The Vocabulary
For those of you "non-Southerners," a Praline [PRAH-leen] is a brittle confection made of nuts and caramelized brown sugar. A Praline' [pra-lee-NAY] is a food that is garnished, coated or made with pralines or praline components. In other words... something SO SCRUMPTIOUS that you NEED to have a reason to eat it... on ice cream, on anything, would be good on a flipflop!
The Cake
This is really a "cheat" cake, though. The cake is Duncan Hines (Butter Golden Recipe) with added Mexican vanilla. The icing comes from a can - I know what you must be thinking... but sometimes you have to go with convenience.
The Topping
The shaved coconut is the unsweetened kind - but the praline filling is so rich, that it was well balanced. To toast the coconut, just add to a pan and toast in the oven, shaking the pan every couple of minutes until you get the color you want. Keep a careful eye on it!
The Filling
The filling is a variation of my mom's famous coconut filling (the reason I've had coconut cake almost every year for my birthday): a stick of butter, about 1 cup of sugar, a cup of canned evaporated milk, and a little vanilla .... cook on medium for a while. You are basically making a praline filling. Next, add shredded sweetened coconut and a good handful of chopped, toasted pecans. Cook for a while longer and remove to cool slightly. Spread filling between the layers of cake, reserving some for the top. Mom likes to add the filling while it is still fairly warm - she says it allows it to soak into the cake better, keeping the layers extra moist.
 |
| Coconut Praline' Cake |
For those of you "non-Southerners," a Praline [PRAH-leen] is a brittle confection made of nuts and caramelized brown sugar. A Praline' [pra-lee-NAY] is a food that is garnished, coated or made with pralines or praline components. In other words... something SO SCRUMPTIOUS that you NEED to have a reason to eat it... on ice cream, on anything, would be good on a flipflop!
The Cake
This is really a "cheat" cake, though. The cake is Duncan Hines (Butter Golden Recipe) with added Mexican vanilla. The icing comes from a can - I know what you must be thinking... but sometimes you have to go with convenience.
The Topping
The shaved coconut is the unsweetened kind - but the praline filling is so rich, that it was well balanced. To toast the coconut, just add to a pan and toast in the oven, shaking the pan every couple of minutes until you get the color you want. Keep a careful eye on it!
The Filling
The filling is a variation of my mom's famous coconut filling (the reason I've had coconut cake almost every year for my birthday): a stick of butter, about 1 cup of sugar, a cup of canned evaporated milk, and a little vanilla .... cook on medium for a while. You are basically making a praline filling. Next, add shredded sweetened coconut and a good handful of chopped, toasted pecans. Cook for a while longer and remove to cool slightly. Spread filling between the layers of cake, reserving some for the top. Mom likes to add the filling while it is still fairly warm - she says it allows it to soak into the cake better, keeping the layers extra moist.
I think I might try this one to take to my mother for her b-day in June! Looks fantastically yummy!
ReplyDelete