Spiced Rum Cake with Coconut Frosting and Toasted Coconut

Happy birthday, Nathaniel!

My roommate's boyfriend's birthday was yesterday. Laura wanted to do something nice for him, so what did she do? ..She came to me for help baking him a cake! And she only gave me one direction to go in: Coconut.

Well, two directions. I also own a silicone baking container that forms into a giant cupcake! So the directions were: Coconut, Giant Cupcake.

I personally don't care for coconut at all (either in taste or texture) so Laura had to be my taste-tester. The cake itself was fantastic! I'm not one for tasting the alcohol that I drink, and the rum really added to the cake without being overwhelming.
The frosting was, apparently, great too! Though once it had been in the fridge to set, it got quite firm, and it did soften after it sat out again. It requires cream of coconut, which is NOT the same thing as coconut milk! You can either find it in the section of the grocery store with drink mixes (like the Bloody Mary mixes, or margarita mixes) or in a liquor store.

I also got to toast coconut! Even as a person who doesn't like coconut, the smell of it being toasted filling the whole apartment pleased me.

Spiced Rum Cake with Coconut Frosting and Toasted Coconut Recipe

• 1 box spiced cake mix


• 4 eggs


• 1/3 cup veggie oil


• 1 cup milk


• 1/4 cup sour cream


• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice


• 1/4 cup spiced rum

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350


• Grease 2 round cake pans


• Combine all ingredients and blend with electric mixer on low speed until combined, then on medium speed for two minutes.


• Pour batter into pans, and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.


• Place on wire rack to cool.

Coconut Frosting Recipe

• 6 oz cream cheese, softened


• 6 tbsp butter, softened


• 6 tbsp cream of coconut, well stirred


• 2/3 cup powdered sugar


• 2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Preparation

• Cream cream cheese and butter together.


• Add in cream of coconut and powdered sugar, beating well.


• Add flaked coconut and beat well.


• If needed, add more powdered sugar to thicken.

Toasted Coconut Recipe/Preparation

• Preheat oven to 300


• Spread enough coconut to cover a 9x13 pan in a thin layer


• Bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 to make sure it gets toasted evenly. Toasting too long, or too high, will burn it!