New Cover Reveal and #Recipe for Coconut Lime Cake by @LibbyKlein #Holiday #Dessert #Thanksgiving #Christmas

Libby Klein I've been obsessed with the Great British Baking Show lately. I've been sick so I've been binge watching Netflix to distract myself. I'm gutted every time my favorite baker is booted from the tent. I even got all the books from the library so I could see the recipes. This is from one of the show cookbooks, but a baker is never given credit for the bake. The original recipe is for a three tiered cake like a wedding cake and I don't have enough people to eat my desserts to commit to that level of showstopper. This is my pared down, three layer version. Then I added a lime curd between the layers because Paul Hollywood insists a cake needs a sharpness to cut through the sweet. And I covered the cake in a lovely Swiss Meringue buttercream because it's light and fluffy.

You'll also see my new cover for Gimme Shelter - book 2 in the Layla Virtue (not cozy) Mysteries. Let me know in the comments what you think about it.

Coconut Lime Cake

Makes two 9-inch rounds

Coconut Cakes

2 sticks unsalted Butter, softened and cubed
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, beaten lightly
2 tsp vanilla paste or extract
2 cups plain flour or a 1 to 1 gluten free flour
3 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
1/4 cup coconut cream

1 1/2 cups desiccated coconut for covering the finished cake

Lime Curd Recipe follows

Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe follows

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and pinch of salt. Fold into the butter mixture being sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. 

Fold in the desiccated coconut and the coconut cream and combine until smooth. Divide the batter between two prepared 9-inch round pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes until risen and golden, and a toothpick comes out clean. Set aside and let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pans.

Lime Curd Filling

2 large eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp Lemon zest 
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2–3 lemons)
¼ cup unsalted butter

Whisk all the ingredients together in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir continuously over low to medium heat until the curd is thick enough to cling to a spoon. This will take about 6-8 minutes. Spread in a wide casserole dish or on a sheet pan and pop it in the fridge to cool quickly.

Swiss Buttercream

6 large egg whites (approximately 180g)
2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
1 and 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened but still cool and cut into Tbsp size pieces
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Separate the eggs, placing the egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer. 

Whisk sugar into the egg whites, then set the bowl over a saucepan filled with just two inches of simmering water over medium heat. Do not let the bottom of the egg whites bowl touch the water. Whisk the whites and sugar constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture has thinned out, about 4 minutes. The mixture will be thick and tacky at first, then thin out and be frothy white on top. To test that it’s ready, you can use your finger or an instant read thermometer. Lightly and quickly dip your finger (it’s very hot, be careful) and rub the mixture between your thumb and finger. You shouldn’t feel any sugar granules. If using a thermometer, the temperature should read 160°F (71°C).

Transfer the bowl to your stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. On medium-high speed, beat the mixture until stiff glossy peaks form and the meringue is no longer warm to the touch, at least 10-15 minutes. If the bowl and meringue still feel warm, wait until both cool to room temperature (around 70°F (21°C)) before adding the butter in the next step.

 

Switch the stand mixer to the paddle attachment. On medium-high speed, add the butter 1 Tablespoon at a time. Wait for the butter to fully mix in before adding the next Tablespoon. After all the butter has been added, turn the mixer down to medium speed and fully beat in the vanilla and salt, about 30 seconds.

Fill the Cakes

Make a wall of Swiss buttercream around the edge of the first layer. Fill the well with lime curd. Repeat with the second layer. cover the top and sides of the cake with Swiss buttercream and pat coconut into the frosting. 

This whip-smart, witty series packs an emotional punch within an engaging mystery as Layla Virtue, a 30-something recovering alcoholic and former cop turned party musician, finds a sideline in solving murders from her new home in a Potomac County trailer park…

An unforgettable mystery brimming with hilarity and heart for readers of Margot Douaihy, Jane Pek, and Darynda Jones.

As the song says, you can’t always get what you want. Maybe that’s why, instead of fulfilling her youthful dream of being a rock star, Layla Fortune is living in a trailer park while playing third-rate gigs, including a stint at a ʼ70s Abba brunch. Given everything else she’s been through lately, she’s not complaining (much) about satin ruffles and go-go boots. She has a squad of supportive new BFFs, and she’s reclaimed a relationship with her famous rocker dad. His recent diagnosis has brought them even closer—sharing the trailer park’s lake house, which he’s had remodeled in typically over-the-top style.

Libby Klein writes ridiculously funny murder mysteries from her Northern Virginia office with a very naughty calico Persian named Miss Eliza Doolittle, and a sweet black Lab named Vader. She can name that tune for 70s and 80s rock in the first few notes, and she's translated her love of classic rock into her Layla Virtue Mysteries. Libby was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that prevents her from eating gluten without exploding. Because bread is one of her love languages, she includes the recipes for gluten free goodies in her Cape May based Poppy McAllister series. Most of her hobbies revolve around travel, and eating, and eating while traveling. She insists she can find her way to any coffee shop anywhere in the world, even while blindfolded. Follow all of her nonsense on her website www.LibbyKleinBooks.com/Newsletter/