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| Take our well-loved, made from a mix strawberry cake, add the usual strawberries and strawberry gelatin, but bump it up a level with toasted pecans and coconut, and you've got one delicious dessert y'all! |
Strawberry Coconut Pecan Cake
I think the heat wave across the country, and especially the drought we're experiencing here in the Coastal South, is making it pretty difficult for most of us to get in the mood for cooking, much less baking. I can't even seem to get focused for recipe development, and that's not like me! I mean you need only look here to see it's been a week between my posts.And it is only June.
Have we been eating? Well, of course! But I'll be right up front and tell you it's been a lot of salads - mixed garden salads, salads with cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes, salads topped with store-bought rotisserie& chicken or slices of deli turkey or ham. The Cajun went shrimping, so we had some boiled shrimp with corn, potatoes and smoked sausage, and macaroni salad using those leftover shrimp. Quick and easy skillet meals and even watermelon has been making an appearance already, even if they are Mexican melons. Hey, you take what you can get. The other night, I kid you not... I had nothing but boiled corn on the cob for supper and there might have been a few
Truth is though, when the heat is on, I much prefer cooking inside with the air conditioning turned down, than outside on the patio standing over a grill. I grilled some stuffed burgers the other day, and liked to have died out there!! I put a couple of sirloin steaks in a marinade last night, and later today I'm gonna try and brave the heat again to slap them on the grill. I'm liable to change my mind on the grilling outside part though by then and just use a flipping grill pan inside.
Anyway, over the weekend, Amanda, one of the readers over on the Facebook page, posted on the wall that she had made the Strawberry Pecan Cake that I had featured there recently and said it was a hit. I realized that I had never posted the adapted version I made. The original recipe for this had been provided by Sheila, another of our Facebook readers, in April of last year.
This is not a jazzed up made-from-scratch fancy strawberry cake, but it is the old southern classic, made from a mix, gelatin infused strawberry cake, that just about everybody on this planet has had... and loved. Sheila added in coconut and pecans, two ingredients that just really took it over the top, and just that alone just might make it worth turning on the oven - even in this oppressive heat. If you have a church supper, reunion or potluck coming up, make this. In fact, garnish it with a bit of coconut shaken in some red food coloring and a sprinkling of pecans and a few fresh strawberries arranged on top, and you will be adored! It'd be a perfect addition to that upcoming 4th of July cookout too.
I made a few adaptations from the original recipe, using a little less coconut and pecans, and toasting them both, and while I did use the standard confectioner's icing, which I also made more gooey than I intended, I think I would love this even better with a strawberry infused buttercream cream cheese icing. You can find Shelia's original recipe on the Notes page of our Facebook page.
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Adapted from a recipe contributed by Facebook family member Sheila Hamblin-WindomRecipe: Strawberry Coconut Pecan Cake
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Prep time: 15 min |Cook time: 40 min | Yield: About 12 servings
Ingredients
Cake:
Icing:
- 1 box white cake mix
- 1 (3 ounce) box strawberry gelatin
- 1 cup toasted coconut
- 1 cup chopped toasted pecan
- 1 (16 ounce) container of frozen strawberries, thawed, mashed and divided
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup milk
Instructions
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 1 (1 pound) box of powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans
- 1/4 cup toasted coconut
- 1/2 teaspoon of strawberry extract
- About 1/4 cup of the remaining mashed strawberries, more or less
- Extra toasted coconut, for garnish, optional
- Fresh sliced strawberries, for garnish, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with Baker's Joy or non-stick spray; set aside. Lightly toast 1-1/4 cups of chopped pecans in a dry skillet over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant. Remove, set aside to cool, and add 1-1/4 cups coconut; toast until very lightly browned and set aside to cool. You'll be using some of both of those in the cake and in the frosting, and if you'd like to garnish the top of the cake with coconut, do a little extra and reserve for garnish.
Add the cake mix, gelatin, 1 cup of the toasted coconut and 1 cup of the toasted pecans to a large mixing bowl; stir to combine. Add 1 cup of the mashed strawberries and the eggs, oil, and milk; beat at medium speed with an electric hand mixer until well blended. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
For the icing, use a mixer to cream together the butter and sugar. Fold in the remaining 1/4 cup of the toasted pecans and coconut and the strawberry extract. Add only enough of the remaining mashed strawberries to make the icing spreadable. Spread over the cooled cake. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator.
Cook's Notes: I used Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Classic White cake mix, which is my favorite packaged cake brand. You can also make into a layer cake by using two 9-inch round cake pans, or three 8-inch pans. Spray pans generously with Bakers Secret and don't forget that tip about how to make your cake layers more even. Hey, even the Queen Paula Deen does it! Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cakes rest in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to completely cool.
Variation: Substitute 1 pint of fresh strawberries, chopped and mashed, with their liquid, reserving a few whole ones to slice for garnish if desired. Can also substitute Cool Whip or whipped topping for the powdered sugar icing. Stir in the coconut, pecans and extract and add in a bit of the remaining strawberry mash. Can also use a plain buttercream or buttercream cream cheese icing alone, or mixed with some of the strawberry puree. If garnishing with coconut, using a few drops of red food coloring makes for a beautiful presentation. Okay to substitute sugar free and lower fat products.
Source: http://deepsouthdish.com
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