coconut cake

and the most tender, light as air vanilla cake

For my birthday last November, I made myself a quadruple layer coconut raspberry cake — and it was terrible. Jordan will enthusiastically defend that coconut cake and say it was good, but to my standards it’s up there with the worst cakes I’ve ever made. I made the mistake of buying low fat coconut milk because it was the only option at the store that morning, not going to a different store to look for the right coconut milk sealed my fate.

Yesterday I wanted to redeem that coconut cake and make my perfect version. This one does not use coconut milk (I might be forever scarred by the previous mishap), and instead uses a plush and delicate vanilla butter cake as its base. To compliment the airy cake layers I paired it with a cream cheese whipped cream — and to top it off a showering of unsweetened raw coconut flakes. After taking my first bite I couldn’t help but think of those chiffon cream cakes you find at Chinese bakeries. Everything about this cake is soft and unassuming, vanilla and cream are at the forefront and the coconut is a subtle compliment. A sweet redemption 4 months later <3