Last year for Christmas my mom got me this fantastic Igloo pan. It's huuuuge-- much larger than I thought it was. (The original recipe for this only filled a quarter of this pan, which stunned me and I had to scramble to change the recipe to make up for it. So yes, this was a science experiment. Luckily, I know enough about baking that I was able to make up for some liquids, fat contents, etc. It definitely was difficult...)
So yeah, I decided I'd make this tasty little contraption-- beautifully rendered in igloo format. Originally I saw the recipe for the mascapone and coconut cake and was like-- woah! That sounds delicious. I love mascapone cheese and dates, and my roommate (Caitlin) loves coconut. This seems to be perfect. Wintery enough to make sense for an ingloo cake, and requiring no frosting.... yes, perfect indeed (except small).
I had to convert the recipe into cups and tablespoons-- I don't have a kitchen scale. I used to. Before I moved to LA and became homeless, hah. The original recipe I found at 1001 hours.What I really liked was how much like a pound cake this turned out to be. The edges were all brown and crusty and thick, and the inside was soft, tender, moist... delicious. It wasn't too sweet, it was hearty-- which paired well with the uber sweet date topping. I made a huge batch of that and kept a lot of it in my fridge which I then reheated when I needed it.
I also made this igloo cake at the apartment I share with the girls-- I'm not sure if Karin had any, but Caitlin and Vicky seemed to enjoy it and most of it was gone by the time I left LA to go home to CO for Christmas. That's where I'm blogging from now, currently. The good old town of Boulder.Okay, the rest of this is mostly filler. My mom wanted me to make the igloo cake for my little brothers, but I wasn't about to take this pan home with me. It's huge, it'd fill like... a quarter of my suitcase. Nooo thank you.
I loved that the coconut stuck out-- it gave the cake a heartiness and a chewiness that was really nice and complinted the dates. Really, all the flavours of this complimented well. Even though I altered it quite a bit. I'm still curious how the original dessert would have turned out-- someday I'll have to make it. But this is quite nice too.
I liked the texture of the cake on the outside, and I loved the crispness of the crust. Again, this made a lot of cake, it'd probably be frugal to half the recipe and make a smaller amount. my bundt pan was humongous and even with all of this recipe it didn't fill it up entirely.
Look how thick that cake is-- and it's even pretty with a slice taken out, hah!
The dates were rich and tender. I tend to make dates at Christmas time for my brother and I make them the same way. I cook them in a little butter with some honey and cinnamon and we just eat them whole-- well, we remove the pits afterwards. They're all gooey and creamy. I fed a full date to Brian before I left, and he said he liked them better as a paste for the cake-- he said they're too paste like to be a solid object. I guess I can see that point of view. But darn, another boy who doesn't like dates as much. Luckily I can cook them and I think he'll like them better.I love dates, I'm glad they're such a wintery tasty treat.
Coconut and Mascapone Cake with Sauteed Dates
Adapted from 1001 hours
2 cups sugar
1 cup grated coconut
1 package mascapone cheese
half a package of cream cheese
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 6 oz container vanilla yogurt
11 eggs
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
Oven at 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.
Grease your pan.
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour the dough into the prepared pan and bake -- this large of a cake took me about an hour and a half to bake. Hah!
Allow to cool, top with powdered sugar and dates.
2 tablespoons butter
1 package fresh dates, chopped and pitted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Melt butter in a small pan. Add all ingredients and cook until melted and heated throughout.
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