I love Snow! I really, really do. :)
It's ethereal! There is something fresh and pure about it.
Of wiping slates clean.
Of an another chance.
Of finding the inner child, in sticking your tongue out to catch the gentle drifts.
Of being oblivious, to all judging when you do the four-left-feet dance in freshly fallen fluffs.
Of joy, in seeing a gorgeous, healthy, happy dog tumble around in the white carpet.
Of unbounded ecstasy, that all of the above builds in you.
This weekend, all of this happened. I live again and feel every molecule in me bursting to say hello to the world!
Yes, I love snow.
In the end, in the city, it was not as bad as portended! The weekend was nippy but well worth venturing out to warm places, crunchy fresh croissants and good coffees and of course coming back into the warmth of home to happy meals, fresh bread and white cakes. :)
Coconut Cake with Meringue and Mascarpone Frosting
For the cake layers:
{I use coconut flour to bring out the flavor in the cake especially since I don't use any essence. Essentially, it is super-finely ground dry coconut. You will find it in the organic aisle of major food stores.
I used a 6 inch and a 4 inch cake pans to create a step. You can also use two 5 inch pans}
For the Cake:
1/2 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 T cup un-sweetened shredded coconut
generous 1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk (I used the drinking version which is lighter and thinner)
6 T butter,room temperature
2 egg whites and 1 yolk
Preheat oven to 350F.
Sift together the dry ingredients. Whisk the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gently fold in the yolk. Whisk in the coconut milk. Add the dry to wet ingredients in three parts. Set aside. Whip the whites until stiff peaks are held. Gently fold in the whites into the batter with as few turns as possible while making sure you don't deflate the airiness.
Pour batter into prepared pans to 2/3rd of the lip in each pan. Bake for about 40 minutes until golden and cake is springy to touch. Set on rack to cool completely.
For the frosting:
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
1 large egg white
1 T butter
1 T golden syrup
1/4 cup powdered sugar
toasted shredded coconut
Melt butter and syrup together and set aside to cool. Loosen the mascarpone with a bit of cream and whip in the powdered sugar. In another bowl, whip up the whites to stiff peaks. Gradually stream in the cooled butter-syrup mixture until a shiny but loose with the granulated sugar until shiny but loose meringue is formed. Continue whipping for another minute to completely cook the whites. Fold in the meringue into the mascarpone.
To assemble:
Slice each cake in half and generous spread frosting between layers. Frost sides of each cake. Place the smaller cake on top of the other and even out the frosting. Gently apply the toasted coconut on the assembled cake to finish the frosting.