Coconut Cake...Sweet as the Memories!

My Mother's favorite memory of Christmas is the coconut cake that set on the sideboard in their dining room at the farm. She never failed to recall how beautiful it was on the crystal cake stand that had been her Grandmothers. Isn't that why we feel so comforted this time of year when we taste a sweet bite of sugar cookie or fudge, just like we remember Mom used to make? I wish I had a handwritten recipe for the cake, I imagine Grandma used one out of the old cookbooks that she kept in the cabinet above the sink. I inherited those cookbooks, yellowed from age and the pages stained and nicked. I inherited the cake stand as well and every Christmas it holds  a coconut cake that's as sweet as the memories!

Paula Deen's Coconut Cake  Print Recipe

from her newest cookbook Southern Cooking Bible

For the cake:
1 box (18 1/4 ounces) yellow cake mix
Whole milk, as called for by cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
12 ounces canned or frozen shredded coconut

For the Frosting:
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons light corn syrup or 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans with butter, oil or cooking spray. To make the cake: Follow the directions on the cake mix box, substituting milk for water. Divide the batter among cake pans. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans for 5 minutes on a wire rack, then remove the cakes from the pans to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, stir together sour cream, sugar and coconut. Spread between the slightly warm cake layers, piercing each layer with a toothpick as you stack them, but don’t pierce the top of the top layer. Store the cake in a container in the refrigerator 2-3 days to allow the flavors to soak through.

On the day you are ready to serve the cake, make the frosting: In the top of a double boiler, combine the egg whites, sugar, corn syrup or cream of tartar, and salt. Do not place over the heat; instead beat for 1 minute using a handheld mixer. Then place over simmering water and cook, beating constantly, until the frosting forms stiff peaks. This should take about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add vanilla and beat until it reaches spreading consistency, about 2 minutes. Frost the top and sides of the cake and sprinkle all over with shredded coconut. Besides tasting great, y’all, this cake is just so pretty.

Another great recipe, this one has been made by my mother in law at Easter so many times that it's now in the heirloom category!

MARY'S RESURRECTION CAKE

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1 white cake mix
1 lg. carton sour cream
1 lg. container Cool Whip
1 pkg. frozen coconut

Prepare cake according to package directions. Pour into 3 prepared cake pans. Do not let cake brown. Cool. Combine sour cream and coconut to spread between layers. Save 1 cup mixture for icing.

ICING: Combine mixture with Cool Whip and ice cake. Cover and let set in refrigerator for 3 days.

From the 1980's, Resurrection Cake was made popular by Cool Whip. You couldn't pick up a magazine without seeing the fluffy white concoction on one of the pages. A busy Mom's best invention, it got better with each day it stayed in the fridge!