Lime Coconut Cake

I've been really food-focused lately & I think it's obvious if you check out our pinterest account. I always seem to forget to take photos of the process of cooking and baking though because I'm usually rushing to make everything as quickly as possible... so that I can eat as quickly as possible. I had a bit of a day off, so I took my time and snapped some pics in between steps.















Lime Coconut Cake Recipe
Gourmet, March 2009. via Honey and Jam
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon grated Key lime zest
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups self-rising flour (or just add 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt to all purpose.)
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup fresh Key lime juice, divided
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon rum (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Generously butter an 8- by 8-inch square or 9- by 2-inch round cake pan and line bottom with a round of parchment paper.

Toast coconut in a small baking pan in oven, stirring once or twice, until golden, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool. Leave oven on.

Beat together butter, granulated sugar, and zest with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir together flour and 1/2 cup coconut (reserve remainder for topping). Stir together milk and 2 tablespoons lime juice. At low speed, mix flour and milk mixtures into egg mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour.

Spoon batter into pan and smooth top. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool to warm, then turn out of pan and discard parchment.

Whisk together confectioners sugar, remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice, and rum (if using, if not use milk) and pour over cake. Sprinkle with remaining coconut.

*note*: I replaced the milk with coconut milk because it was just in the fridge & seemed like it'd work. I also ended up omitting the glaze entirely and just baking the cake with the toasted coconut sprinkled on top. :) This cake was amaaaaazing.

Happy Friday!

Christmas Prep

Sam & I have been on a bit of a computer hiatus (which is UBER-RARE!) because we've been busy all week with Christmas prep at home. Baking, cleaning, gift-wrapping, decorating & the occasional trip to the mall have been the only things on our daily schedule.

It's been hard to get into a holiday mood this year... I'm not sure whether it's the weather but I guess the older you get, the more you need to create the festive-ness around you? Well, we've been trying. I've been snapping pictures all week of our yule adventures, so enjoy!


a couple weeks ago, my cousins sent over a big gift box filled with goodies!


they had already baked TONS of goodies by mid-december & we hadn't even thought about what recipes we wanted to try yet!


caitlyn & a rumball


in my attempt to get in the christmas spirit-- my christmas sweater nails.

& our house has been filling up with crazy christmas decorations:
















bahahahah. this brooch.

&my best friend got a sweet little puppy, who I visited about a week before Christmas!

Hi Roxie! She's a golden doodle!



We've been baking up a storm; I think we totaled 8 or 9 different recipes?


mocha tea cookies iced with snowflakes


orange pekoe. that's my jaaaaaam.


kahlua truffles dipped in chocolate




chocolate & peppermint stripe things

not pictured: oatmeal shortbread cookies, spice cookies, walnut thimbles, rosemary-swiss shortbread (they're savoury appetizer cookies! mmmm!)


& my adventure with macarons!
the first batch was disastrous & the second batch was equally as bad (both times, the batter was too runny). So my improvising with the second batch was to just make tiny bite sized macarons instead of 2" ones, as the recipe had called for. They are obscenely small but actually worked out instead of being completely wasted like the first batch of batter! It was soooo difficult & I was near tears so many times, but I would say it was worth it & would definitely try again!


parfait, non?


aaaaaand of course there are a large number of them that are mis-shapen, have cracks, don't have les pieds and are oddly sized. ah well, just as delicious as the pretty ones!

Hope everyone isn't too beat-down & stressed-out by the busiest shopping day of the year & is starting to actually feel the more positive spirit of Christmas :) I can't wait for all the Christmas feasts & I loooooove giving gifts-- so I can't wait for that either! (& I hate getting gifts cause it always makes me cry... and usually in front of the family camcorder. lol)

ANYWAYS, have an amazing, safe holiday season & a happy new year (if I don't get a chance to blog before then!)

xoxo