Cocoanut Cake

Cocoanut Cake, as written in The Institute Cook Book by Helen Cramp.

This cake was not complex at all. I liked that. There was something familiar about it. It's just pretty cool to know that this recipe was in print almost 100 years ago. I will have to eat another piece (for the sake of research, of course) to see if I can put my finger on what the familiarity is.

I whipped up a simple frosting because, Mister likes frosting. I think next time I will just spread some good jelly over it. It's really that kind of cake.

First off, the recipe specified a moderate oven. To me, that would mean 350 degrees. I used a dark non-stick pan so, I baked mine at 325 degrees.

The recipe did not specify a pan size. I gambled and used a 9" cake pan. It seemed to work pretty well.

Flavor to taste...okay this instruction is pretty vague.

I added a teaspoon of vanilla at this point.

I wished I would have had coconut extract, if so, I would have used that instead.

On the note of flavor, a little salt maybe??

I prepared the cake as the recipe was written and found it acceptable.

If you decide to make this cake, my advice is to generously grease the pan.

Below, check out a few snap shots of the recipe and an interesting certificate that the book contains.

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup shredded cocoanut

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

flavoring

Whip the butter and sugar to a cream. Add the cocoanut and the eggs. Then add the milk and sifted flour and baking powder. Flavor to taste. Turn into a greased pan and bake in a moderate oven for 45 minutes.

Department Of Domestic Science
I think my skills at domestic science is pretty well tuned. I wonder what Helen Cramp would think?

$2.00 had to be an expensive due back in 1913.

I have several recipes flagged in this book. The Cocoanut Cake isn't nearly as fabulous as Alton Brown's recipe, I'm sure. Also, not nearly as expensive to make.

The beauty here is in the simplicity of this cake.