(828) 393-8203
I’m exaggerating but her church lady friends were always picking her up to go somewhere, usually to the coast to eat seafood! To repay them, she always spent several days during the Christmas holiday baking a number of her “famous” Coconut Cakes”. It was a delicious gift that they always looked forward to. In a little old cookbook, “Come and Dine”, published by her church many years ago, I found her Coconut Cake recipe and her fabulous cooked Divinity Icing. Having made it many times, I can assure it is fabulous. I tweaked the cake recipe a little bit to fit today’s newly designed Duncan Hines 15.25-oz. mixes. Her cooked icing makes a lot, so you can be generous when spreading it between the cake layers. It is also great on other cakes. But, in case you don’t want to make the cooked icing, included is a standard, delicious Buttercream Icing thst works just as well.
Bon Appetit and Happy Mother’s Day!
Mother Evans’ Coconut Cake with Divinity Icing
CAKE:
1 box Duncan Hines Butter Cake Mix (or your favorite butter cake mix)
1, 3.4
oz. pkg. Vanilla instant pudding & Pie filling Mix
2/3 cup whole buttermilk
Pinch of baking soda
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks (save the
whites for icing)
1 tsp. vanilla
DIVINITY ICING:
1½ cups granulated sugar
¼ cup white Karo syrup
3 large egg whites
(saved from mixing cake)
Pinch of cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
Flaked coconut
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease
and flour 3, 9-inch cake pans. (I always also line with waxed paper for “insurance. In mixing bowl, combine: cake mix,
dry pudding mix, pinch of baking soda, buttermilk, eggs and egg yolks and vanilla. Beat on low speed until moistened, about
10 seconds. Then raise the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. (I use a timer). Pour the batter evenly into the 3 prepared cake
pans and bake in center of oven for about 20 to 25 minutes. Check center with a toothpick at 20 minutes. Cool cake layers on wire
cooling rack for about 15 minutes. Then invert onto cooling racks and remove waxed paper liners. (if using). Cool completely
while making icing.
DIVINITY ICING:
1½ cups sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup ( Karo)
¼ tsp. salt
Pinch of Cream of Tartar
3 large egg whites (saved from mixing
cake)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flaked coconut
In a heavy, medium size saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup , salt, cream of tartar
and egg whites. With a hand mixer, beat on low for about 1 minute till well combined. Then increase speed to medium and cook,
beating constantly on medium for 7 minutes, until nice and fluffy and it stands up in soft peaks. Remove from heat and add the vanilla.
After
cake layers are cool, place 1 layer upside down on cake plate. (I put little strips
BASIC BUTTERCREAM ICING
This is a frosting you’ll want to keep and used frequently.
Easy for cupcakes too, with different flavorings..
1
cup butter, softened
1 lb. box powdered sugar (sifted to remove any lumps)
1/4 tsp. salt (if using unsalted butter)
2 to 4 Tbsp. milk
or cream
2 tsp. vanilla