Coconut Bundt Cake with Lemon Filling
Once upon a time in 2013 my friend Jenni at Pastry Chef Online bought a gorgeous swirl bundt pan and named it Dorothy. Jenni, being one of the most generous friends I have, realized that Dorothy had the potential of bringing smiles to bakers around the country who would create sweet and savory recipes to bring out Dorothy’s full potential. That is how ‘The Peoplehood of the Traveling Swirly Pan…building community, one cake at a time’ got started.
Naturally, Dorothy needed to travel with a companion named Toto. Toto is the book that goes from one home to the next with Dorothy. Each baker gets approximately two weeks with these two and can bake one cake or many cakes. After the baking is finished it is time to write a message in Toto before passing them along to the next person on the list.
I felt like I was holding the Holy Grail as I, gingerly, turned Toto’s pages. Reading Toto is like sitting down and reading a diary of someone who has a great sense of humor and a passion for baking. It is written with many voices. There is warmth, love and a common bond of those who have been fortunate enough to be a part of the Traveling Swirly Pan’s journey.
I was so happy that my friend Cheryl of Pook’s Pantry had Dorothy and Toto before me. Samuel and I went to the Miami Dolphins training camp and after 10 minutes of baking in the sun, Samuel declared it was time to leave which meant that we, now, had time to have breakfast with Cheryl and catch up.
It was love at first site with Dorothy and I couldn’t wait to get into the kitchen and bake. I decided to make a Coconut Bundt Cake with Lemon Filling. The cake is moist and bursting with coconut, thanks to the cream of coconut and coconut flakes. The filling is similar to the one I use in my Lemon Meringue Pie and Lemon Meringue Pie in a Jar.
The crowning glory is the glaze made with cream of coconut and confectioners sugar. I added lemon zest to my glaze because I wanted the lemon taste with the glaze; but it can be eliminated, if more of a coconut taste is desired.
The end result was that I could not stop eating the Coconut Bundt Cake with Lemon Filling. I begged people to come get some because I was so afraid I would eat the whole thing. Fortunately for my waistline, I have very nice friends!
I did take the opportunity to make one more cake with Dorothy before I had to send her on her way; Chocolate Mint Cake with a chocolate mint ganache topping. Suffice to say, it is worthy of its very own blog post.
As for Dorothy and Toto, they are heading over to KC at Chat ‘n Dish. One thing I know for sure is that I am ordering my very own Dorothy pan. You can order yours, too.
I am pretty sure I will hear, “There’s no place like home” when I open my package!
Nordic Ware Platinum Collection Heritage Bundt Pan
As an Amazon Affiliate Partner, I earn a few pennies when someone buys through Desserts Required but the only products I list are ones I like, too.
Coconut Bundt Cake with Lemon Filling | Print |
- Lemon filling:
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- ½ cup boiling water
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1¼ tablespoons unsalted butter
- Coconut cake:
- 11 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1¾ cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup cream of coconut
- 1¼ cups shredded coconut
- Glaze:
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- zest of ½ a lemon, optional
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons cream of coconut
- For the lemon filling:
- Stir together the sugar and flour in a small saucepan. Stir in the boiling water. Stir the egg yolks. Add a ladelful of the hot mixture to the eggs and stir. Repeat a few times. Add the egg mixture to the saucepan and stir.
- Add the lemon juice followed by the butter. Cook over medium low heat until the mixture is thick. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and cool completely before assembling the cake.
- For the coconut cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325°. Butter and flour a 10 cup swirl bundt pan or traditional bundt pan and set aside.
- Place the butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Beat until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time. Blend in the baking soda and half of the flour.
- Stir in the sour cream, vanilla, lemon juice and cream of coconut. Add the remaining flour followed by the coconut flakes.
- Spoon ⅓ of the batter into the prepared pan. Gently make a divot in the center of the batter but do not push far enough down that the spoon touches the bottom of the pan or the sides of the pan.
- Spoon the lemon filling into the divot.
- Spoon the remaining batter over the filling.
- Bake at 325° for 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Cover the top of the pan with a cooling rack. Turn upside down and gently remove the pan. Allow the cake to cool completely before glazing.
- For the glaze:
- Combine all of the ingredients into a small bowl. Stir until smooth.
- Spoon the glaze over the cake.