Daddy's birthday recap

On Saturday, Ramy played golf and then we headed out to South Coast Plaza to shop for shoes for our European vacation (let's hope not like European Vacation).  Unfortunately, despite being in the largest mall in Southern California, neither of us found what we were searching for.  I thought I might have been ill to have been there and shopping for shoes and actually not buy a single pair in Nordies or any of the other great shoe stores.  We headed home in defeat.  That evening, while Ramy was out helping his boss celebrate his lavish retirement on Saturday night, Rebecca and I were at home baking his birthday cake. 

Rebecca helped tremendously:

The recipe for this Four Layer Coconut Cake came from the Southern Living Our Best Desserts cookbook and turned out really well.  Very good!

I'll post the recipe at the bottom of this post.  It was a somewhat laborious task because of despite the help from my wonderful sous baker. 

On Sunday, we met up with Ramy's mom, his sisters Myrna and Theresa, and our niece Jessica for a Chinese buffet.  Luckily for me, they were Americanized enough to have orange chicken on the buffet, so I did not pay for food that I wasn't about to eat, which is what often happens at authentic Chinese places!  I gave Rebecca some sweet and sour chicken (minus the sauce) and told her it was chicken nuggets.  After she ate one, she said, "These chicken nuggets are kinda weird!"  She had no trouble eating the doughnuts though.  There was no signing of the birthday song, so Ramy and Rebecca were thrilled.  (Where do they get this?)  Afterwards, we went to another mall in search of shoes.  This time, Ramy found the ones he wanted, although we decided to order them online to save money, and I also found some I liked.  Success!

That evening, we did the birthday cake and candles routine, and Rebecca presented her hand-made card to Ramy. 

What is Ramy doing? 

All in all, it was a low-key kind of birthday, which is exactly the Ramy likes it.  We'll be going out with some friends this weekend, but they aren't really supposed to know that it is his birthday. 

Four Layer Coconut Cake

Cake:

3 cups flour

2 2/3 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

1 cup milk

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. coconut extract

1 tsp. vanilla extract

5 large eggs

2 cups flaked coconut

1 1/2 cup coconut shavings (found in health food stores, dried fruit section, or in bulk section)

Preheat oven to 400° F. Beat first 6 ingredients at medium speed in a stand mixer until blended.  Add extracts, beating well,  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until just incorporated after each addition. Stir in flaked coconut. Pour batter into 4 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans.  Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks, and let cool 1 hour or until completely cool.

Meanwhile, reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Arrange coconut shavings in a single layer in a shallow pan. Bake 8-10 minutes or until toasted, stirring occasionally.

Coconut Filling:

2 cups sugar

2 cups whole milk

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup flour

4 cups flaked coconut

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Cook first 4 ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly 12-15 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in coconut and vanilla.  Let cool 30 minutes or until completely cooled.  Spread between layers of cooled cake, leaving a 1/2 inch margin around edges.

Frosting:

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp. coconut extract

Beat whipping cream and extract at high speed until foamy.  Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Spread on top and sides of cake.  Sprinkle toasted coconut on top and sides of cake, pressing gently to adhere.