Toasted Coconut Ice Cream & Caramel Cake

By the time hubby gets home from his last day of work before vacation, he's spent. He has an inner vacation-timer, and his mental status syncs up..."Four more days, three more days, I can do it, bright sun, margaritas, change outgoing message, two more days, need to do laundry, one more day, dust off suitcase in garage..."

I like to have something sweet waiting for him when he gets home from his last day of work before vacation. I've been doing this for years now.

I love to see the look on his tired face when he walks into the house filled with the aromas of something sweet, savory, or redolent of his childhood. I, sometimes, feel 20-years-old again and jump through hoops to please him. It's a way of distracting myself from how crazy our life has become; kids, school, sports, activities, obligations.

Once, when hubby returned from a visit to Arizona to see my stepson, I had Southern pulled pork, homemade cole slaw, buttermilk corn bread, and pumpkin cheesecake all ready at the same time when he walked through the door.

It was a maze of scents that compelled hubby to say "This is the way a house should smell, baby."

He never should have said that, because I made pulled pork twice a week for the next month, until my son started begging for hamburgers again.

There is a pleasing-gene in me that blossoms in the kitchen. The vacation-cake is one of many culinary rituals I have. Making pancakes on Sunday. Baking bread in winter.

I attempted to find my old bread machine recently, but all I found was my ice cream maker and rotisserie machine. The rotisserie machine has a ton of parts and no manual, the ice cream maker has few parts and complies with logic. It doesn't even require a timer, only gut instinct.

So what did I do, thinking a vacation cake would please hubby but homemade ice cream would make him weak with anticipation and pleasure?

I made homemade ice cream to go with that cake. When I am in the kitchen, I swear, time and obligation don't permeate the walls of scents, music of timers and mixers, and desire to create yummy goodness for my people.

And with that ritual, we're off. But before I leave, without an idea or intention for a blog post for the next five days, I'm posting the recipes here.

Coconut seems appropriate for summe, and since this recipe did not require a custard (what can I say, I was packing and sorta busy), I made toasted coconut ice cream. For the cake, I tried a recipe I've always wanted to try - caramel cake. The frosting was tricky. I ended up doubling it.

I hope to return with way too many photos too fit within my many blogs about vacation.

Ahhhhhhh, vacation.

Yummmmmm, cake and ice cream.

CARAMEL CAKE

adapted from The Cake Mix Doctor

Non-stick spray or solid vegetable shortening for greasing pans

Flour for dusting the pans (I buy the spray + flour in one)

1 package (18.25 oz.) plain white cake mix

1 cup buttermilk (the original recipe calls for whole milk)

8 tbsp. (1 stick) butter, melted

3 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Quick Caramel Frosting (recipe follows)

Place a rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour (2) 9-inch round cake pans, shake off excess flour.

Place cake mix, buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract in mixing bowl.

Blend with electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute, Stop machine, scrape down sides of cake mix with spatula.

Divide batter between 2 pans. Place in oven side by side.

Bake cakes 27-29 minutes, until they're golden brown, and spring back from your touch, and when a cake tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Let cakes cool on wire racks for 10 minutes.

Run a dinner knife or offset spatula around the sides of the pan, and insert the cakes onto a rack, then invert them onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up.

Allow to cool completely, 30 minutes more.

QUICK CARAMEL FROSTING

adapted from The Cake Mix Doctor

16 tbsp. (2 sticks) butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup whole milk

4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Place butter and brown sugars in a large-size heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir and cook until the mixture comes to a boil, about 2 minutes. Add the milk, stir, and bring the mixture back to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat. Add confectioners sugar and vanilla. Beat with a wooden spoon until the frosting is smooth.

Use immediately (while still warm) to frost the caramel cake or the frosting will harden. If it does harden while you are frosting the cake, simply place the pan back over low heat and stir until the frosting softens up.

Place one cake layer, right side up, on cake platter. Spread the top with warm frosting. Place the second layer, right side up, on top of the first layer and frost the sides of the cake with clean, smooth strokes. Work quickly, as the frosting will set.

Tips:

Get the off-set spatula with which you are frosting HOT under the hottest faucet setting. Dry first.

To slice the dome off the cake top or not? I never did, because I feared I would lose too much "meat" of the cake this way. But I did this time, the cake was not the leaning tower of pisa nor did it lack "meat". I used a serrated knife, but dental floss works probably better.

TOASTED COCONUT ICE CREAM

1 cup whole milk

1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

1/4 cup vanilla sugar (or regular, granulated sugar)

Vanilla beans from 1 vanilla pod

Preheat broiler to highest setting. On a cookie sheet, spread out coconut flakes.

Toast shredded coconut under broiler, keeping a close eye on it, for about 3-5 minutes.

When coconut just begins to get golden and toasty, remove from oven.

With a paring knife, split open the vanilla pod and scrape the vanilla beans out with the knife's edge.

Combine the whole milk, sugar, and coconut milk in the container of a food processor or blender.

Add in cream, toasted coconut, and vanilla beans.

Pour into the container of an ice cream maker, mix and and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.