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My sister and I call this crack cake. Our mama made this for the first time several years ago and we literally stood at the kitchen counter one afternoon eating this with forks. That isn't normal behavior for us. I promise. This cake is just that delicious and irresistible.
I had never made this before, but a recent Christmas celebration with the Husband's family seemed like the perfect time to try my hand at this
Southern Living recipe.
I was very happy with the way this turned out and everyone else seemed to be as well. The combination of bourbon, coconut and pecans is wonderful. The cream cheese in the cake batter really imparts a richness that is divine.
This cake is perfect for special occasions and would also be great as a tasty brunch treat.
A few notes:- I used a reduced fat cream cheese in place of regular cream cheese.
- I also added a few teaspoons of bourbon to the sugar glaze. I would definitely recommend doing so.
- I would recommend using whole milk in the sugar glaze - don't try to cut calories but using skim or reduced fat.
- Be very cautious when getting towards the end of baking time. Do NOT over cook. Less is better in this cake.
Bourbon-Coconut Cream Cheese Pound CakeCake:1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup bourbon
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 cup shredded coconut, additional for sprinkling
Glaze:2 cups powdered sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until the yellow yolk disappears.
Sift together flour and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with bourbon, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat batter at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla, pecans, and coconut. Pour batter into a greased and floured 12-cup tube pan.
Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 35 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.
While the cake is cooling, make the glaze.
Stir together 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth, adding another 1 tablespoon milk, if necessary, for desired consistency.
Drizzle cake with glaze and top with additional coconut.
I made a list of the materials I would need to make one as well as items for a framed chalkboard to display above a buffet Jamie painted for her as a housewarming gift. John and I headed off to Lowe's.Next to Lowe's is an AC Moore and we ran in first. I noticed unfinished framed mirrors in various sizes and thought they would be just right for these projects. With a 40%-off coupon and not needing to cut and build the frames, we happily bought a large one for the chalkboard and a smaller one for the serving tray.
FOR THE FRAME
I am liking this chalkboard right here in my foyer and think I just might make one for me.
Long before Elf-on-a-shelf became popular, this Elf, named CASHEW, came to our house each December 1st and magically appeared in various places throughout the month.When our girls grew up and married, CASHEW sent his Elf cousins to their homes as well.
MAC ADAMIA plays his mischief at Jamie's home.
AL MOND frolics up in NY at Jill's house each year. He has even followed them to their new home.
~*~I caught CASHEW in some of his many antics and made a game inspired by a pin I saw on Pinterest.As you can see, one never knows where CASHEW's whimsical wondering's will appear. Even Raider is not off-limits to his impish ways. We are planning on playing this with the M&M lovin' kids in our family. That is unless CASHEW gets into the M&M's first!
If you would like to make a game too, right click the photo and save to your computer. I made the game in Microsoft Word. I printed on card stock and trimmed to desired size. I used a glue stick to attach the page to another colorful piece of card stock then went to Staple's to have it laminated.
outside vignettes
inside
Our weekly Bible Study Community Group having a blast at our annual Christmas Dinner
The dearest folks that bring so much encouragement, wisdom, prayers and love to us and each other every week.
John's Company Holiday Party.Abbey is an employee here too, since July and someone took a photo of her and the co-founder/Executive Vice President because they are the youngest and the oldest employees.
Christmas Eve at Jamie's playing "Don't Eat Cashew!" game.
Enjoying the ambiance and Christmas Eve peacefulness of her warm home.
Christmas morning with Abbey
Watched (over and over) a heartwarming video of NY grandkids singing to us via cell phone video.
Erin, AJ and Jared & Jamie, Josh and family arrived late afternoon. They learned that Cashew was being extra mischievous and hid all of the Christmas presents. After dashing throughout the house, Keri was the first to find them in a large cabinet that recently housed our TV. 
such fun
chilling after dinner
Look of fright on Chloe's face as PopPop takes her photo.She is a bit uncertain of him as were two other grandkids when they were babies.Some little ones love guys and some prefer girls but they all come to love him when they get a little older.
Here he is trying to to divert her attention so she realizes he really is a nice PopPop
One of my favorite shotsThe adults were still chatting in the dining room after dessert and I walked into the kitchen and noticed the kids playing with the trains and talking about the village houses and which are there favorite. Noah even remembered which ones were his NY cousins' favorite.It was so sweet to hear see them having a quiet moment at the end of some busy days.Notice Caleb looking over the sofa arm :)
His tweet got me thinking about how to help even more. Remember the little fundraiser we did for Monterey Bay and Heifer International? I was happy to report of the $300 we raised. So I thought, why not try to help out this cause for AB's birthday here too.
Alton Brown will help the Tennessee Aquarium with their new sustainable seafood endeavor later this fall. The "Serve and Protect" project will raise awareness and promote local and sustainable seafood choices.
Let me start by saying that The Baby is a total carb queen. When she won't eat her vegetables, chicken nuggets, etc., she'll always take a bite of bread, muffins, donut holes or cake. That being the case, The Wife and I always try to keep some kind of baked goods around the kitchen, be it The Wife's pumpkin muffins, biscuits or a cake. So when I saw this recipe in an email from Food and Wine, I made a mental note to make it next time we were in need.
