I was asked to make a birthday cake for one of the assistants at the clinic.  She requested a chocolate cake with coconut frosting.  I have a recipe for “coconut frosting” which is a cream cheese frosting with cream of coconut added, and I use it quite often (but never on a chocoalte cake before).  I got started late, and this was going to be a very late night baking…I opened the fridge, and (GASP) no creamcheese.  So I had to improvise. I decided to bake the chocoate cake that is pictured on the cover of “Heavenly Cakes” (I don’t remember the name of the cake)...because you don’t have to dissolve the cocoa in boiling water and then wait for it to cool - and I had all the ingredients.  I resized it for two 8” layers.  then I made the filling for German’s Chocolate cake, but instead of the nuts, I doubled the coconut.  The result: Chocolate cake with coconut frosting (sort of). It was late, I wasn’t going to the store, and I figured, Well, it will have to do.  The color of the cake came out a bit red in the picture, it was actually a deep brown.  I LOVED the cake…very chocolatey without being too sweet.  The topping…well, it is by nature, quite sweet.  The Birthday Girl Loved it.

Fast thinking and successful improvising, Bill!!!  Glad the recipient loved it and I can tell, imagining the brown, that it looked Wonderful!

How did you restrain yourself from putting some of your lovely lettering on it????

Bill, the color of the cake came out PURPLE on my computer screen, . It looks lovely! Great job improvising and I’m glad the birthday girl loved it.

Looks great!  First time I EVER remember seeing a cake of yours without that beautiful piping!  Glad you were able to pull off a great cake with ingredients on hand.

Thanks!  Trust me, If that lumpy coconut frosting would have gone through a #18 Star tip…I would have piped it LOL.

And…yes…I guess it looks a bit purple.  On my camera, it looked red…but now that I look at the post…it is sort of Purple. (I don’t actually have a camera, I use my phone…doesn’t take very good pictures.)

I love coconut. Your cake looks so yummy. Great job!

It looks like the german chocolate cake from RHC.  It is a really nice combination, the not too sweet cake and the sweet filling.  Glad that the birthday girl loved it.  I know I would!!

Looks delicious!  Speaking of coconut frostings…I’ve been thinking about trying the recipe from Bobby Flay in one of the recent Food TV magazines.  He seems to use a similar recipe to Rose’s coconut cakes (even using her mixing method), but the filling is a combination of coconut cream and heavy cream, and he also syrups the layers with a coconut-infused syrup.  It’s frosted with a coconut buttercream (buttercream with powdered sugar and some of the coconut cream) and finished with toasted coconut.  I don’t usually like the recipes from Food TV magazine, but this one looks like it’s worth trying!!

Sounds very interesting.  My “other half” is a coconut lover who really loves the coconut cake I usually make and stubbornly insists I shouldn’t even try another recipe.  I think I’m going to look for that recipe and give it a try.  (I usually use a recipe that I found on epicurious)