Coconut Walnut Pound Cake

My friend Michael had a party at his house on Sunday and made 2 really great desserts, one was a creamy rich multilayer carrot cake and the other was an intense, moist coconut walnut cake that his mother used to make, he gave me her recipe to share, pictures to follow I'm still eating the blood orange meringue tart!

Coconut Walnut Pound Cake

Preheat the oven to 325 F

Butter and flour a 10" tube pan

In a sauce pan make the Coconut Syrup:

Add 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup water, 2 Tablespoons of Unsalted Butter and bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon of coconut extract.  Set aside.

For the cake:


In a large bowl add 3 cups of All Purpose Flour, 1/2 Teaspoon Salt and 1/2 Teaspoon baking powder.

Pour 1 Cup Buttermilk into a small bowl and add 2 Teaspoons of Coconut Extract.

Roughly chop 1 Cup of Walnuts, place in a bowl with 1 Cup of Desiccated Coconut (unsweetened).

In the bowl of an standing mixer add: 2 cups sugar, 1 cup Canola Oil (any non flavorful oil you have  can be used) and 4 Large Eggs.  Beat on high speed until doubled in volume.

Starting and ending with the flour mixture add alternatively with the buttermilk mixture into the egg mixture with the beaters on low.  Mixing until well incorporated after each addition.

Finally gently stir in the walnuts and coconut.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until a tester inserted comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and leaving the cake in its tin,  pour the coconut syrup over the hot cake.

Let the cake absorb the syrup for at least 4 hours before turning out onto a serving plate.

To serve add a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream garnish with some lightly toasted coconut flakes or just serve plain, great for afternoon coffee breaks!