Kendra's Treats

Today was my first official day of fourth year – my last year of medical school – woo hoo!!! =). My (brief) vacation is officially over. Gone are the days where I spend an hour running, an hour cooling off in the pool, and the rest of the day blogging and taking pictures. Partly because now I don’t have that much free time and partly because the pool collapsed last week =(. But on a brighter note, I have an amazing toasted coconut cake recipe to share with you! And it’s super easy – it starts with a cake mix. Don’t judge. Sometimes you just want a shortcut…you know?? When you add cream of coconut and sour cream it doesn’t even taste like a cake mix anymore. I promise. And who doesn’t love cream cheese icing? It’s a perfect, easy summer cake =). Enjoy!

Toasted Coconut Layer Cake
1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
3 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup cream of coconut
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1 tsp coconut extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans.
2. Combine the cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, cream of coconut, extract, and the sour cream and mix well for 4 minutes. Pour batter into the prepared pans.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
*adapted from Allrecipes

Coconut Cream Cheese Icing
8 oz cream cheese
2 sticks butter or margarine*
5-6 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp coconut extract
1 cup toasted coconut

1. Beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar and continue to beat on medium-high speed. Add coconut extract. Beat until smooth.
3. Spread on cooled cake as desired. Garnish with toasted coconut.
Note: If you use margarine, your frosting will not be as firm as with butter. If you use butter, you may need to add a couple tablespoons of milk to reach desired consistency.