Coconut Cake & Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Hi! This is Mat, Jen's husband. This is the recipe from a photo that appeared on Jen's Instagram last night. 

Jen is fasting from coffee and chocolate for 21 days, so by the end of the day she's looking for something sweet to and I thought this would do the trick. It's pretty easy to make from scratch but if you're nervous about the cake part, you can always substitute a mix. Plus it's also no milk, low fat & half the sugar.

(photo via instagram)

Also, this is a recipe for a very small batch. We're only a couple and making big batches is so wasteful so I prefer to make only a few at a time. This should make about 5 cakes.

Coconut Cake
1/2 C granulated sugar
4 Tbs unsalted butter, room temperature
2 egg whites
1 tsp coconut or vanilla extract
3/4 C cake flour (use sifted all-purpose if not available)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 C coconut, rice or soy milk
3/4 C shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease the sides and bottom of six cups in a cupcake tin with butter.  Cream the butter and sugar. Once creamed, beat in the egg whites one at a time, then add the extract. Add the flour and baking powder and mix until creamy, then add the "milk" and coconut and finish mixing.

Evenly distribute between the cups until they are 2/3 full. Bake for 17-20 minutes. Be sure to cool completely before frosting.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream
2 egg whites
1/2 C granulated sugar
12 Tbs unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cut the butter into 1 Tbsp chunks and leave out so it reaches room temperature. In a metal bowl, add the egg whites and sugar. Place the bowl into simmering water (leave on the heat) and whisk slowly until the mix is hot to the touch (about 140°F). Remove from heat, and using mixer with wire whisk, beat for 2 mins producing soft peaks. Change to a paddle mixer. Add 1/2 of the butter and beat for 1 minute, add the remaining butter and beat another minute. Add the vanilla and beat 1/2 minute more.

Once the cakes have cooled, you can frost them. The frosting doesn't have to be perfect - in fact just a nice spoonful on top of each cake served with some berries on the side works fine.

(photo via instagram)