Blackberry Coconut Cake with Buttercream Frosting - Writer in the Kitchen
This delectable three-layer cake is moist, light, and absolutely one of the best cakes I've ever tasted. It was made in my kitchen, so I'm obviously biased, but it is beyond good. Of course, we all have the talented baker at Sally's Baking Addiction to thank for the original recipe. That's right, our "test" kitchen took this one for a ride, made a couple of modifications, and we're never going to look at coconut cake the same way. If you don't want the berry puree layers, check out her post for the original recipe and a video.
I like to use as many natural and fresh ingredients as possible. Quality ingredients make a big difference in the final product, and I've found that using them produces a richer dish with a more robust flavor. This results in greater satisfaction with smaller portions, which also increases the number of servings.
Because the berry puree went to the edge of each layer, a little ended up showing through. My goodness, this cake is good.
I went with Bob's Red Mill unbleached white fine pastry flour; I prefer it to standard cake flour.
Thanks to the hard work on the original recipe, this cake is a fluffy masterpiece. The berry layer was originally an experiment. I don't normally enjoy fruit with cake (there are exceptions), but I wanted something to smooth or balance out the coconut and butter.
Going back to the star of this post . . . the cake! The buttercream frosting is not as heavy as one might expect. Her recipe is perfectly balanced so it doesn't taste too buttery or too heavy on the coconut.
Yeah, kind of obsessed with this cake.
Really obsessed. Chocolate is usually my top pick for cakes, but this one now has a place on my all-time favorite list.
Whether enjoy this treat for afternoon tea or an after-dinner dessert (always with a good book at your side), I'm positive you won't regret trying it (except maybe my editor, who doesn't care for coconut).
For your convenience, you can download a PDF of the recipe here.
Enjoy!
Featured Book
Clayton's Honor
a British Agent Novel
Journey to Ireland and England in this dazzling story of danger, honor, and undeniable love.
Would you give up duty for the sake of your honor?
On the windswept shorts of Ireland, Anne Doyle lost her father to a foolish war and her mother to madness. Left with debt and an ancient family home, she struggles to keep the rest of her family together even as an enemy attempts to take them away. After witnessing a brutal murder, Anne must enlist aid from the only family she has left if she is to save those she loves.
Devon Clayton had no intentions of leaving behind his life of adventure and danger, but when he is charged with protecting a witness and her family, he must choose between duty to the country he serves and a woman who tests his honor and willingness to change.
Together they will discover that nothing is what it seems and that without honor, love and life are for nothing.
