Behind the scenes

In the picture above, you see what looks like a chocolate cake layer sandwiched between two vanilla sheets. Alas, such isn’t the case. All layers are actually (supposed to be) of the Old-Fashioned White Cake recipe found in the Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. I knew that I wanted to make a cake with strong coconut and pineapple accents, so I took the liberty of substituting a couple of things.

Here’s what happened to the middle layer you see above. First, I doubled Magnolia’s recipe since I was making a 1/2 sheet cake. That was the first mistake. I should have tripled the recipe. Second, I thought I’d ramp up the sweetness and substituted one (of the two) cup milk with a cup of sweetened condensed milk. Third, when checking for doneness  after 30 minutes, I set the timer for 10 more minutes – then fell asleep on the couch – ouch! Well, I woke up well before any burning occurred, but well after the cake had lost its height and started to become a dense, chewy, wavy cookie. It was hours later before I took the courage to use this layer in the final cake. I like dense, chewy cookies, so I got hold of my trusty cake leveler and reduced the overall thickness of this should-have-been cake and took the risk of making it a center layer (see below).

Here’s how the other two layers (top and bottom) came about. I had to start over. I had contracted to bake this cake for someone, so  there was no getting around it. I stuck with the Traditional White Cake recipe but 1) tripled the recipe and 2) substituted regular milk with organic coconut water. I could tell upon pouring the batter into the 1/2 sheet pan that it was going to be perfect – as long as I didn’t fall asleep and overcook it. Indeed, it turned out beautifully, the most evenly cooked, delicate surfaced white cake I’ve ever baked. I let this cake cool slowly for several hours while I got some sleep. I knew I was going to split it and wanted it to be as sturdy as possible.

With three sheets of cake ready to go, the assembly went as follows:

TRADITIONAL WHITE-CAKE RECIPE FROM The Complete Magnolia Cookbook.

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 2 cups self-rising flour
  • if using all-purpose flour, add 1 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt per 3/4 cup flour
• 1 cup milk (I substituted this with coconut water because I was looking to concentrate coconut flavors)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 large egg whites

Directions:

• Grease and flour your pan
• Whip egg white to soft peaks, cover and reserve in fridge
• Cream the butter and sugar
• Alternatively add flour and liquids; don’t overmix
• Gently fold in soft-peak egg whites
• Place in oven at 350 deg F / 180 deg C
• Bake for 22-25 min – then test for doneness
• Let cool.

Half-sheet modifications

• Triple the recipe – will be able to split once safely.
• Reduce oven temp to 325 (or even 300)
• I started checking the cake at 30 min. Mine took 40 min.

ICING – Magnolia Bakery Cream Cheese Icing

• 1 lb cream cheese, softened
• 3 oz unsalted butter, softened
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

Half-sheet modifications

• Double the recipe above
• Reserve 1/3 to use in the filling

FILLING – for the half-sheet cake

• 2 x 12 oz cans of chunked or sliced pineapple in light syrup or in natural juice
• 16 oz sweetened, shredded coconut
• 1/3 of the cream cheese icing
• Place the pineapple and coconut in a food processor and pulse until combined and there are no large pieces of pineapple. In a large bowl, stir together with icing.

TOPPING – for the half-sheet

• 8 0z sweetened, shredded coconut
• 8 oz candied pineapple coarsely chopped

That’s all I can think of.  Have a sweet day!