Triple Coconut Cake

One of my favorite cooking magazines is Cuisine at Home. They always have great recipes, with easy to use instructions and beautiful color pictures. Since my April issue arrived , I have been dying to try out the recipe for the Triple Coconut Cake with Tangy Pineapple Icing. I finally got around to making it Monday night after many trips to the store for the ingredients that I kept forgetting. This cake is truly one of the best I have ever made. Dan, who does not even care for coconut, said it was his favorite. Cuisine at Home's web adress is www.cuisineathome.com

Triple Coconut Cake

1 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

3 tbsp. turbinado sugar

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted

1 1/2 cups cake flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. table salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup cream of coconut

1/4 cup coconut rum

Preheat oven to 350. Coat an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan with butter and tubinado sugar; set aside. Pulse toasted coconut in food processor until fine; set aside. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and ground coconut in a bowl; set aside. Cream butter and sugar on medium speed. Beat until white and fluffy, 5-7 minutes, scraping down the side of the bowl periodically. Add egg; blend on medium speed for 1 minute. Combine the milk, cream of coconut and rum in a cup with a pour spout. Alternately beat the dry and wet mixture, starting and ending with dry. After each addition, mix on low speed for 30 seconds then on medium speed for 1 minute. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan; bake for 35 minutes, then rotate the cake 180 degrees in the oven. Bake 30 minutes longer, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto a rack to cool upside down. transfer to a cutting board, still upside; slice into wedges. Serve with icing and fruit salsa.

To toast the coconut:

Spread the coconut on a paper or microwaveable plate. Zap it on high for 2-3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until it's lightly golden. It will crisp up as it cools.