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May 21-27, 2009
buzz@boulderweekly.com
• Simple flavors done right
Boulder’s Arugala pursues a 21st-century approach to Italian
by Clay Fong
• Grill skills
New cookbooks offer how-tos for the sizzling season
by Susan M. Selasky
The Dessert Diva
A local chef shares her sweet secrets
by Danette Randall
I’m sitting here realizing that not only do I have summer on the brain, but I am longing for something tropical or rather somewhere tropical. I can’t believe that I am making Coconut Lemon Pound Cake. Had I used limes then I could burst out into song. “Brother bought a coconut, he bought it for a dime, his sister had another, she paid it for the lime... She put the lime in the coconut and drank them both up.” Oh, look at that, I sang it anyway. Now if I can only get my husband to take me to Hawaii — STAT!
This is a killer dessert. It is the perfect combo of lemon and coconut. I don’t mean to pat myself on the back, which, by the way, is getting much easier since my new workout routine at the Flatirons Athletic Club, buuuut… this recipe did turn out delicious.
The pound cake initially was named for the ingredients: a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of flour and eggs. Don’t worry, we have scaled that down — not that there is anything wrong with a pound of butter. You will be happy, and you must make it.
Although I didn’t hunt down the coconut, break the little fella with a hammer, extract the coconut milk and shave the fresh coconut, I did do a little research just for fun on the mighty fruit.
Here is an interesting fact: Coconuts received that name from the Portuguese Spanish explorers who first brought them to Europe.
Apparently, the brown and hairy surface of coconuts reminded them of the Iberian bogeyman, called El Coco. El Coco is supposed to be a hairy monster that hides under children’s beds in order to eat those who misbehave, and because of the furryness and brown shape of the coconut, they started calling it “coco,” a word that still remains as the Spanish and Portuguese word for coconut. When coconuts arrived to England, they retained the “coco” name and the suffix “-nut” was added, as many other tree seeds in English, thus getting the word “coconut.” I mean, who knew?
So keep the coconuts away from the kiddos. You don’t want them to be eaten by a monster when all you are trying to do is make a piña colada, or, of course, a pound cake. Oh, another song I can bust out… “If you like piña coladas” — sing with me, culinary crooners. Alright, I will let you get to it. As always, follow the directions, put some love into it, and invite me over when it’s done.
Before you start: Make sure your lemon is big and has no blemishes. Roll it first before you squeeze out the juice, and make sure to zest before you squeeze.
Make sure to grease and flour or use a cooking spray with flour to easily remove the cake.
Make sure the butter and eggs are at room temperature.
Coconut Lemon Pound Cake
2 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
zest of one large lemon
juice of one large lemon
1-1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan.
In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In large bowl, beat butter and sugar until combined. Add in eggs one at a time and beat well. Add in vanilla. Zest lemon into batter, and then cut lemon in half and squeeze lemon juice into batter. Mix well. Add in flour mixture and beat until mixture is smooth. Fold in coconut.
Bake for 50-60 minutes until toothpick in center comes out clean. Take out and set on wire rack to cool. When ready to serve, flip over onto serving platter, slice and enjoy!
Note: Place a cup of coconut on a baking sheet and toast for 5-8 minutes. Serve pound cake with whipped cream and garnish with toasted coconut.
You can watch the Dessert Diva every Monday at 8:35 a.m. on Channel 2. To contact Danette at the station, visit 2theduece.com and click on Daybreak on the Deuce. To chat with and/or send comments and suggestions, write to jdromega@aol.com.
Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com
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