Happy second day of spring! It’s such a happy feeling. To celebrate, I made you some coconut coffee cake!
The recipe for this coffee cake was inspired from one I spotted in my new favorite cookbook:
Yeah, that’s right, The Duesterhoeft Café: A collection of our favorite treasured recipes. I know what you’re probably thinking, “The Duesterhoeft Cafe, where is that? I must go.” and then, “How can I get my hands on that cookbook???”
To answer the first question, The Duesterhoeft Café is in the heart and soul of my parents, siblings, and all the friends and family that inspired recipes and shared delicious food with us throughout the years.
Just kidding!
It’s a fictional name that my parent’s gave our house when tricking my siblings and me after church one Sunday. They said they were taking us out to eat at “The Duesterhoeft Café”. We thought it was a legit restaurant, but really it just ended up being our house. My sister was not pleased. My parents, the joksters.
To answer the second question, only a limited number of copies were printed, so unfortunately you won’t be able to find it in bookstores. But by following Just J.Faye, you are in luck! I’m going to be cooking and baking all through this cookbook so that I can share the treasured Duesterhoeft recipes with you. Delicious things like my mom’s famous chicken wings, the coveted Swedish rice ring, and my great-grandma’s German potato salad. Yummmm. Drool.
My mom put this wonderful recipe collection together, had it printed and bound, then distributed to family and close friends. Some recipes have deep family roots, some remind me of the early 90’s, and some I have never heard of, but if it comes from The Duesterhoeft Café, you can trust that it’s amazing.
Anywaysssss, back to the coconut coffee cake. As I was scanning through the cookbook I saw the word “coconut” and immediately stopped. It’s spring. It’s time for coconut. I knew I had to make this one first.
According to my mom’s notes she just found the recipe in her old recipe box and doesn’t know where she ate it or who she got it from, but that she liked it and wanted to save it. I guess it’s not the best example to start with from our “treasured recipes”, but I guess maybe it’s like a hidden treasure that we re-discovered. Sure. Let’s go with that.
The original recipe calls for boxed cake mix and coconut instant pudding. I could not find coconut instant pudding! Does it not exist?! I want it. Maybe I should have checked different grocery stores? Oh well. I used vanilla instant pudding instead, made a yellow butter cake from scratch rather than using a boxed mix, and made a few other minor tweaks.
The result: super delicious coconut coffee cake. I mean, look at it.
The cake itself is just so soft. It’s based off the one I used for this rhubarb cake, but with canned lite coconut milk and vanilla instant pudding.
In the middle of the cake you will find a ribbon made of cinnamon, sugar, pecans, and coconut. This mixture is on top as well. The pecans and coconut get perfectly toasted while baking in the oven. The cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top gives the cake a sort of thin crispy layer that you break through with your fork before reaching the soft yellow cake below it. Heavenly.
But then to make it perfect, the cake is drizzled with a simple icing made of powdered sugar, vanilla, and coconut milk. It’s… just… I…
So good.
If you aren’t crazy about coconut, I’m sure you’ll still enjoy this cake. The coconut flavor is super subtle. However, if you are crazy about coconut and want more coconut taste add in a little bit of coconut extract (~1/4 teaspoon) and replace the vanilla instant pudding with coconut instant pudding (lucky duck, if you find some).
Know what this coconut coffee cake would be perfect for?! Easter brunch. AKA, the best brunch day of all the days. Mother’s Day being a close second, of course.
Know what else this would be perfect for?! Saturday afternoon cake & coffee with girlfriends. I just can’t be alone with this cake much longer. Seriously, come over later. Thanks.
Annddddd now I’m going to go run 13 miles. Yay, marathon training!
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ cup chopped pecans
- ¾ cup flaked unsweetened coconut
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup canned lite coconut milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons butter, softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- 1-2 tablespoons canned lite coconut milk
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9 baking dish.
- In a small bowl stir together the ingredients for the nut mixture. Set aside.
- In another small bowl whisk together the egg, egg yolk, coconut milk, and vanilla.
- In the bowl of the electric mixer (or a large bowl) stir together the sugar, flour, pudding mix, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the butter and mix on medium for about 90 seconds. The butter should be evenly distributed throughout the flour mixture.
- Add the wet ingredients and beat until combined, about 30-60 seconds.
- Pour half of the batter into the baking disk. Top batter with half of the nut mixture. Top this with the remaining cake batter, then sprinkle the remaining nut mixture on top.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out with slight crumbs.
- In a small bowl stir together the icing ingredients and drizzle on top of the cake.
- Let the cake sit for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
