Cakers,
I would like to develop a coconut/peach wedding cake. I was thinking of adding cream of coconut to the cake batter and was wondering if I could successfully substitute some of the milk for the coconut? Any suggestions of which cake recipe would be best to start with? Also, I was thinking of adding some cream of coconut to a buttercream and adding in peach slices when torting it. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks again,
Lori V.

Lori: Your taste combination sounds delicious. I do lots of experimenting with cakes and cupcakes and taste combinations too and here’s my suggestions to you. Do you want your cake to have a dominate peach and then a hint of coconut taste? Or the opposite? Take one of your favorite cake recipes. Pick a recipe that is sturdy enough to hold up to the coconut and peach additions; maybe a pound cake recipe. Definitely not a genoise. Start substituting ingredients with the flavors you want. Use the same quantities of flour, eggs, butter. Substitute the milk or sour cream for your cream of coconut and peach puree; maybe add coconut or peach flavoring to intensify the flavor you want to dominate. I find cream of coconut works very well when used instead of sour cream or milk. But, I would run the cream of coconut through the food processor first to evenly emulsify. It is usually quite separated in the can. Toast the coconut first, let it cool and then grind it to a finer texture in the processor. I like to add dark rum to cakes that have coconut flavors too. You may have to adjust the leaveners in your cake as you are adding acidic ingredients; maybe more baking soda. Cream of coconut also works great in buttercream frosting (make sure you emulsify first). Add coconut flavoring to intensify the coconut taste in the frosting. For the top of the cake, maybe dip fresh peaches in finely ground coconut and sugar. This will be a truly unique cake. Have fun testing! Lorraine

Yummy!!  That sounds so good!  Let us know what you decide to do and how it works out!!  I think I might want to make it, too! haha Anyway, Good Luck!

I made a coconut cream pie not long ago, I think the recipe was by Cook’s Illustrated. It had coconut milk and coconut in it.

Weirdly enough, it didn’t taste much like coconut at all.

If I were doing it again (and I may well someday, I love pie), I’d take a look at Alton Brown’s Coconut Cake recipe.

He used coconut in varying ways throughout the cake, Coconut milk, coconut cream, coconut extract, coconut itself ... .

You might want to take a look at his recipe.

I adore the taste of toasted coconut, I can’t help thinking that would taste really good with peaches.

Lori V.:
I tried to send you a message…not sure if it got through…sorry…I really suck with the computer.  I’m putting a web address down that will link you to a terrific coconut cake recipe on Epicurious.  I use it a lot The Layers are firm and moist and keep well for days. 

Good luck.

Bill

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/102696

Wow! Weirdly enough, I have actually made this type of wedding cake (back when I was making wedding cakes…).

I used a white chocolate coconut cake (somewhere I still have this recipe, it’s delicious). The cake layers were brushed with my own version of peach syrup and then filled with a coconut custard. Thin slices of fresh peaches were then nestled into the custard filling. Once stacked, the cakes were iced with a white chocolate Italian buttercream. I remember this cake fondly. The slices were so pretty to look at, with the rosey peach syrup feathering down through the cake.

The first time I ever made this wedding cake was for a couple in Palisade, Colorado. The groom owned a very large peach orchard (Palisade is THE Peach capital of the west—we produce some of the best peaches I have ever had), and both him and his bride wanted a peach themed wedding. The wedding was in the spring, during the peach blossom festival, and the cake was decorated with lovely peach blossoms. I very much wish I still had the photographs I took, but I can’t find them anywhere! (ARGH!).

Roxanne - that wedding cake sounds like it must have been fantastic!

Patrincia - 19 December 2007 10:05 AM

Roxanne - that wedding cake sounds like it must have been fantastic!

I’m sorry I’m just now getting around to replying to various posts (the Christmas Holidays had me a whirlwind). This was indeed, a fantastic cake. Everyone loved it, and I always make a smaller variation of it (1 single, 4 layer cake) for my Spring Tea Party.
Although, last year I couldn’t find my recipe for the white chocolate coconut cake itself, so I made it with Rose’s white velvet cake—and it was still heavenly.