FREAKING AWESOME COCONUT POUND CAKE!!!!

So, last week I think I made the best dessert I've ever made, and that's sayin' something--I've made (and eaten!) a LOT of desserts in my day! And it shows, right on my big ol' badonk-a-donk. But actually, I've lost quite a bit of weight lately, and was feeling kinda, you know, SMUG, last weekend, so I said, "Hey, what the heck, I'm gonna bake me up a big cake with FOUR sticks of butter, because this is America, and I can!" If you're going to splurge on a dessert, it had better be a good one, right?

This Coconut Pound Cake will NOT disappoint. I promise. Especially if you like coconut--the cake reminded all of us of a big, buttery macaroon. So, the first thing you'll want to do is generously grease and flour your bundt pan (do not skip the flouring part, unless you want your cake to come out in, I dunno, about 6 pieces!). Cream your 4, count 'em 4 sticks of butter with sugar for 7 minutes--very important:

This is how fluffy your butter mixture should look, after 7 minutes

Add flour, then eggs, 1 at a time. Add coconut and remaining flour. Add vanilla, and spoon the batter into your bundt pan:

Batter will be VERY thick

Bake in the bottom third of your oven for 1 hour, 15 minutes. For the glaze, simmer sugar, water and coconut extract:

Spoon a LITTLE of the glaze over the top of the cake:

This is the "top" of the cake, which will soon be the bottom!

 Loosen the sides of the cake with a table knife, and invert onto a wire rack. Pierce cake all over with a fork, and spoon remaining glaze over cake:

Cool completely. Serve at room temperature with sliced strawberries and maybe some vanilla ice cream. I like to macerate my strawberries, which simply means to toss fresh sliced strawberries with a splash of balsamic vinegar and a couple of tablespoons of sugar, then let sit for a few hours. This sweetens up strawberries that might not be very sweet, this early in the season, and makes them nice and juicy:

Toss your strawberries with a spoon a couple of times while they're macerating.



Truly a dessert fit for a QUEEN! Here's the recipe:

COCONUT POUND CAKE

Serves 12-16

2 cups butter (4 sticks) at room temperature

3 cups sugar, divided

2 cups all purpose flour, divided

6 eggs

7 oz. flaked coconut

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup water

1 tsp. coconut extract

Sliced strawberries

Ice cream, if desired

Generously grease and flour a bundt pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and 2 cups of sugar for 7 minutes in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 cup flour; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix. Add coconut with remaining 1 cup flour. Mix well. Add vanilla. Spoon batter into pan; smooth top. Batter will be very thick. Tap pan on counter. Bake in bottom third of oven for 1 hour, 15 minutes.

For glaze, simmer remaining 1 cup sugar, water and coconut extract for 10 minutes in a small saucepan. Spoon a little of the glaze evenly over the top of the cake. Loosen sides of cake with a table knife, then turn out onto a wire rack. Pierce top of cake all over with a fork. Spoon glaze over cake. Cool completely. Serve at room temperature with sliced strawberries and ice cream, if desired.

Today I'm grateful for:

* The freedom I have, being a free-lance writer who works at home.

* The 40 degree weather and sunshine we're enjoying here in upstate NY today. To some, that may sound cold, but to us, it's downright balmy!

*Naps. And speaking of.......nighty night!