August 30, 2012

Caymanian Honey Cake



It's the return of the Baking Club!  This month, we decided to have a tropical farewell to summer with a Cayman Islands flair!  I was fortunate to spend many summers in the beautiful Cayman Islands with my family, so I was especially excited about this month's recipe shared by our very own Caymanian blogger at the Deep Dish.


So, let's get started.  We have a moist honey cake with pecans that is infused with pineapple and coconut flavor.  For those of you not big on coconut, it's more of a light pineapple and coconut flavor, and it does not taste like a piña colada.  The cake it is topped with a thin cream cheese frosting, which has a hint of coconut.  And, because we're going tropical here, the cake is sprinkled with shredded coconut.

This cake contains coconut oil.  Coconut oil: one of the best kept secrets of the tropics.  Coconut oil has often received a bad rap for being fattening and unhealthy because it consists of 90% saturated fat.  The truth always comes out, and the truth about coconut oil finally is here!  Coconut oil is full of naturally occurring saturated fat, which brings health benefits such as improving heart health, increasing metabolism, boosting the thyroid, supporting the immune system, aiding in calcium absorption, and promoting a lean body (um, yes!!!).  (Plus, when you apply it to your skin, it has been found to have anti-aging effects.)  Heat destroys the antioxidants in oils like safflower, canola, and sunflower oils.  But, coconut oil is stable enough to resist heat-induced damage--making it a very smart oil to use.

I love using coconut oil, and it does not infuse the coconut flavor into your food.  It enhances the flavor of foods, but it does not overpower the food.  This was my first time trying it in baking, and it worked great!

In my view, frosting is the best part of the cake, so I made the glaze thicker so it would be more of a thinner frosting.  The recipe below is for the standard glaze.  If you would like to make it more into a frosting, just add another tablespoon of cream cheese and milk and sugar as needed.  Taste and adjust - you're looking for something that tastes sweet yet tangy. :)  Because this cake had the tropical theme going, I sprinkled it with some shredded coconut.

When you are jonesing for a tropical escape, this cake will help.  Be sure to check out the tropical creations of my fellow bloggers over at the Deep Dish, the Orgasmic Chef, and From My Sweet Heart!

Oh, and because this is a bundt cake, how can I resist this classic clip?

Caymanian Honey Cake

Ingredients:
Cake:
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup water
1 cup honey
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup coconut oil*
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. all spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. coconut extract

Glaze Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 tbsp. confectioners sugar, plus extra if needed
2 tbsp. milk, plus extra if needed
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. coconut extract
Shredded coconut, if desired

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325º.  Grease and flour bundt cake pan; set aside.

Combine pineapple juice and water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil.  Stir in baking soda, and set aside.

Combine sugar, eggs, coconut oil, and honey in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Beat at medium speed with electric mixer until well blender.  Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in a separate bowl; add to cream mixed.  Add pineapple mixture, pecans, vanilla extract, and coconut extract.  Bake for 1 hour until toasted brown.  Allow to cool before frosting.

For the the glaze frosting, beat the cream cheese with the powdered sugar until smooth and light.  Add milk, vanilla, and coconut extract.  Drizzle the glaze over the cake, and sprinkle with shredded coconut, if desired.

* Note: You can substitute vegetable oil or canola oil, if desired.

Source: Cake adapted and slightly modified from the Deep Dish; Glaze frosting is a Simply Sweet Justice Original

4 comments:

  1. Dude...I'm now regretting going for the watermelon cake recipe.

    THIS LOOKS FREAKING AWESOME!!!

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  2. Your cake looks sooooo good!! Sounds like the perfect blend of flavours too...making me salivate! Cayman sounds like such an exotic and beautiful place to visit, hope I can one day!

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  3. What a fantastic cake! After my disaster on tropical desserts I'm packing a fork and coming to your house. Nothing but a fork - maybe a spoon. :)

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  4. Sorry to be late to the party but I am finally here! And just in time because this cake looks AMAZING! I love love love coconut. I try to sneak it in everywhere. But oddly, I've never used coconut oil in baking yet. So I'm glad to read your stats on it. Your cake looks so scrumptious and I am glad you decided to cover it in COCONUT!!! : )

    ReplyDelete

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