My sister Stephanie made me a ‘Welcome Home’ cake for my visit. She just finished a cake decorating class, and her roses are perfect! 

7-Minute Frosting

It’s called “7-Minute Frosting” but it somehow took me an hour and a half to make. I have seen this recipe in many of my cookbooks, but usually use my go-to butter cream frosting instead. The reviews were compelling “sweet”, “indulgent”, “light-as-air”, and even one “oh la-la”, I had to give it a try.

The Recipe:

2 large egg whites

1 ½ cups granulated white sugar

¼ cup cold water

1 Tbs corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

In a stainless steel bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, place the egg whites, sugar, water, and corn syrup. With a handheld electric mixer, beat the mixture for 3 to 4 minutes on low speed. Increase the speed to high and continue to beat for another 3 to 4 minutes or until the icing is shiny and satiny with soft peaks.

Remove from heat, add the vanilla extract, and continue to beat on high speed for another 1 to 2 minutes or until the frosting is thick. Use immediately.

I knew there would be issues, mainly because I did not own a handheld mixer.

Attempt #1

I used my bowl from the stand mixer and placed it over simmering water, just as instructed. I swirled the ingredients for a bit and then alternated mixing on the stand mixer, and placing it on the heat. 

It seemed to work; the mix got fluffy and resembled frosting. On closer inspection, I could see little lumps. I tested it, and there they were, sugar crystals, all lumped together and crunchy. In the trash it went.

Attempt #2

So alternating heat and whipping did not work. I need to be sure the sugar dissolves completely. What if I dissolve the sugar in the water first? This might work. In a separate saucepan, I melted the sugar in the water with the corn syrup. I poured the syrup into the bowl with the other ingredients and began the 7-minute whip. Again, this batch looked great, and again there were the sugar crystals. This time, my bowl was a mess. The sugar turned into a cement-like crust that required lots of scrubbing.

Attempt #3

If I boil the water and sugar longer, maybe the sugar will not re-crystallize? WRONG!

I now know how to make hard candy. Unfortunately, this batch was like pouring superglue into egg whites. My bowl was in even worse shape after this disaster.

Attempt #4

I couldn’t give up; I had a cake to frost. There was a temptation to run to the market and buy a 99 cent tub of vanilla frosting, but I overcame. How was I going to make this happen? I googled other 7-minute frosting recipes and they were all about the same as this one. However, one description said that the recipe has been used for over a century…and it came to me – they did not have hand mixers 100 years ago, I can do this!

I placed all the ingredients in the bowl over simmering water, started my timer, and began to slowly whip. One minute…2 minutes…my arm hurts, how am I going to ‘speed up’?…3 minutes. SPEED UP…4 minutes…5 minutes – that’s good, it looks beautiful. I removed it from heat and put the bowl on the stand mixer for the final 2 minutes and added the vanilla. 

Oh la-la, it looks amazing. It’s shiny, thick, soft, and fluffy. It reminded me of marshmallow fluff, and kind of tasted like it too. It was a simple and sweet flavor, perfect for the coconut cake that I was making.

So 4 attempts and almost 2 hours later, I had exactly what the recipe called for. It was worth the effort, I have big plans for this frosting in future baking endeavors. 

Coconut Cake

My co-workers are getting spoiled. Not that I mind, but almost daily I get asked “any goodies today?” and if the answer is no, “how about tomorrow?” It’s actually a great feeling knowing that people enjoy what I bake. The latest request was for a coconut cake. I was even presented this recipe by my friend and cubicle neighbor, Gina.

Surprisingly, I had all the ingredients in my kitchen. That is a good sign that I am building a stock of baking necessities, really – who has buttermilk in their fridge, just in case? 

It’s a good rule of thumb to bring all ingredients to room temperature when making a cake, even the milk and eggs. The cake will have a better rise if the ingredients are warm during mixing. I greased the pans, and sifted the flour, baking powder, soda and salt into a medium bowl. 

I beat the butter for 2 minutes, and then added the sugar until light and fluffy. Then the egg yolks were added, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. 

The batter looks great! A beautiful shade of yellow, with a creamy and fluffy texture. The recipe calls for the buttermilk to be added in 3 additions, alternating with the flour mixture. This recipe is called “Coconut Cake” although the only coconut in this cake is the flaked coconut garnish. So I added ¼ cup of dried coconut milk to the buttermilk before mixing it into the batter. The powder dissolved right into the milk, so it should give the cake a light coconut flavor and add a bit more moisture to the cake, since the power contains some coconut oil. 

I beat the egg whites onto a meringue, and gently folded them into the batter. I used my new kitchen scale to weigh both pans of batter to get even cakes. The cakes baked for 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven. 

After the cakes were completely cooled, I cut them both in half to get 4 even layers. The recipe calls for a home-made lemon curd filling. Instead of using this, I just popped open a jar or pre-made lemon curd. I did not want the strong lemon flavor to drown out the coconut flavor, so I beat ¾ cup of lemon curd with 1 cup of whipped cream. It was a creamy, but not-as-tart version of lemon curd – perfect for this cake. I spread it evenly between the 3 layers along with a sprinkling of coconut.

The recipe called for a ‘7-Minute Frosting’. The ingredients are simple, the process not-so-simple. I had such a hard time with this frosting that I am writing a separate post about it – yes, it was that bad! But, on the 4^th try, it came out wonderful, better than I had imagined. 

I spread on a nice thick layer and topped with a layer of coconut. We carved it up for breakfast the next day at work. The cake was moist, a little dense with a hint of coconut flavor. The alternating lemon curd and coconut in the layers was not only attractive, it gave you all the flavors in every bite. The frosting was heavenly – thick, sweet and almost marshmallowy. All together, the cake was delicious. My co-workers would agree, especially one of my biggest supporters, who had 3 pieces! 

Lemon Creme Cake

It’s finally feeling like spring here in the D.C. area! The warm and sunny weather turns my desires from heavy desserts to light and fruity treats. I have a thing for lemon desserts; I can’t get enough lemon in my cakes, puddings, pies, ice cream, cookies, and bars - so bright, crisp, and delicious! I went to my favorite recipe resource: King Arthur Flour for their Lemon Custard Cake recipe.
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This is me and my new “Maryann” style cake pan, which is perfect for a light and fruity custard cake. The pan is 8” and has an indented center that will hold fillings and fruit. 

The cake looks like it turned out great. Although there is no intended recipient, I would feel guilty cutting into it all by myself. Any takers?