Welcome to Cookbook of the Week.
Its been a rough week.
When I cant hold it together, I usually step into the kitchen to bake.
For an extra layer of support, I turned away from new cookbooks and ran for my old favorites.
As you may or may not know, most of my professional career has been dominated by cake decorating.
I always go savory for breakfast, but Im a dessert girl through and through.
Cakes have always been an edible form of creative expression for me.
In my experience using cookbooks, this is a rare quality indeed.
Beranbaum is no freshman when it comes to cookbook writing.
AlthoughRoses Heavenly Cakeswas first published in 2009, she had already written six others.
The first one beingThe Cake Biblewhich won Cookbook of the Year.
Suffice to say, you’re able to trust her recipes.
That doesnotmean this book is only for you if you own a bakery.
Rather, its for earnest cake bakers that arent screwin around.
Most cake recipes tell you to split the batter evenly among two nine-inch pans.
Have you tried eyeballing that?
Rose gives you how many ounces go in each pan.
Furthermore, each recipe is written out in a clear, easy to read chart.
For once the entire world of both measuring cup slingers and kitchen scalers can be happy.
However, if you let it, it will also impress you.
Though the recipes steps are nicely organized with bold sentence starters, be sure to read them completely.
Then shell tell you how she composed it.
The dish I made this week
As I mentioned earlier, comfort food was in order.
Though Id never made this particular Silk Buttercream, I was on board with this cake.
The first ingredient is six egg whites.
Whenever I see that, I think, Ugh, I guess Im whipping and folding in egg whites.
The egg whites get whisked into the coconut milk with no special treatment.
It actually required fewer special steps than most cake batters Ive grown used to.
After the final spin in my stand mixer, I had a luscious, billowing coconut cake batter.
Beranbaums recipe indicates baking the batter in two nine-inch pans for a rather proper looking layer cake.
One was for me.
I didnt trim the rounded top to make it flat like I would for a gift or an event.
I simply split it in half and filled it with the glossy, yolk-fortified coconut frosting.
A thicker layer than usual.
I left the sides bare, and finished it off with a crown of coconut ribbons.
The cake was complete.
It was (and continues to be) perfect.
The reverse creaming method resulted in an even and dense crumb texture that effortlessly dissolves on my tongue.
The coconut flavor is rich and subtle rather than cloying or sunscreen-y.
It was exactly what I neededto lose myself for a slice of time.
A small reminder that Im still capable of achieving and worthy of good things.
If its a gift or used isnt your thing, get a brand newone here.
