I made another cake.

Coconut cake:

Ingredients: * 3 cups sifted flour * 4 teaspoons baking powder * 1/2 teaspoon salt * 1/2 cup shortening * 1/2 cup butter * 2 cups sugar, divided * 1 1/3 cups coconut milk (if using fresh coconut milk, add regular milk to make 1 1/3 cups) * 1 teaspoon vanilla * 1 teaspoon almond extract * 1/3 cup coconut, optional * 5 egg whites

Preparation: Cream shortening and butter with 1 1/3 cups of the sugar. Add sifted flour alternately with liquid, beginning and ending with flour; add vanilla and almond extracts. If desired, add 1/3 cup fresh coconut to the batter. Beat egg whites to soft peaks; gradually add remaining 2/3 cup sugar. Fold meringue into cake batter, just enough to incorporate. Spoon into 2 9-inch layer cake pans lined with oiled waxed paper. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 25 to 35 minutes, or until cake bounces back when touched lightly.

So, needless to say, I fucked with this at great length, and didn’t frost it, and I think I may be getting bored of my throw-everything-in method of baking.

So what changed: 1 can of coconut milk, reduced to 3 tsps baking powder because 4 seemed REALLY excessive, used 3 whole eggs, 2 cups brown sugar, added about 1.5 tsps fresh-grated ginger, and mixed it all up and threw it in and sprinkled it with powdered sugar when it was done. Then I strapped it to the back of my bike with a whole lot of bungee cords and took it to my friend’s house. This was probably the most impressive part.

Conclusion: when it tasted like ginger, it was okay, otherwise it just kind of tasted like mushy white cake without any particular flavor or direction it was going. Really, just a disappointing cake. Though I’m not going to point to the recipe so much as my methodology as flawed in this instance.

Life has been pretty hectic lately for reasons out of my control, so there has been not so much cooking. But I will circle back to that in not-too-long.