twd ~ Apple-Coconut Family Cake

I can hardly believe - it's my turn to pick! After a little more than two years, I'm happy to still be baking along with all the other twd bakers and have a reason to make a new delicious dessert every week!

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As found in Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours:

Apple-Coconut Family Cake

The tastes in this light, moist cake are coconut, a hint of cinnamon and the sweetness of apples, all of which put you in mind of early fall. Our friend Michael Vogel aptly calls it a "family" cake.

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
3 apples (I use Golden Delicious), peeled and cored
2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup plain yogurt
6 tablespoons flavorless oil, such as canola or grapeseed
1 tablespoon dark rum
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup shredded coconut, preferably unsweetened
About 1/2 cup apple jelly, for glaze

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Cut 2 of the apples into a small dice, cover with plastic wrap and set aside. Cut the third apple from blossom to stem into slices about 1/4 inch thick; cover.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and 1/2 cup of the sugar together for a minute. Whisk in the yorut, oil, rum and vanilla and whisk for about a minute, until smooth. Still using the wisk, or switching to a rubber spatual, fold in the flourt mixture, followed by the coconut and the diced apple.

Scrape the batter into the pan and jiggle the pan from side to side a couple of times to even the batter. Arrange the sliced apples in an attractive pattern over the top of the cake - I like to make a sunburst pattern - and sprinkle the apples with the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the apples and cake are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the springform pan to a rack, and cool the cake for 20 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, make the glaze. Warm the apple jelly with a splash of water just until it liquefies.

Once the cake has cooled for 20 minutes, run a knife around the edges of the cake and release the sides of the pan. Using a pastry bursh, give the top of the cake a generaous gloss of glaze.

Makes 8 servings.
Serving: The cake can be served warm or at room temperature. While it is great as is, it's scrumptious with a little whipped cream.
Storing: This cake is a good keeper. Wrapped well, it will keep at room temperature for about 4 days. Because of the apples and glaze, it isn't a good candidate for freezing.

Playing Around:Coconut-Nut Family Cake
Keep the coconut in the cake, but add 1/2 cup ground pecans or walnuts and an equal amount of the same nut, finely chopped. This double-nut cake is just as good made with slices of pineapple or pears as it is with apples.
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I tried to make this by sticking to the recipe. I managed to do mostly that. I used coconut rum instead of dark rum because that's what I had. For some strange reason, the store didn't have apple jelly so I used raspberry. It made the cake a nice red color - very festive for the Christmas season!

Saturday I ran my first marathon. Afterwards, I was ready for a little cake on Sunday and this was perfect.

21 comments:

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

Your cake came out beautifully. You are right the red color gives it some sparkle. I like it.

Thanks for hosting and thanks for picking what turned out to be a delicious cake.

Mary said...

Thanks so much for hosting. I really enjoyed this pick. Happy Holidays!

Heather B said...

Thanks for the tasty pick! I loved it. Great job on your cake!

Jules Someone said...

That's lovely! And congrats on the marathon!

Welcome to our crazy blessed life said...

Yum! Yours looks delicious with the jam on top! :) Thanks for a fun pick this week!

Jessica of My Baking Heart said...

Great pick, Amber! Your cake is beautiful - what a nice reward after your marathon! :)

Judy said...

I enjoyed baking this one, but I didn't have an opportunity to taste it, so I will have to make it again.

Bella Baker said...

wow, congrats on running your first marathon!! That is AWESOME!!!!! This cake was yummy! Thanks for picking this week!!

Mary Ann said...

This cake was really good. Great pick!
I love the red glaze on top of yours.

Stephanie said...

Congrats on the marathon! Thank you for making this week's selection :)

Sam said...

Hey, just wondering if this recipe doubles at all? Love that you run marathons and bake. How cool is that?

Cakelaw said...

Your cake looks great. Thanks for choosing this - it is a good one.

Mom said...

Apples and coconut ~ two of my favorites and adding nuts would make three! Looks so yummy. Let's add it to our holiday menu!

Valerie Gamine said...

I'm so sorry I couldn't bake along with you this week. Your cake looks delicious, I'm sure it was even better with the raspberry jam.

Congratulations on running your first marathon!!

Nancy/n.o.e said...

Congrats on the marathon! I hope you ate the entire cake!!! This was a lovely pick and yours looks so festive with the red jelly.

Unknown said...

I love all these cakes, the op is so pretty

margot said...

Your cake looks great, Amber! I am convinced I went wrong somehow, since it looks completely different from how mine turned out.

Congrats on 26.2!!! You definitely deserve some cake!

Anne said...

This was a fun recipe and congrats on your first marathon, what a great accomplishment!

Anonymous said...

It looks lovely, and what a great post-marathon reward! This was a nice pick - I'm sorry that I didn't bake with you this week.

dorie said...

I'm sorry that I'm so late stopping by especially since you have so many things to celebrate: your first marathon (fabulous!); more than two years in TWD (brava!); and your chance to pick the recipe (hooray)!

I'm with you, the red jam made the cake look perfect for the season. I'm so glad you were and so many other TWD bakers liked the cake.

natasya said...

congratulations on running your first marathon!
Will bake this tonite. Thanks.