Coconut Layer Cake & A Cookbook Giveaway!

So I heard it might be cold where you live! Being a California wussy, I’m not really familiar with cold weather, but I’ve seen movies and read books about this substance you call “snow” and apparently it comes from the sky and is quite chilly and it requires you to wear cute boots and sassy scarves? Sounds delightful!

Since I’m not regularly exposed to the real thing, I decided to make a snowy coconut cake instead, so we could feel like we’re walking through a winter wonderland! Or eating a winter wonderland. Or walking through a winter wonderland where fully assembled cakes randomly appear on the ground right in front of you…I don’t know…the metaphor kind of breaks down as soon as you start thinking about it.

The important thing, though, is that I ended up with a gorgeous, delicious coconut cake, and also that I never have to shovel snow from my walk or defrost my car windows. Joy to the world!

This cake features three layers of soft yellow cake, brushed with a coconut milk soaking syrup. The filling is a soft and sticky coconut filling (think the interior of an Almond Joy, only more moist) and it’s frosted with a cream cheese frosting, and covered—of course—in a thick, shaggy layer of shredded coconut.

Although coconut is not a traditional December flavor, this still makes a great holiday cake. It’s large and substantial, so it can feed quite the hungry crowd. It keeps well, so it can be made several days in advance and served without losing much moisture or flavor. And although it has several components, the actual assembly and decorating is really simple—there are few cake mistakes that handfuls of coconut cannot cover up! Seriously—throw it on a cake stand, scatter some pine cones around, and your guests will be cooing about your maaaaahvelous holiday coconut cake!

This cake recipe comes from The Lemonade Cookbook by Alan Jackson and Joann Cianciulli. Lemonade is a small chain of restaurants in California, featuring amazing salads, lots of fresh produce, and homey desserts. There are a few things you should know about this book:

1. I received a review copy from the publisher
2. I almost always turn down review copies from publishers because I’m not interested in writing cookbook reviews
3. But I accepted this review copy because…
4. I am obsessed with Lemonade. Really really. We live a few blocks from one location and it’s pretty much my favorite thing ever. Their Brussels sprouts are life-changing, people. I couldn’t resist the chance to try making them in my own kitchen! (Spoiler alert: they’re just as good when made at home!) and also because…
5. I have the chance to give away not one, but two copies to my readers! Yesssss!

This cookbook is filled with all my favorites from the restaurant. It’s heavy on vegetables and salads (including some awesome salad dressing recipes) but also has a number of entrées, desserts, and of course, lots of lemonade recipes! I admit I’m guilty of getting stuck in dinner ruts way too often, so this book is a fun and easy way to add variety—and more vegetables!—to our diet. I have to tell you that, while I did receive a copy of the book for free, this isn’t a sponsored post…I’m just a Lemonade groupie. True story.

- One entry per person
- Each comment will be assigned a number and two winners will be picked using the random number generator at random.org.
- The contest will run from Wednesday, Dec 11 through Wednesday, Dec 18, 11:59 pm Pacific time.
- I will contact the winners by email, so please make sure you leave a valid email address in the comment form. The winners will have 24 hours to get back to me before a new winner is chosen.
- This prize is open to residents of the US and Canada only.

UPDATE: The contest is closed and winners have been notified. Congratulations to Jillian (#22) and Heather (#82)!

⇒ Click Here for the Recipe - Coconut Layer Cake & A Cookbook Giveaway!

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