Dad's Birthday Weekend Coconut Cake

If you live in the United States, the last Saturday, Sunday and Monday in May are known as Memorial Day weekend. If you are a member of my family of origin, those same three days are known as Dad’s Birthday Weekend. For as long as I can remember my siblings and I have spent that weekend with our parents celebrating our father. Not even our college graduations got in the way of Dad blowing out candles and receiving his presents. (Since one party involved a trip to Italy, I won’t complain). These days the brood has expanded but the tradition is alive and well.
A few years ago, when I first gave myself the assignment of birthday cake baker and waited for Dad to place his order, I was a little surprised when he asked for coconut cake with lemon curd. Actually, the lemon was typical since he is a big citrus fan but coconut cake? That is so sweet and so, well, down-home and Southern. My father is a dyed in the Shetland wool (Jewish) Yankee.

Despite taking me to see Gone with the Wind when I was nine, no Scarlett O’Hara style bratty behavior was ever tolerated. No whining, no wallowing, no wilting. When we were little it could be raining and 45 degrees and he’d still expect us to be up for a bike ride in the park, wearing just a heavy sweater. We were often the only family sitting on the beach in sweatshirts as the skies threatened to soak us. And the sound of his “rise and shine!” echoes in my ears every time I sleep in. We were expected to be resourceful, brave and curious.
My father walks fast and eats faster. He doesn’t loll and he doesn’t savor. He never talks about food and doesn’t care about restaurants and their chefs. Food is fuel and if it tastes good, great. When summer comes it is the lady of the house who mans their grill because Dad isn’t a big barbeque fan, even though he is a pretty good cook, having learned to fend for himself when he was a bachelor. Yet, if he had it his way, his diet would consist of the kinds of offerings I’d imagine he ate during his college years in New England. Breakfast would be oatmeal or Cream of Wheat or Cheerios, lunch could be a bowl of cream of tomato soup, a ham sandwich on white, two sugar cookies and a pear, and dinner could easily be a piece of wet, white fish. He is the only person I know who is thrilled with a dinner of Dover sole and string beans. And don’t try to give him a hard time. He’ll just let you know he has more important things to think about and say, “This isn’t my last meal. Who cares?”
In a way I envy him. I think about food way too much and I hate Dover sole. And I do wonder if I have too much time on my hands, allowing me to fully consider every meal I plan on eating and making sure every craving is satisfied.
So, when last weekend was upon us I again offered him the choice of any cake he wanted and he again picked coconut cake with lemon curd. I think there is part of me that interprets his choice of cake as an indication that for his birthday he wants to shed his straight backed ways and sink into something soft and sweet and indulgent. Frankly, I was secretly hoping he’d go for something with chocolate since that is the majority crowd pleaser in this crowd. But Dad’s feeling was, “It’s my birthday and if you’re going to ask me what I want I’m going to tell you and this is what I want.”

Okay then. It has taken me a few years to find the recipes I like best for the various components this cake requires. The actual cake is a yellow cake but I’ve swapped out the regular milk and used coconut milk instead. It infuses the whole thing with just enough of a hint of coconut without being overpowering. If you are not a fan of lemon curd the batch of Seven Minute Frosting certainly provides enough to fill between the layers and it would be good if you sprinkled some of the sweetened coconut in there as well.
While I was frosting the cake my audience, aka Niece One, announced her plans to avoid the “lemony part” because it is “yucky and too sour.” Meanwhile, when the cake was cut she devoured every crumb on her plate and proclaimed it “the best cake you ever made!” Winning her over felt even better than cutting my father a second piece. Happy Birthday Dad! Next year in Venice?
Dad's Birthday Weekend Coconut Cake
Printer Friendly Version

Cake, Adapted from Food and Wine, June 2007
Ingredients-Cake
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut milk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Directions-Cake
Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper; butter and dust with flour.

In a bowl, mix the 3 cups of flour, baking powder and salt. In a cup, mix the coconut milk with the vanilla. Set aside.

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter at medium speed until light and creamy. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy, 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl. Beat in the dry ingredients in 3 batches, alternating with the milk mixture and scraping down the bowl.
Scrape the batter into the pans.
Bake in the lower third of the oven for about 35 minutes, until springy. Let cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and invert onto a rack. Peel off the paper, turn the cakes upright and cool completely.
Lemon Curd
Ingredients-Lemon Curd Filling
¾ cup strained fresh lemon juice
1 stick unsalted butter
¾ cup granulated sugar
6 egg yolks

Directions-Lemon Curd Filling
Combine lemon juice, butter and sugar in a heavy enamel pan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally.
Whisk the yolks in a bowl and whisk in ½ cup of the hot lemon mixture. Return the remaining lemon mixture to a simmer and whisk the yolk mixture back in to it. Continue whisking for 3-4 minutes, until the lemon curd has thickened, coats the back of a spoon and shows a slight simmer around the edge of the pan.
Do not allow it to boil or it may curdle.
Pour the lemon curd into a heat proof glass or other nonreactive bowl and press plastic wrap against the surface. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours until cold and very thick.
Seven Minute Frosting
From Epicurious, March 2007
Ingredients-Frosting
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut (about 1/2 of a 7oz bag)

Directions-Frosting
In large metal bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup water, sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt. Set bowl over pan of barely simmering water and mix with handheld electric mixer at low speed. Gradually increase speed to high, beating until mixture holds stiff peaks, about 5 minutes.

Transfer bowl from pan to folded kitchen towel on counter and continue beating until mixture is cool and billowy, about 2 minutes more.
Beat in vanilla. (Frosting can be made 4 hours ahead and chilled, covered.)
Directions-Frosting Cake
Place several pieces of wax paper strips in sunburst pattern on serving platter or frosting turn table
Place one cake layer on top of wax paper strips
Place one cup of lemon curd filling on top of cake layer. Using a spatula (offset is best) spread curd across cake leaving one inch border of cake to prevent curd from spilling over cake layer.

Place second cake layer on top of first layer. If top layer feels like it is sliding anchor it to bottom layer with wooden skewer cut in half. Remember to remove before serving.
Frost cake with Seven Minute Frosting
then liberally sprinkle top with shredded coconut. Toss coconut along side of cake--it will stick to frosting.
Carefully remove wax paper strips (look how neat your cake plate/turntable is!) Chill for a bit before serving to make slicing easier.

Yield: one 9 inch layer cake (16 slices)

Pushing Summer Strawberry Shortcakes

Summer is my favorite season and I’m not completely sure why because, like birthdays, the expectations run high and the disappointments can take you down low. But I can’t help myself. Every year I look forward to the weather warming up and the sun delivering its shiny dose of happiness. S.A.D., be gone!

As a child, summer is all about a break from homework and the release from the restlessness of being indoors. Even as an adult you can’t help but succumb to that school’s out for summer vacation-y, anything is possible feeling. Although I remember a certain summer where the pressure was worse than any I’d experienced during a school semester; the year I graduated from college and was forced to face up to what I’d done a pretty good job at avoiding, real life. While my friends jumped on their bikes or hopped on planes bound for European trains, I stayed put—too nervous about finding a job to take those few weeks to explore. As if a month Eurailing would de-rail my entire future.
So, living back at my parents’ apartment and feeling that sea of time with no buoys feeling, I started my job search. It seemed like every day I put on my lapel-less, shoulder padded, red, linen, Working Girl, power suit, waded though the humidity to the subway station at 96th & Lexington and headed to an employment agency or informational meeting with the friend of a family friend, handed over my internship-stuffed resume and hoped for the best. Only to climb up those same subway stairs a few hours later, blow dried hair fully surrendering to the Israeli folk dancer lurking within, silk shirt stuck to my back, pantyhose digging into my waist. And who thought a linen suit was a smart fabric choice for presenting my best, buttoned up self? By the time I arrived anywhere I looked like a used dish rag. Maybe that’s why I didn’t find a job until October when I traded linen for wool.
It’s been over twenty years since that hideous, nerve wracking, waste of a summer. I don’t think women even wear sheer pantyhose anymore, unless they’re flight attendants. Unfortunately, this year’s crew of college graduates is facing an employment environment not unlike the one we faced in the late 80’s. Yet somehow they seem to have a whole lot more swagger (or is that entitlement?) than I remember being able to summon up back in the day. Still, I can’t say I envy them.
Okay, this is getting way too nostalgic and I’d like to focus on this summer. As always, we’re being pushy by ringing it in with Memorial Day, about a month before the official start of the season. Oh, and let’s take a minute to acknowledge what the day is all about. Don’t you find that holidays just turn into days off from the regular grind without any attention paid to why you have the day off in the first place? On Monday why not pause for a minute and think about all those who’ve served and lost their lives for our country. When you really stop and take it all in it’s such an overwhelming concept. I can’t imagine making it through basic training much less fighting in any kind of combat. Now I’m thinking about Private Benjamin but really, it’s much more serious than that and between Iraq and Afghanistan there are a lot of men, women (and their families) who have made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. They deserve some thought. As a wise man once wrote, "attention must be paid."
Oh dear. Now I’ve been nostalgic and depressing when I was supposed to be explaining why summer is my favorite season. Unemployment? War? What’s there to love? Well, there’s sand, surf, ice cream cones, long, warm days, barbequing, the smell of suntan lotion, bad top 40 hits, blockbuster popcorn movies, picnics, lobster, sweet corn, tomatoes that taste like tomatoes, and all of my favorite fruits! First up are strawberries.
When you bite into a locally grown strawberry, as opposed to the steroidal berries that come to you in a plastic box straight from Plant City, FL (I love that there is a place called Plant City), it is hard to believe they are both members of the same species, fragaria ananassa. I usually think of June as prime strawberry time but they hit the markets within the last week and I am not waiting one minute longer to celebrate them. Of course eating them like candy straight from the box (after a quick rinse) is fantastic. I also love them with vanilla ice cream topped with balsamic vinegar and even some cracked pepper. Anything that keeps them in their raw, juicy state is great. But summer wouldn’t be summer without strawberry shortcake. There are lots of ways to pull this off but I’m a fan of the individual shortcake, whipped cream, berry composition (no surprise there since I can control each cream to berry to cake forkful) as opposed to the slices of cake or one mega biscuit to be split among the group.
This recipe is great because you can make the components a few hours ahead of time and put them together right before serving. Letting the juices soak into the bottom of the cakes for just a bit before piling on the cream, more berries and the top of the cakes is key for me. Yay, I’m excited about summer again. Oh wait, next month is my birthday. Ugh. Strawberry shortcake, please! And make mine a double.
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties, 2001, by Ina Garten
Printer Friendly Version
Ingredients-Shortcakes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), diced
2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup heavy cream, chilled

1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water or milk, for egg wash

Ingredients-Filling
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 pounds strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered (depending on berry size) to medium size slices
5 tablespoons sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl toss strawberries with the 5 Tablespoons of sugar and set aside to allow juices to develop for at least 30 minutes. If you are doing this for use later in the day, refrigerate until ready to use.
Meanwhile, sift the flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, the baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

On lowest speed blend in the butter until the butter is the size of peas.
Combine the eggs and heavy cream and quickly add to the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough will be very sticky.
Turn out dough onto a very well-floured surface. Flour your hands (a lot) and pat the dough out 3/4-inch thick. You want to see pieces of butter in the dough.

Cut 6 biscuits with a 2 3/4-inch cutter (fluted looks nicest), pushing cutter straight into dough and lifting straight up (do not twist or shortcake won't rise) and place on a prepared baking sheet.

Brush the tops with the egg wash. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, the outside will be crisp and firm to touch. Cool on a wire rack.
While shortcakes cool, whip the cream and 2 Tablespoons of sugar together until soft peaks form. Add the vanilla and continue to beat until the peaks are stiff.

Split each shortcake in half crosswise and place the bottom half on its own plate. Distribute 1/2 the strawberries and their juices over the bottom half of shortcakes, add generous dollops of whipped cream, more berries and top with reserved shortcake tops. OR make your shortcakes open faced and just use one half, top with berries and then whipped cream. Either way, yum.

Yield: 6 Strawberry Shortcakes with tops or 12 opened face.

NOTE: While Ina Garten has you pat out and cut the dough I should say that it is a bit challenging. (Hence why I didn't take any photos, my hands were covered in shortcake.) If your dough is super sticky I don't see why you can't use a big spoon to pull 6 large pieces away from the mound OR use your hands and pat lightly. You want to handle the dough as little as possible because there is so much liquid in it and too much playing with it will really activate the gluten in the flour and give you a tough shortcake.

Saturday Make Your Own Sundae Sauces

In the past month I have been to three Bar Mitzvahs, thus doubling the number I have attended in my life time. For someone who grew up in New York City, is Jewish, and is in her 40’s that is a pretty pitiful record. When I revealed my lack of experience in the coming-of-age ceremony of my people to my fellow celebrants, they were shocked. I actually don’t find it that surprising. Being a Jewish teenager in the single-sex, private school world I was a part of was an entirely different experience in the 1970’s than I believe it is now—it was something about your identity that just kind of existed but wasn’t something you purposely drew attention to. I’m not really sure why. And, it was in stark contrast to the kids in the suburbs with whom I spent my summers at camp. Those girls had Bat Mitzvahs, practiced Hebrew on portable tape decks in the bunk, received Cross pens and personalized Lucite clip boards as gifts, and talked about their Torah portions. And it was a totally secular camp. Oddly, I felt like I wasn’t Jewish enough during those eight weeks in Maine and felt conspicuously Jewish the rest of the year.
What I was so struck by, at the services I attended in the last month, was how joyful and celebratory they were. The boys’ friends seemed so comfortable and full of pride. I was envious. There didn’t seem to be any ambivalence when they all leapt to their feet and followed the Bar Mitzvah boys (it was a double whammy, they were twin brothers) around the sanctuary in a rousing dance, they sang along to the Hebrew songs and followed enthusiastically in the prayer books. And, despite having gone to “Wednesday school” at our Reform synagogue through ninth grade, the year we were “confirmed,” I don’t remember any Hebrew and know no songs. I felt totally out of it.
According to my co-guests, the parties were relatively low-key (but lovely) in comparison to some of the over-the-top shindigs you hear about parents giving their 13 year old kids. One friend told me of a family that transformed an enormous, trendy venue into a Moroccan fantasia dubbed “Callie’s Casbah”, complete with live camels! Yet, even in their calmer states, the celebrations were far and above what my siblings had experienced. Yes, I was not a Bat Mitzvah but my younger sister was, because she is a classicist and wanted to study ancient Hebrew. We celebrated her efforts with a family luncheon. And it was always expected that my brother would be a Bar Mitzvah (sexist? Maybe) but even his party consisted of a group of friends and a caricaturist chez Mom and Dad.
So, there was no “Look at us! We’re Jews!!!” when I was a kid. But then again, there are a lot of things that weren’t going on when I was young. Like the get-ups some of these 7th grade girls thought were appropriate. Let’s remember that it was lunchtime; I don’t know about you but I usually wait until dark to break out the gold sequins. I’m also more comfortable when my skirt actually covers my rear. Thank goodness no one dropped anything because none of these girls was in any condition to bend over and retrieve it. The comments coming from my friends missed the point, “Can you believe their mothers let them walk out of the house like that?!” Hello? Who do you think bought the outfit in the first place?!
Everyone talks about how kid-focused our culture is today: from strollers that look like (and cost as much as) an SUV to tutors for anything and everything starting at six months. One thing that I am actively jealous of is the “Kids’ Menu.” Recently, a restaurant opened in Park Slope to much fan fare. Until the patrons realized there was nothing child friendly for their children to eat and made a big stink. And the restaurant responded! I don’t remember any special menu when I was a kid! The thinking was if I was too young to enjoy what the grown-ups ate I was too young to go to a restaurant.
Anyway, not knowing about the prevalence of the Kids’ Menu I completely mis-ate at the Bar Mitzvah parties. Who knew the kids had their own dining room and I could have been eating mac n’ cheese instead of salmon? What a treat! And it wasn’t until I had polished off a piece of chocolate cake (shaped like the open scrolls of the Torah!), a chocolate chip cookie, and a mini-brownie that I learned of the make-your-own-sundae bar. What?! I love making my own sundaes! But even I couldn’t justify a fourth dessert.
I figure I have about three years until my next Bar Mitzvah invitation so I won’t have to confront my religious demons again until then. But next time I’ll be armed with the knowledge that with a little snooping I might be able to nab a chicken finger or two. In the meantime, I can practice my sundae making skills—along with my Hebrew.Note: Obviously, this is my ideal sundae and you should do what makes you happiest. What I chose is a scoop of mint ice cream, topped with the fudge sauce, whipped cream, and sliced almonds AND a scoop of coffee ice cream, topped with the caramel sauce, whipped cream, and chopped hazelnuts. Don't give me hard time about buying cream in a can--there is something about spraying whipped cream which is so much more satisfying than plopping it from a bowl. And it looks prettier. (At least I didn't buy Reddi-Wip! This stuff is all-natural.) I'm also a big fan of fruit and chocolate so my next sundae will be strawberry ice cream and hot fudge!
Saturday Make Your Own Sundae Sauces
from Martha Stewart Everyday Food, June 2010
Printer Friendly Version
Fudge Sauce
Ingredients
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 Tablespoons sweet butter, cut into small pieces
3 ounces (1/2 cup) semi sweet chocolate chips
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate (I used one square of Baker's)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of coarse salt

Directions
Combine sugar and cream in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
When mixture boils stir often until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes.
Add butter and chocolates
and stir until chocolate melts and is smooth, 2 minutes.
Stir in vanilla and salt.
Yield: 1 cup

Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
1/2 cup light-brown sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 Tablespoons sweet butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of coarse salt

Directions
Combine sugar, cream and butter in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat
Cook, stirring until butter melts and mixture is smooth.
Reduce to a simmer and stir occasionally for 5 minutes.
Stir in vanilla extract and salt.
Yield: 2/3 cup