It has been too long, and we are glad to be back to blogging here at the farm. We hope absence makes the heart grow fonder. And since we have been (mostly) absent, we decided to return with something special, Coconut Layer Cake. And trust us, this is quite a cake. And since we are all about gilding lilies in our kitchen, why not add some hot fudge sauce? Got a problem with that? We didn’t think so….and there is a method to our madness. As we said, this is quite the cake. It is sweet and flavorful and incredibly moist. So moist, it seems that the coconut and butter are barely held in suspension. This is the good stuff. The only “issue” with this cake is that it is so moist and sweet with coconut that you need something else to balance it out. This is where the hot fudge comes in. It may seem ironic to cut sweetness with hot fudge, but chocolate is a naturally earthy counterpoint to coconut, so it works here. (Come to think of it, hot fudge sauce seems to fix all sorts of problems….) So what is the secret to this cake? As with many coconut recipes, the secret is using cream of coconut. For most of us, that means Coco Lopez. If you are unfamiliar with Coco Lopez, it is the stuff that makes your Pina Colada so tasty. It is also a very good way to use coconut in many recipes, as it is probably the most consistent coconut product you can work with (coconut milk can be inconsistent in fat content, and flaked coconut sweetness varies). The only issue with Coco Lopez is that it is very sweet, so most recipes using it adjust sugar or other sweeteners accordingly. Continue reading →