It is important to beat the butter and the icing sugar because the beating incorporates the ingredients. Barely beaten frosting just tastes like icing sugar.
• Let the cake cool down completely before icing the cake.
• Spread the frosting on the cake and sprinkle with shredded coconut if desired.
