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Toasted Coconut Pound Cake with Fresh Lime Curd

gothicgirl's picture
gothicgirl

Toasted Coconut Pound Cake with Fresh Lime Curd

Posted at www.evilshenanigans.com on 4/1/2009

It's April Fool's Day ... but I am not fooling around when I tell you that this pound cake is about the best I have ever had. 

Toasted Coconut Pound Cake

I had half a bag of coconut sitting in my pantry since I made my Carrot Coconut Cupcakes and I didn't know what to do with it.  For a while I considered making coconut candy, but I was not in the candy making mood.  As much as I enjoy candy, I prefer eating it to making it.  So, it was back to the drawing board.

 Lime Curd

Now, I should say that the last few days here in my part of Texas have been warm.  The trees are turning green and the grass has transformed from straw brown to vibrant emerald.  I have been feeling decidedly 'Spring-ie' and I decided I wanted something that sort of said, "Hey Spring!  How you doin'?" 

I also had a glut of limes that I needed to use, and lime curd seemed just the thing to make.  Well, If you have curd you need something to spread it on, and I love lime and lemon curd on pound cake.  Why not, I thought, make a coconut pound cake? 

 Toasted Coconut Pound Cake with Lime Curd

So, I did, and it was really, really tasty.  The toasted flavor of the coconut added another layer of flavor to the buttery cake.  It also added a lovely texture to the cake.  There was the fluffy part, the nutty crusty part, and now this chewy, sort of crispy part.   It was, for me, the perfect way to welcome Spring!

Lime Curd    Yield 1 cup

2 oz sugar
1 teaspoon lime zest
2 oz lime juice
2 egg yolks
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

DSCF1789Sugar Rubbed with Lime Zest

Rub the lime zest into the sugar until it is fragrant and the sugar is tinted pale green.  Pour into a heavy bottom pot.

Juiced Limes

Juice the limes and add the juice to the pot with the sugar.  Stir in the egg yolks and cook over medium heat until thick.  Stir in the butter and cook until melted.

Pour through a strainer into a heat proof bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Make sure to press the film down on the curd to avoid a skin.

Lime Curd

Chill for two hours.

While the curd chills, make the cake.

Toasted Coconut Pound Cake Fixins'

Toasted Coconut Pound Cake   Yield 12 servings

1 cup coconut
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat the oven to 325 F and grease a 10″ loaf pan very well.

Allow your butter, eggs and sour cream to come to room temperature.

Toasted Coconut

Toast the coconut for 10 minutes, or until brown and fragrant.  Set aside to cool.

In a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium high speed for five minutes. 

Scrape the sides of the bowl down and add the eggs, one at a time, blending for one minute after each addition and scraping down before adding the next.

Add the vanilla and blend to combine.

Sift the dry ingredients and add them, along with the sour cream, in three alternating installments, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.  Do not over-mix.

Toasted Coconut Pound Cake  - Ready to Bake

Fold the toasted coconut in gently and pour into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 60 minutes, or until the center of the cake springs back when lightly pressed in the center.  You may need to tent the cake with foil to avoid over browning.  Do not over-bake.

Toasted Coconut Pound Cake - Fresh from the OvenToasted Coconut Pound Cake - Cooling

Cool in the pan for 20 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.

  DSCF1834 copy 

Slice and eat as is or ....

Toasted Coconut Pound Cake with Lime Curd  

Spread a tablespoon of the lime curd over the cake, and while we are at it some softly whipped cream.

Your taste buds will thank you. 

Comments

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

GG...very nice photos recipes...everything is mouthwatering.  I love your lime curd...I love putting them on bread, tarts, cakes...you name it....I have a lemon tree full of lemons so I made lemon curd the other day...I actually tried a recipe I found for making it in the microwave...so simple and turns out wonderful!  The weather certainly is putting some spring baking ideas into my head so fast I can't keep up!  Im going to make some candied lemon rind for my hot cross buns!  Very nice write up and thank you for the recipes!

Sylvia

gothicgirl's picture
gothicgirl

I love candied lemon rind ... and all kinds of citrus rind.  Yum!

xaipete's picture
xaipete

I made a batch of lemon curd with Meyer lemons from my tree last week too (it seem that Sylvia and I are on the same wavelength!), but I never thought of making lime curd. What an interesting idea and great photos, as usual!

--Pamela

gothicgirl's picture
gothicgirl

Lime curd is something I made in school and I fell in love with it.  I prefer lime to lemon, not that I dislike lemon by any means, so lime curd is a natural for me!

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

Hi Pam, Guess we'll be making lime curd...It does sound delicious..I never had it either...I love limes too...I just put in 2 little orange trees....I guess a little lime tree is next ; )...now for all those eggs I'll be needing..no room for chickens...my dogs would eat them!

Sylvia

xaipete's picture
xaipete

I just happened to buy a big bag of limes at Costco last weekend :-) . --Pamela

ques2008's picture
ques2008

goodness, gothic girl, that recipe is absolutely to die for and those photos are so alluring.

the lime zest is interesting.  that's the skin of the lime isn't it - what do you use - just your basic kitchen knife or do you have a special device?

you'd make an excellent food photographer!  keep "em coming!

gothicgirl's picture
gothicgirl

I use a Microplane for my zesting, but you can use a knife if you like.  In the curd it is strained out anyway, so it need not be beautiful.

vincent's picture
vincent

gothic girl

in your recipe says 1 cup coconut is it a i cup

a grated coconut(shreadded)? or

a coconut milk?

just wondering

vincent

gothicgirl's picture
gothicgirl

Sorry about that!  Yes, shredded coconut is what I used.

Manang's picture
Manang

that lemon curd seems heavenly! And the whole assembly is just so tempting!

I have not baked much with lemons, and this makes me want to try more!