“She loved to bake!” remembers ANITA MULLINS (Lexington, Tennessee) “That is one of the main things that comes to my mind when thinking of my grandmother ALMA BELEW (Clarksburg, Tennessee). I remember every Christmas she baked cakes all week long. The same six cakes every year: orange, pineapple, chocolate, jam, banana, and the favorite of all, coconut cake. No canned or bagged coconut though, she only made it from a whole coconut! The milk was used to pour over the cake, and then she shredded the coconut fresh.” A homemaker, a farmer’s wife, and a mother of four, Grandmother Belew was known to local farm community retailers by her cakes that she made and took around to everyone that they did business with. “Her love of baking has been passed down for three generations, and we all try to recreate her famous cakes each holiday season.”
CAKE:
2 ¼ cups flour
1 ½ cups sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
¾ cups shortening
5 egg whites
1 can coconut milk*
SEVEN-MINUTE FROSTING:
3 egg whites
5 tablespoons water
1 ½ cups sugar
¼ tsp cream of tartar
1 fresh coconut or 1 bag sweetened, flaked coconut
1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two round 9-inch cake pans.
2 TO MAKE THE CAKE, in a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl beat the milk, vanilla, shortening, and egg whites. Add the shortening mixture to the flour mixture and beat with an electric mixer until moistened. Evenly pour the batter into the cake pans and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clear.
3 Allow the cakes to cool in the pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
4 Spoon coconut milk over cake layers and refrigerate. The longer the better, but as long as it soaks in good, you will be able to frost the cake.
5 TO MAKE THE FROSTING, combine the egg whites, water, sugar, and cream of tartar in the top pan of a double boiler. Bring water to a boil and place the top pan over the boiling water. Make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the top pan. Beat with an electric mixer for seven minutes. Spread the frosting over the cake and sprinkle with coconut. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Remove 30 minutes before serving.
MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS.
* You can also use 1 cup milk and ½ cup sugar and bring to a boil and use this if you do not have coconut milk on hand.