Ya Ya's Coconut Cake

Our one of kind Ya Ya (my Greek grandmother) passed away last November. She did live and long and healthy life and we miss her very bold and outspoken opinions about life. After her death, it sent me pondering about my family's traditions. We don't have a large and close knit family like some people, and I worried. What would I have to pass on to my children? Truth be told, she was one of the reasons I decided to start this blog. This gives me any opportunity to electronically preserve  the traditions we do have: Food! Ya Ya loved baking, and her coconut cake was one of her classics. I remember it with nostalgia and it is one of my favorites!

Here is this delectable delight and some photos of the ONE and ONLY Ya Ya:

                                      The first step is to bake a white cake mix as directed:

...But the key to this cake is the 5 minute icing. It also known as 7 minute icing when you prepare the old school way, but using the microwave is easier for me and it tastes just as good!

5 Minute Icing Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

dash of salt

2 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla

Combine sugar, water, cream of tartar, and salt and microwave for 5 minutes in a 2-cup glass measure.

While this mixture is doing its magic in the micro, prepare the egg whites until SOFT PEAKS FORM. These peaks take time, so be patient! This was probably the one obstacle I had to learn with this recipe. You can see from the pic below how the egg whites should look. My mom usually recommends beating the egg whites for the entire 5 minutes that your other mixture is microwaving. This is pretty painless if you have a standmixer, but you can still achieve this with a regular electric mixer. After you have arrived at this consistency, gradually pour in hot syrup. Blend in the vanilla AT THE VERY END.

                                                      Don't forget your shredded coconut!

                                                       Now get to work putting it all together!