I have decided to make myself a birthday cake, and I've been inspired by a cake I saw on another website (Chickens In The Road) which featured a strawberry dreamcicle cake. Though I do like strawberry, I really, REALLY like raspberry and coconut together, like that Hostess snack cake gem, the raspberry zinger! Unfortunately, the Zubiate men don't like coconut, which is both a bad, and a good thing. It's bad because I can't share my cake with them, but it's good because I can't share my cake with them! Don't worry, I won't eat it all in one sitting, I'll be sure to eat if over a week, or a few days at the least, I promise.
The Recipe
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 8" cake pans. (I used 3 7" pans and I lined them with some greased coffee filters that I cut down to fit the pans.
CAKE:
1 box strawberry cake mix ( I didn't have one, and the store was out, so I used white cake mix, & I added 1 tsp. strawberry extract)
1 3 oz. box of raspberry jello (reserve 1 tsp. to flavor 4 oz. coconut)
1 1/4 c. water
1/3 c. veg. oil
3 large eggs
1/2 c. flour (to cut the sweetness)
1 box strawberry cake mix ( I didn't have one, and the store was out, so I used white cake mix, & I added 1 tsp. strawberry extract)
1 3 oz. box of raspberry jello (reserve 1 tsp. to flavor 4 oz. coconut)
1 1/4 c. water
1/3 c. veg. oil
3 large eggs
1/2 c. flour (to cut the sweetness)
- Sift cake mix, flour, and jello into large mixing bow, or bowl of stand mixer.
- Add water, oil, eggs, and mix on low speed to moisten the ingredients and then med. speed until well incorporated, about 1 1/2 to 2 min.
- Pour cake into prepared cake pans, bake for 20 to 25 min. or until cake tester comes out with moist crumbs, or center springs back when touched.
- Let stand 5 min. and then remove cake from pans to wire racks, and let cool completely. If you are using 8" pans and want 4 layers, cut the cakes now and separate them with wax or parchment paper. For easier decorating, wrap cooled cakes in plastic wrap and freeze for 30 min. or refrigerate for a couple of hours, or until firm.
FROSTING:
8 oz. cream cheese (room temp.)
8 oz. sour cream
1 1/2 c. powder sugar
1 c. frozen raspberries
1/4 c. sugar
12 oz. sweetened coconut divided into 8 oz. and 4 oz.
1 pint fresh raspberries for decorating
The original recipe has sour cream and whipped cream, but that frosting seems too goopy, so I used cream cheese instead of the whipped cream, that way the frosting would have a "cheese cake" like flavor, and will firm up considerably when refrigerated for 30 min. Any longer and it won't spread very easily and could tear your cake to shreds. You could also use the cream cheese with the whipping cream instead of the sour cream, what ever you like.
8 oz. cream cheese (room temp.)
8 oz. sour cream
1 1/2 c. powder sugar
1 c. frozen raspberries
1/4 c. sugar
12 oz. sweetened coconut divided into 8 oz. and 4 oz.
1 pint fresh raspberries for decorating
The original recipe has sour cream and whipped cream, but that frosting seems too goopy, so I used cream cheese instead of the whipped cream, that way the frosting would have a "cheese cake" like flavor, and will firm up considerably when refrigerated for 30 min. Any longer and it won't spread very easily and could tear your cake to shreds. You could also use the cream cheese with the whipping cream instead of the sour cream, what ever you like.
Place 1 c. of frozen raspberries into a bowl and add 1/4 c. sugar. Let sit out on your counter until ready to use in filling. Drain any juice from the berries to help keep the filling from being too soft.
You can either weigh out 8 oz. and 4 oz. of coconut, or you can measure out 2 c. and 1 c. I have a fancy shmancy scale so, I just had to use it! Set aside.
Add reserved 1 tsp. raspberry jello to 4 oz. of coconut, and mix to coat this will make the coconut pink and give it a slight tangy raspberry flavor. Set aside.
Place room temp. cream cheese into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and whip until light and fluffy.
Sift powder sugar into bowl with whipped cream cheese. Whip until fluffy, scraping down bowl and paddle.
Add sour cream, whip until fluffy, scraping down the bowl and paddle, making sure there are no lumps of cream cheese.
Add 8 oz. coconut to icing and mix until just combined. Reserve about 2/3 of the cream cheese/sour cream icing into another bowl and place into fridge to firm up.
Add frozen raspberries into remaining 1/3 of frosting and fold in to make the filling. Chill until firm enough to be spreadable, but not too soft or else it will ooze out of the side of the cake when you stack it.
Prepare to assemble! Take cake from freezer or fridge, and the frosting from the fridge. DO NOT FORGET TO REMOVE BAKING PAPERS! Not much is worse than cutting a fully decorated cake that still has its baking papers!
Place the first layer onto a cake plate or stand and use half of the filling and spread out about 1/2" from the edge. Place next layer on top and add remaining half of filling and spread out 1/2" from edge. I have only three layers, so if you want 4 layers then you will divided the filling into thirds, which will make the filling thinner. Top with remaining lay of cake.
If your layers are slipping, just insert a wooden skewer into the middle, mark it, remove it, and cut it, then reinsert it into the hole you made. I had to do this because I wasn't patient enough to chill the cake, filling, and frosting, and so it was a sliding!
Frost the cake with the white frosting on the top and sides of the cake. Now, with your hand, take some of the pink/rasp. coconut and gently pat it onto the side of the cake. I didn't bother to put any kind of waxed, or parchment paper down while frosting and decorating, because I'm lazy and this cake is for me, not company, so I wasn't too concerned about neatness. Place fresh raspberries around the top edge and sprinkle remaining pink coconut in the center.
Doesn't that look AMAZING?!
Doesn't that look AMAZING?!
I wish you had a scratch and sniff screen,because this cake is so good, and it seems to get better with age. Keep the cake in the fridge until you serve it due to the dairy in the frosting. Lightly drape it with plastic wrap to keep it from absorbing unwanted fridge flavors. If there is any remaining cake, wrap it with plastic wrap and keep it in fridge. Happy Birthday to me! Happy Baking...
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