Coconut cake from Patrick and Gina Neely's recipe

We frequently watch food network and other than Paula an Ina garten, the Neelys are on our list. We love to catch Sunny Anderson but seem to miss her show. This is a typical southern style coconut cake, been in the Neely's family for generations now. So we can safely say this is a pretty authentic recipe. We all loved the cake. Try it and see for yourself.

Ingredients:

• Nonstick baking spray, for pan
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
• cream cheese lemon Glaze, recipe follows
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray and dust with flour.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.

In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. Once incorporated, add the extracts. Stir in the coconut milk and beat until combined. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients until the mixture is smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool cake 5 minutes before turning it out onto a rack. Let cool completely on the rack.

Once the cake has cooled, ladle the glaze over the cake, and top with flaked coconut. Let glaze set before serving. Transfer the cake to a platter or serving dish and slice.

Cream cheese and lemon glaze:

3 tablespoon Cream Cheese (room temperature)

1 ½ cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoon lemon juice

2tablespoon milk

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Let stand for 20 minutes to thicken.

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Lemon Rice

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked basmati (or any other long-grain) rice
2 Tbsp oil (gingelly/sesame oil would be ideal here)
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
2-3 red chillies
A pinch of asafoetida
½ tsp turmeric powder
3-4 green chillies, minced
4-5 curry leaves
½ onion, finely chopped
¾ tsp ginger paste
A good handful of coriander leaves, chopped up
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used 2 large and juicy lemons)
Salt
Sugar

Method:

Cook the rice.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large pan. Add chana dal, urad dal, mustard seeds, red chillies asafoetida, turmeric powder, green chillies, and curry leaves. Next add the onions, ginger paste, and salt. Cook till the onions soften.

Add the hot rice and mix well. Turn off the heat; add lemon juice to the rice. Add a touch of sugar too if you so desire. Keep for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the rice to absorb the lemon juice and all of the other flavors.

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