Sour Cream Coconut Delight

Psalm 71:19   Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens, You who have done great things.

This is an original recipe of mine.  For years my sister-in-law, Liz, has made Sour Cream Coconut Cake for her family holiday dinners.  We all love this cake recipe, but recently I was thinking of my newly purchased trifle bowl and what I could make to fill it.  We had family coming for a visit and I thought about the Sour Cream Coconut Cake recipe that can be made up to 7 days in advance and each day that goes by the flavor just melds.  At the same time Liz and I were talking about the Buttermilk Cake that she made and topped with fresh strawberries and real whip cream.  That got me thinking about making the cake and using the sour cream coconut filling.  Well, that lead me to this recipe.  It did get rave reviews from my family and the little bit that was leftover didn’t last through another day.  You really wouldn’t have to use a trifle bowl, but it works really well and it is so pretty.  If you like coconut, you’ll love this yummy dessert!

MY TRIFLE ORIGINAL…
SOUR CREAM COCONUT DELIGHT
Ingredients for cake: 1 ¼ cups sugar ½ cup coconut oil 3 eggs 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose or pastry flour ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup buttermilk Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8″ or 9″  round cake pans and set aside. Combine sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl or food processor. Beat at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure to beat well after each addition.  Add vanilla. Add flour, baking soda and salt to the sugar mixture. Pour in buttermilk and beat well. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool pans 10 minutes on a wire rack, then remove cake from pans.  At this point one layer of cake can be wrapped and frozen for use another time.  This recipe will only require one layer of cake to fill a Trifle Bowl. When cooled completely tear into small bite size chunks. Filling: 1 cup sour cream 1 cup sugar 1 package frozen coconut, thawed 8 ounce Cool Whip ½ cup flaked coconut Mix sour cream, sugar and thawed coconut together. Starting with one-third of the bits of cake, cover bottom of bowl. Layer one-third sour cream mixture over cake. Spread one-third Cool Whip over cake/sour cream mixture. Continue layering two more times. Finish with Cool Whip and sprinkle top with ½ cup flaked coconut. Cover tightly with lid or plastic wrap. At this point the dessert can remain in the refrigerator for up to 3 or 4 days before serving.  The longer the time, the more the flavors meld together. Wonderful by itself or with fresh fruit on the side.

 Trifle Bowl

Traditionally, a trifle is a dessert that is layered in a glass bowl, as to display each layer. The glass bowl is called a trifle bowl. Punch bowls are also used, which is why trifles are also known as Punch Bowl Cakes. The layers consist of a cake, such as sponge cake or ladyfingers. The cake may have jam spread on each piece. Sherry is then sprinkled on, and allowed to soak in. (The use of liquor is sometimes why these desserts are Tipsy Cakes.) A fruit, like strawberries, would be the next layer. Next, there’s a creamy layer; like a custard. Whipped cream is spread on top. Lastly there are garnishes of fruit, chocolate and/or nuts. The dessert is finished in the refrigerator.

Today, a trifle can consist of just about any item you choose. The cake layer may be pound cake, angel food cake or even brownies. The sherry may be skipped entirely or a wonderfully flavored liqueur, like Kahlua, may be used. Instant pudding, in various flavors, can be a substitute for the homemade custard. Layers can also consist of fresh fruit, crumbled cookies, crushed candies and nuts. All trifles seem to have whipped cream, but the cream may be of the artificial topping variety.

Trifles are a favorite of mine. Anyone can make one. Even if you don’t have a trifle or punch bowl, they can be purchased for less than $10.00 USD. You can spend as much time or as little time as you wish on making one. The layers alone make it a naturally pretty dessert. Trifles allow for creativity from the ingredients used to the mixture of textures. The sky or the bowl is your only limit.