Georgia & Susan's Charming Coconut Cake Recipe

Oh, ya'll. If I could, I'd send you all a piece of this heaven. It's my mom's coconut cake (you remember the mom and her red-velvet concoction? This is on the same level). The recipe originated with my great-grandmother Georgia, and since her passing, my mom has spent the past 20 some odd years figuring out just how Georgia did it. And Mom has nailed it, I tell ya.

I've placed it in my blog's "Easy Recipes" category, but this isn't the easiest in the bunch, to be honest. It involves fresh coconuts and their milk, and takes about two days from start to finish. Nevertheless, IT IS SO WORTH IT.

This year's cake was especially amazing--"shut-your-mouth good," as my sister-in-law would say. Print it out and keep it for a special occasion. You'll be so glad you did.

Fresh Coconut Cake

3 cups cake flour

2 cups sugar

5 eggs

8 oz butter

1/3 cup Crisco

1 cup evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 coconuts (shake to make sure they're full of milk)

Cream butter, sugar, and Crisco. Add eggs, one at a time. Add flour and milk alternately. Add vanilla. Make 4 layers. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes.

Grate coconut and save milk. Make 7-Minute Icing.

7-Minute Icing

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp lemon juice or 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

2 egg whites

4 tbsp cold water

1/2 tsp vanilla

Boil ingredients until a soft ball is formed. Pour over egg whites and beat. (Beat egg whites first.) Pour coconut milk over layers. Then spread icing and sprinkle coconut until layers and sides are covered.

Mom Feezor’s Red-Velvet Cake Recipe

When my friend Nichole at Little Brown Pen wrote about her discovery and new love for the very southern White Lily Flour, I popped her an email to tell her to keep some left over so she could make my mom's unbelievable Red-Velvet Cake recipe. And she did--see her version in cupcake form here (gorgeous!).

This cake is a beloved tradition in my family, particularly around the holidays. We CRAVE it; both my brothers even request it for their birthday cakes each year (that's what I get for not living near home...). I asked my mom about the recipe, which is more than 60 years old. Here's what she had to say:

"When I was growing up, this cake was always a special Christmas treat made by Edna Shuping, a friend of my mother and dad's. After I got married, I decided that I wanted to learn to make it myself (especially since I always loved to bake). I wanted to have it as a tradition in our family as well, so my mom got the recipe from Edna for me and the rest is history."

"I really like the flavor and the color--don’t be intimidated by the amount of red food coloring, as it simply helps create the very lush red. It’s also one of the few cakes you put vinegar in; it counteracts the cocoa and the buttermilk. They all work well together."

And here's the bonus: "I love sharing the recipe. That’s what cooking’s all about."

That said, here you go folks. Enjoy! (And thanks, Mom...)

RED VELVET CAKE RECIPMOM FEEZOR'S ASTONISHING RED-VELVET CAKE

1 cup Crisco                                           1 ½ cup sugar

2 eggs                                                      2 oz red food coloring

1 tsp vanilla                                            1 tsp soda

2 tbsp cocoa                                           1 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk                                    2 ¼ cups cake flour

1 tsp vinegar

Cream shortening. Add sugar, eggs, food coloring and vanilla; cream again. Sift flour and add other dry ingredients. Sift again. Combine with sugar mixture along with buttermilk and vinegar. Bake in 3 greased and floured 9" pans for 20 minutes at 350˚.

When cake is cool, frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

 CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 lb package confectioners sugar                  8 oz softened cream cheese

1 stick margarine (softened)                           1 tsp almond flavoring

Combine butter, cream cheese and almond flavoring. Cream well. Add confectioners sugar gradually. If mixture is too thick, add a small amount of milk.

Can I tell you a secret?

I recently met up in Manhattan with a girlfriend who works in the foodie world, and she let me in on a sweet (and spicy) secret: Union Square Cafe has some of the city's best most beloved bar snacks--and they're not easy to come by.

We were having a late lunch on a Saturday at the Vietnamese joint Bao, and afterward, had a little time on our hands. So, naturally, we decided to grab one more glass of wine (the best use of found-time in my book). She casually mentioned that she had "heard that Union Square Cafe had a really good bar." So we steered toward the cafe--and little did I know that we weren't going for the wine...we were going for the mixed nuts.

And oh, these aren't just any mixed nuts. These are nuts that you have to know about to even get a taste. For one, they're not on the menu and you can only ask for them at the bar. You also have to know that they're only made once a day, that they're served warm between 4:45 - 5pm, and that when they're gone, they're gone. But once you know about these scrumptious bar snacks, you know that it's totally worth all the hoops you have to jump through to get them.

Unless you're my friend. Being one of the most in-the-know foodies that I know, she also shared the secret to getting around all these complications: make them at home using the cafe's special recipe (which she also just happens to know).

And now we do, too. Enjoy!

Union Square Cafe's Spiced Nuts

Assorted unsalted nuts (cashews, peanuts, pecans, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts)

2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp unsalted butter

Place the nuts on a baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (or when you start to smell them). While the nuts are roasting, place cayenne pepper, brown sugar, salt, rosemary, and butter in a bowl. After nuts are roasted, pour them into the bowl and toss (the heat from roasted nuts will melt the butter). Serve. Swoon.

So easy I could scream: Chocolate Ricotta Mousse

After a recent trip to Houston to visit my friend Courtney, I was inspired by her masterful use of ricotta (her sweetest trick: a scoop of ricotta, a fresh slices of peach, and a little drizzle of honey--heaven!). When I returned home, I immediately went on a quest to find any and every recipe that uses this simple ingredient. Unsurprisingly, one of the best ones I found was in my good friend Real Simple mag. Try it now and thank me later.

CHOCOLATE RICOTTA MOUSSE

Ingredients

• 1 15-ounce container ricotta (about 2 cups)


• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar


• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted, plus more, shaved, for topping

Directions

1. In a food processor, blend the ricotta, sugar, and melted chocolate until smooth.


2. Divide among bowls and top with the shaved chocolate. (The mousse can be refrigerated until ready to serve, up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

P.S. Another great find? Honey-Tomato Bruschetta with Ricotta from Food & Wine.

Photo via RealSimple.com