I think it Snowed over my Cake..oops!
Finally, the most beautiful time of the year is here..well almost!Merry Christmas to all of you!! When the jingling bells sound all the more merry against the chilly wind, when the decorations augment the beauty of snow laden drive down the street and when the gifts of Santa always leave you craving for more.I just love all of it.Though for us Christmas is not a main festival but the fervour around us is so contagious that we could not keep ourselves away from it for long.We bought our share of the gifts,chocolates,candies christmas wreaths,decorations, I baked lot of cookies in past two weeks and here I m with my Christmas cake in this post.I can spend whole day in shops now a days just checking out the aisles and I can live on cakes & chocolates for some 2-3 days or so.No wonder December is DELIGHTFUL!
Dry Fruits +Nuts +Candied Fruits = YUM!!!!
Now, getting on to the fact that why I baked such a (non)traditional cake for my Christmas.Alright, to cut the long story short, I m married to a sweet guy who wants the most untraditional things at times when old-fashioned ways should be the spotlight.Like he wants to eat a chocolate mousse as a Diwali dessert when Indian sweets are popular choice to grace the table,he will order a salad over a soup for a chilly, cold Sunday supper and on Christmas when I wanted to bake a traditional fruit cake and had already started my preparations,rum-soaking the fruits about a week ago etc,he had a request..a cake with LOTS of butter and LOTS of coconut. Coconut part was noted.However,Lots of butter did sound deadly.He has a very straightforward logic as per which a dessert should taste like dessert-rich, sweet, gooey & sinful.Well, okay! 
But, I m not complaining, mainly coz being married to this guy, I get to experiment a lot,I have to find ways to incorporate the best of our tastes in a single dish and most of all I enjoy it a lot..its quite interesting and challenging to satiate our individual cravings for ingredients in food!Its fun and learning at times to play with flavors that we often think might not mingle…for example when I found the coconut cake recipe[mentioned below] with rum, I was thrilled! Since childhood, I am conditioned to eating a rum laden, plum-cake on Christmas which deck up all little bakeries in Delhi as christmas neared, and though my mom hardly baked one, she never forgot to buy it on Christmas eve!
A week back ,I soaked dry fruits, nuts and some candied fruits in a rum & orange juice.So somehow I had to find a way to give the coconut cake a touch of those soaked fruits…I was sure to that! Though I was lured to,but did not add any spices to it at that time, it turned out to be a wise move otherwise they would have interfered with sweet & mild taste of coconut…Oh Thank Heaven! One way was to mix it in the cake batter, but I wanted a neat looking cake interior so dropped it.Finally I layered the fruit and nut mix inside the cakes…sweet & simple.There are few firsts to be acknowledged before going on to the recipe.This is my First layered cake ever.It is also one of the first cakes I baked for christmas…else all the holidays were spent in a vacation each year.Below goes the recipe.Dont forget to see the notes at the end!!
Verdict on this labour Intensive Cake [are mandatory]: It was a very soft cake. The first thing you taste is light spirit of rum and then coconut takes over and remains there for a while, the fruit bits provide a bite till the end!I still feel like going back to the leftovers in the fridge while I write this.I kept the fruit and nuts coarsely chopped for that bite I m talking about.I had a little leftover frosting which can be served as a dollop on side.Afterall, who doesnt like that binge on extra frosting! I bet you cant say no!
Adapted from here [Tyler Florence Recipe]
For the Cake :
Makes 2 nos 9″ cakes
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup fine coconut flakes, sweetened
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 extra-large eggs whites
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 3 tbsp dark rum
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
Cake Filling :
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup cold heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup coconut powder
- 1 cup Fruit and nut mix [recipe below]
Cake Frosting :
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tbsp coconut milk [if required,adjust as per requirement]
- 3 cups confectioners sugar
- 2.5 cups sweetened coconut flakes
How I did it:
- Preheat oven to 325 F. Line two 9″ baking pans with parchment paper and brush some butter on it.
- In a bowl,sift the flour, cornstarch and salt.Set aside.
- Beat the egg whites untill stiff peaks are formed.
- Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add the sugar all at once and beat until incorporated.You will need to scrape down the sides.
- Mix in the coconut milk, rum and extract.
- To the milk mix, slowing add the flour mix and keep on beating on a low-speed until well combined.
- Fold in the beaten egg whites and coconut flakes gently.
- Pour batter evenly among the prepared pans. Smooth the tops with a spatula.
- Bake the pans on the center rack of the oven for 26-32 minutes. Mine took 32 minutes.Test the centre with a skewer if it comes out clean.
- Remove the pans from the oven and cool in the pans for 15 minutes.
- Invert the cakes onto cooling rack. Remove the parchment paper and cool completely. I left the cakes overnight for cooling.
Preparing the Filling: [on the assembling day]
- Using a hand mixer, beat the whipped cream on medium speed untill stiff peaks are formed, adding sugar gradually.
- Once beaten, fold in the coconut powder.
- Refrigerate until ready to assemble the cake.
Preparing the Frosting:[on the assembling day]
- Cream the butter and cream cheese using a mixer.
- Slowly add the confectioners sugar and beat on low-speed until soft to stiff peaks start forming.You should be able to spread the frosting.If not add a tablespoon of coconut milk, if required.
Fruit and nut mix
- 4 tbsp chopped dried dates
- 2 tbsp chopped dried apricots
- 4 tbsp black currants
- 3 tbsp chopped almonds
- 3 tbsp candied cherries[ I used both green & red colored]
- 2 tbsp candied pineapple
- 3 tbsp fresh orange peel, julians
- 2 tbsp lime juice +1/2 cup orange juice + 4 tbsp dark rum [for soaking]
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
Finely chop all the dry fruits, nuts and candied fruits.Stuff into an air tight container.Mix the salt and sugar with the orange juice mix.Pour over the dry fruit mix and let soak for at least 5 days.Do not forget to shake the container twice a day! When you need to use it, drain the juices and discard or use in baking elsewhere.
Assembling the cake:
- Tranfer one of the cooled cake to the serving board or the cake platter.Push some tissues or parchment paper pieces all around the cake bottom such that they cover all of the exposed serving platter.
- Using a spatula, spread the filling on the cake top leaving at least 2 ” boundary from all sides.Follow by a layer of drained fruit and nut mix. Sprinkle more of coconut powder if you want.
- Put the second cake on top such that both the cakes are concentric edge to edge.
- Evenly spread the frosting on the top and sides of the cake.Use the 2 cups of coconut flakes to cover the top and sides of the cake, gently pressing to stick. Follow by some decorations or candies if you wish to.
- Once covered in coconut, remove all of the tissue papers from the sides.’
Notes:
- Caution : This is a labour intensive cake so do not plan it on a lazy day
- I recommend not making the frosting and filling in advance.If refrigerated and used later,its hard to work with.Make it on the day you want to assemble and serve the cake.
- The coconut milk in the cake recipe can be replaced by whole milk.
- If you are using a glass pan for baking the cake,set your oven to 350F and adjust the baking time.
- I did not use the egg yolks in the batter because I wanted a white look.If you wish to, just add them while beating the sugar in the wet ingredients.
- My frosting was slightly tough to spread, so I added milk to smoothen it out.You might not need it.
Merry Christmas Everyone and Happy New Year!!!
ENJOY!!!!
Sending This to 12 days of Bloggie Mass @ A Moderate Life
While it looks beautifully decorated and sooo festive … I am secretly glad that I wouldn’t be tempted to eat it coz I can’t eat anything coconut. But by no means does that imply that your cake is not awesome
Merry Christmas!!!
OMG !!! That looks awesome, as if the cake has been snowed in
That’s so perfect for X’mas! I’m falling in love with it! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
So my hubs loves coconut too!
But I can’t be bothered to make such a labor intensive dessert—I usually make milkmaid coconut laddoos and I’m done–he keeps eating those like a happy child!
Of course the end result looks awesome—I’m sure that cake is/was very very tasty!
Sometimes, when I can’t pawn my sweets off on others, I do live off of them for a few days. So I completely understand why you’d be happy about this most indulgent time of year
Your cake looks delightful – so adorable and delicious.
This sounds absolutely delicious! I am a huge coconut lover, and this cake definitely fits that!
looks delicious, as coconut lover I fill be happy to eat them.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you and your family.
I simply adore coconut cakes this time of year. This looks fantastic! I just made a coconut cake last week and also added some rum to the cake layers. But this fruit and nut addition to the filling is a great holiday treat. Happy Holidays!
what a gorgeous cake that is…looks yum.
That is a gorgeous cake, and it looks delicious too! I hope you have a very merry Christmas!
wow….awesome work done by you….can I grab that plate;)
Have a lovely holiday…!
Well done indeed. That is just so pretty and festive. I’m married to one of those guys too who is game for my culinary adventures! Happy Holidays dear girl!
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Beautiful cake
Love the layers and snow like coconut
OMG the cake looks fantabulous!!! and the awesome clicks too
This is really sinfully frosty, Tanvi! Reminds me of a white chiffon saree I have with tiny red flowers. Gorgeous, just think about me when you cut that cake. I love coconut in my dishes
Mindblowing, am speechless..Wat an elegant cake..
Wow lovely pictures… drooling…
such a gorgeous cake, very lovely and you have done it so beautifully…merry xmas tanvi…
So coconut cake might not be the most traditional cake, but it is so beautiful and just as delicious, I bet! I love the way you decorated it to be christmas-y. The white totally reminds me of snow and it has the green and red decorations. I love coconut cake
Unfortunately my husband doesn’t like coconut though, so I don’t make coconut items very often.
wow what an amazing cake great job
Merry Christmas Tanvi so pleased I found your blog love it
Rebecca
Wow, how very gorgeous and festive!! Happy Holidays!
This cake is SO beautiful!! I had plum cake once before, and it was really good. Yours looks even better.
BTW, you are on “today’s specials” on foodpress! Congrats!
This cake is beautiful! I love it :]
What a gorgeous cake! Not only you used coconut for decoration but also coconut milk. It must be tasted great. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
What a pretty fruit cake- Love the coconut covering – very elegant picture! Merry Christmas!
Stunning Cake! And you made it look so beautiful!
Merry Xmas!!
Ciao
Alessandra
Merry Christmas tanvi! I would lvoe to try this wonderful cake but my father hates coconut! So I’ll have to reserve it for a special occasion that he won’t be at haha. Beautifully frosted though!
The cake looks simply out of this world! You have a great blog!
Tanvi this cake looks perfect, but what I love the most is its cute, little red bells. They are adorable. Merry Christmas to you too!
OMG it’s a awesome delight ! Worth labor for such a beauty!
Tanvi may joy and happiness snow on you, may the bells jingle for you and may Santa be extra good to you! Merry Christmas!
This cake is beautiful, elegant and perfect for the holidays! Sounds like something my mother-in-law would love!
Maybe I’ll make it for her to try. Merry Christmas to you too and have a blessed and wonferful new year too! BYW, thanks for stopping my my blog and left me your greetings and blessings! 
Aint it sooo muc fun being married to a guy whose so game?
And everything topped with ur love!!
I loveee ur cuteeee bell sprinkles/candy sooo muc!
i loveee coconut cakes but i belong to a totally non dessert family of am cutting quantities when baking most of the times!
Oh yeah , there are always takers when u spread the word a little ,else u end up eating soooo muc!
☆♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.♪♫•*¨*•♫♪ ░M░E░R░R░Y░ (¯”•.¸*♥♥♥* ¸.•”¯) ░C░H░R░I░S░T░M░A░S░(¯”•.¸ *♥♥♥* ¸.•”¯) ! ♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪☆
Stunning beauty!!!
Very festive indeed and well done Tanvi. Looks really moist. Wish I could have a slice!
Merry Christmas and happy festive season to you, dear!
Your cake is gorgeous and it looks delicious! Love the decoration and the pictures ! very pretty!
Oh what a beautiful cake for Christmas and very festive decoration, totally gorgeous set up for the Day, Rum orange and dry fruit ….dear you got me hooked…no looking back from this cae….yum…Hope you had a great Christmas
It looks wonderful! Would love to try it! And pictures are so elegant. A perfect Christmas atmosphere!
This is such an interesting looking cake. I love the coconut flakes, covering the entire thing. So delicious! You should consider entering it into Recipe4Living’s 5th Birthday Recipe Contest! The site is turning 5 years old, and we’re giving away a Scharffen Berger gift basket to the top birthday cake that’s submitted!
Wow, what a beautiful cake you have made! I bet it is delicious too!
Thanks for visiting my blog.
Happy New Year!
What amazing pics you have on your blog.. And I do like your style of giving the background of why or what makes you make those sumptious creations…if it were not for my sweet-hating hubby, would have certainly made the cake!
That cake is beautiful and must taste just heavenly! So festive.
Happy New Year!
Cheers,
Rosa
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Wow,wow wow !!!!!!! Look at the colors !
This cake is so utterly beautiful! Sounds pretty darn tasty too