My mom looked on horrified when I cut into this cake one morning, “What are you doing?” she asked with a hint of panic in her voice.
“Breakfast…” I said calmly, “I’m going to eat breakfast, do you want some?”
“No! Who eats cake for breakfast? Who are you, Marie Antoinette?” She said and walked away in exasperation.
It wasn’t like I planned on cake for breakfast; I baked a cake the night before, let it cool and frosted it the next morning.
It’s very tempting cake and there are no rules against having cake for breakfast.

It’s the ultimate coconut cake; rich nutty coconut flavours with luscious whipped coconut frosting and toasted coconut flakes.
It’s the closest I would come to a tropical vacation for a while.
This cake is perfect for summer and humble enough for a snack or breakfast, because it’s just that irresistible.

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Toasted Coconut Cake

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups turbinado sugar (or brown sugar)
• ¼ cup toasted coconut
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 (13.5oz) can coconut milk (I used Trader Joe’s canned coconut milk)
• ½ cup applesauce
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease a medium round baking pan with oil and set aside
3. Combine flour, sugar, toasted coconut, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir well
4. In another bowl, whisk together coconut milk, applesauce, vegetable oil, lemon juice, coconut and vanilla extracts
5. Add flour mixture in three batches to the milk mixture, folding each batch in until well mixed
6. When the mixture is mixed and incorporated, scrap and pour into the prepared baking pan
7. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
8. Let it rest in the pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack
9. Turn it on the wire rack to cool completely
10. When cooled, frost cake with whipped coconut cream
11. Sprinkle with remaining toasted coconut (as much or as little as you want)

NOTES

• Whipped Coconut Cream
• 1 can full fat coconut milk, refrigerated for a few hours or overnight
• 1/3 cup icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Directions: Open the chilled can of coconut and scoop out the fat leaving behind the watery liquid.
  Combine the coconut with icing sugar and vanilla, whip until light and fluffy.

• Toasted Coconut
• ½ cup coconut flakes
• Oven: Spread coconut in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 300F for about 20 minutes, stir every 5 minutes to ensure that the coconut browns evenly.
• Stove: spread coconut into a skillet and cook over medium heat, stir frequently, until coconut is mostly golden brown.

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