Coconut Lemon Tea Cake

Coconut Lemon Tea Cake
from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk (stir well before measuring)
1/2 stick (4 TBSP) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp dark rum
3/4 cup shredded coconut, toasted or not
grated zest of one lemon
juice from 1/2 a lemon

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 to 10-inch (or 10 to 12 cup) bundt pan.

Pour the coconut milk in a small saucepan, add the butter and lemon juice. Heat until the milk is hot and the butter melted. Remove from the heat, but keep warm.

Rub the grated zest of lemon into the sugar. With a hand mixer at medium-high beat eggs and sugar together in a large bowl until pale, thick and almost doubled in volume, almost 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and the rum. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, scraping down the side of the bowl as needed and stopping just when the flour disappears.

Keeping the mixer on low, add the coconut, mixing only until it is blended, then steadily add the hot milk and butter mixture. When it's smooth, stop mixing and give the batter a couple turns with a rubber spatula, just to make certain that any ingredients that may have fallen to the bottom of the bowl are incorporated. Pour the batter into the pan and gie the pan a few back-and-forth shakes to even the batter.

Bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until the cake is a golden brown and a think knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding.

Notes: My BFF made me this cake for my birthday. First one he ever made from scratch. It's amazing. Light with just a touch of lemon and the coconut gives it texture. Perfect. And that's two for two in this cookbook. Definitely a keeper.