For any party, cooks will wow table guests with these Kentucky dessert recipes.
Kathy Cary's Coconut Lemon Cake
from Southern Living 1995 Annual Recipes
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, separated
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1?8 teaspoon salt
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add sugar. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Combine flour and baking powder; add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Beat egg whites and salt at high speed with mixer until stiff peaks form. Stir about one-third of the egg white into the batter, and then fold in the remaining egg white. Spoon batter into three greased and floured 9-inch round pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely. Spread lemon filling between layers. Spread fluffy white frosting on top and sides of cake. Sprinkle top and sides with coconut; garnish, if desired. Yields 1 three-layer cake.
Lemon Filling
1 cup sugar1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup boiling water
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1?3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter
Combine sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan; stir in water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar and cornstarch dissolve, about 3 minutes. Gradually stir about one-fourth of hot mixture into yolks; add to remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly with a wire whisk. Stir in lemon juice. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened. Remove from heat; stir in butter, and let cool, stirring occasionally. Yields 1 2?3 cups.
Fluffy White Frosting
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Combine sugar, water and syrup in a small, heavy saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until clear. Cook, without stirring, until mixture reaches soft-ball stage or candy thermometer registers 240 degrees. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form; slowly add syrup mixture, beating constantly. Beat until stiff peaks form and frosting is desired consistency. Yields 7 cups.
Look for the rest of these recipes in the December 2010/January 2011 issue.
John's Nutty Carrot Cake
John Reliford's Nutty Carrot Cake is moist and delicious. His townhouse in Old Louisville's Victoria Gardens is featured along with this recipe in a new cookbook, A Feast for the Eyes: Recipes from America's Grandest Victorian Neighborhood.
David Dominé's Bourbon Ball Torte
Ghost writer/cookbook author David Dominé presents a Bourbon Ball Torte. This rich chocolate cake has four moist chocolate layers filled with sweetened whipped cream and chopped bourbon balls. Then it is covered with a chocolate ganache and topped with more bourbon balls.
Marsha Burton's Woodford Pudding
Woodford Pudding with Bourbon Sauce is a specialty from Marsha Burton, owner of Louisville's 1853 Inn at Woodhaven. Her historic bed and breakfast is housed in a Gothic Revival mansion where Marsha rolls out the red carpet.