Glazed Coconut Cake

Anyone can just make a white cake and throw some coconut on top. To me, that's not a coconut cake. If I'm having a coconut cake, then I want the cake part to taste like coconut too! That would be this recipe. I originally made it for Josh's birthday, since coconut is his favorite. CJ also agreed that this was one of the better cakes that I've ever made. It's so good!
As far as I'm concerned, the glaze is the key. Yes, the cake would be fine if you omitted the glaze and just used a butter cream icing, but it wouldn't have that punch of coconut flavor that I love. It makes the outside of the cake so deliciously moist! Think of how everyone loves to eat just the top of a muffin or a cake because "that's the best part." Well, the glaze makes the WHOLE CAKE the best part. And if you want to take it a step even further, after the glaze has cooled and soaked into the cake, you could drizzle it with Hershey's Chocolate Glaze. It'll be like having a Mounds or Almond Joy cake. Yum!


4 eggs
2 c sugar
1 c oil
1 tbs coconut flavoring
1 tsp rum flavoring
3 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c buttermilk*
1 c flaked coconut
1 c chopped nuts (optional)

Glaze:
1 c sugar
1/2 c water
2 tbs butter
1 tsp coconut flavoring

Beat eggs in large bowl. Add and blend in the sugar, salad oil, and coconut flavoring. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. Add the coconut and the nuts (if using). Pour into a greased and floured Bundt or tube pan. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Meanwhile make the glaze. Bring sugar, butter and water to a boil. Boil 1 min. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut flavoring. Pour hot syrup over the top of warm cake and allow to stand for at least an hour or two before removing from pan.

Note- When I made it for the picture, I wanted to put flaked coconut on the outside of the cake, but since the glaze had already soaked in, there was nothing to hold it onto the cake. So, I decided to pour a little extra glaze over the cake, only this time I removed it from the pan while it was still wet. Then I sprinkled flaked coconut over the cake. The wet glaze allowed the coconut to stick to the sides. How's that for problem solving??


Tip:
*To make buttermilk, use 1 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice plus milk to equal 1 cup. Microwave for 15 seconds. The milk will curdle which is exactly what you want. If you don't have a microwave, you can just let it stand until the milk curdles. You'll get the same result. The microwave just speeds the process.