Summer Reads Recipe: Aidan Stone’s Bundt Cake from The Unwedding
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Credited to Courtney Reich
Ingredients
- FOR THE COCONUT CAKE
- 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
- ½ cup (125 g) canned coconut milk, mixed before measuring
- ½ cup (120 g) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (16 g) coconut emulsion or extract
- 1 ¾ cups (350 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 ounces white chocolate, melted
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 egg whites, at room temperature
- FOR THE COCONUT BUTTERCREAM
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, slightly cold
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 2 ½ cups (312.5 g) powdered sugar, measured then sifted
- 1 teaspoon (5.3 g) coconut emulsion
- Pinch of salt
- GARNISH
- 1 cup (95 g) sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup (95 g) toasted coconut, I buy mine pre-toasted from Orson Gygi
- 1 cup toffee baking bits
Instructions
- FOR THE WHITE CHOCOLATE COCONUT CAKE
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick spray. Dust with granulated sugar. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, stir together the coconut milk, buttermilk, and coconut emulsion. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light in color and fluffy in texture, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the melted white chocolate, followed by the eggs and egg whites, making sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl in between additions.
- Continue to beat on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until the mixture gets smooth in texture and slightly bigger in volume.
- With the mixer on low speed, add ⅓ of the flour mixture, followed by ½ the coconut mixture, another ⅓ of the flour, the second ½ of the coconut mixture, and then the remaining flour mixture. Stir until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top of the cake (which turns into the bottom) with the toasted coconut and then cover with the toffee bits (the coconut flakes need to go first so you can cover them with the toffee to help prevent the flakes from browning too much). Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.
- Remove from oven and place the bundt pan on a cooling rack to cool completely. Allow the cake to cool for about an hour, until it’s room temperature, before inverting the cake on a cake stand. Allowing the cake to cool completely in the pan helps the cake to release from the sides cleanly when it’s time to take the cake out.
- FOR THE COCONUT BUTTERCREAM
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese for about 2 minutes, until lighter in color and fluffier in texture.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing a little in between each addition.
- Stir in the coconut emulsion and salt.
- Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. The buttercream will become lighter in color and texture.
- ASSEMBLY
- Spread or pipe the buttercream on top of the cake. Cover with shredded coconut.
“Our June Reese’s Book Club pick is the perfect summer read!!! The Unwedding by Ally Condie opens with a wedding at a gorgeous resort in Big Sur… but everything begins to fall apart when the main character Ellery discovers a dead body the morning of the ceremony.”
– Reese Witherspoon
The White Lotus meets Agatha Christie in this bold novel from a #1 New York Times bestselling author, “a knife’s-edge whodunit that’s as much a thriller as it is an exquisite meditation on grief and loss.” (Nicola Yoon)
Ellery Wainwright is alone at the edge of the world.
She and her husband, Luke, were supposed to spend their twentieth wedding anniversary together at the luxurious Resort at Broken Point in Big Sur, California. Where better to celebrate a marriage, a family, and a life together than at one of the most stunning places on earth?
But now she’s traveling solo.
To add insult to injury, there’s a wedding at Broken Point scheduled during her stay. Ellery remembers how it felt to be on the cusp of everything new and wonderful, with a loved and certain future glimmering just ahead. Now, she isn’t certain of anything except for her love for her kids and her growing realization that this place, though beautiful, is unsettling.
When Ellery discovers the body of the groom floating in the pool in the rain, she realizes that she is not the only one whose future is no longer guaranteed. Before the police can reach Broken Point, a mudslide takes out the road to the resort, leaving the guests trapped. When another guest dies, it’s clear something horrible is brewing.
Everyone at Broken Point has a secret. And everyone has a shadow. Including Ellery.