Coconut Pound Cake

My great-grandmother made the most delicious sand cake. Waiting for it to cool was always a great exercise in patience and restraint. Sometimes she just dusted it with powdered sugar, other times she left it as it was. Either way, eating just one slice was almost impossible.

Perhaps out of fear of not being able to create a cake similar to hers, I waited years to try a recipe of my own. A craving for a taste of their pound cake and a coconut cake I ate at a street fair inspired me to finally try it.

This Coconut Pound Cake is made with just a few simple ingredients: Flour, butter, sugar, sour cream and unsweetened grated coconut and coconut milk for a boost of coconut flavor. Plus, you can mix the batter in just one bowl with a spoon.

It becomes deliciously juicy with a tender crumb. It’s nice and dense like all pound cakes should be, yet pillowy soft. It’s not overly sweet – perfect with a cup of coffee, topped with a scoop of ice cream, or on its own. Serve it for a special occasion or keep it on the counter for your family to enjoy all week long.

For me, this passed the ultimate test: was it hard to eat just one slice? Yes, it was.

This is how you get the best coconut flavor

• Look for unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk, which will most likely be sold in a can. Avoid coconut milk labeled as “light” or “coconut drink.” Full-fat coconut milk gives this sponge cake the best flavor and a very moist crumb.
• This recipe also calls for unsweetened grated coconut. To avoid an overly textured or chewy cake, I simply blitzed the sugar and shredded coconut in a personal blender – I used my Ninja Personal Blender. A food processor or blender will work!
• Don’t over-process the coconut-sugar mixture. They’re just trying to grind the coconut until it’s about the size of granulated sugar. It’s ok if they’re a little bigger. The mixture sticks together a bit. The oils in the coconut moisturize the cake and create a wonderfully soft texture.
• Avoid sweetened shredded coconut which makes for a much, much sweeter and denser cake. It’s fine to use sweetened coconut for the topping, but I find that a simple powdered sugar frosting plus lightly toasted, unsweetened coconut sprinkled on top tastes just right. Also, you have to buy one ingredient less when you use a coconut variety. It’s a win-win situation!

This is an easy recipe that involves melting the butter and mixing the batter by hand rather than using a stand mixer to over-cream the butter and sugar. It makes a dense pound cake, but that’s the wonderful nature of pound cakes – they should have some weight.

To get a tender and soft cake, make sure the ingredients are at room temperature and don’t mix the batter too much. Gently stir the wet and dry ingredients, stopping mixing once just combined. You can use a large spoon, but a whisk may be easier.

Make it pretty in a Bundt pan

This recipe calls for a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. You can double the recipe and bake in a 12-cup Bundt cake pan. Generously grease the Gugelhupf tin and extend the baking time by 15 minutes. Check every 5 minutes that it is not cooked through. A toothpick inserted in the center should only contain a few moist crumbs.

Decorate the coconut pound cake

Allow the cake to cool completely before decorating. This recipe only makes frosting so the coconut flakes stick to the top of the cake. If you want a heavier glaze, simply double or triple the ingredients.

Pound cakes galore!

• Vanilla Pound Cake
• Lemon Bundt Cake
• Chocolate Bundt Cake
• Yoghurt Cake
• Cranberry Orange Nut Bread