Ambrosia Cake

SUBMITTED BY: Barbara PHOTO BY: Amanda

"A light, white cake with a delicious orange-coconut filling and an almond flavored meringue frosting."

RECIPE RATING:

Read Reviews (7)

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PREP TIME	30 Min
COOK TIME	45 Min
READY IN	1 Hr 15 Min
Original recipe yield 1 - 2 layer 9 inch cake

SERVINGS

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Servings
USMETRIC

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

2/3 cup shortening
1 3/4 cups white sugar
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup flaked coconut
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 egg whites
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon butter
1 egg yolk, beaten
1/3 cup flaked coconut
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon almond extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.
In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and 1 3/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Stir in vanilla and 1 cup coconut. In a separate glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites to soft peaks. Fold egg whites into the cake batter. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans over a wire rack. When cakes are cool enough to handle, tap out of the pan to cool completely. Spread the Citrus Coconut Filling between the layers, and frost the outside with fluffy white frosting.
To make the Citrus Coconut Filling: Whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Add butter, coconut, and egg yolk, and cook over medium heat stirring constantly until the butter is melted, and the mixture has thickened. Remove from heat, and stir in the orange zest, orange juice and lemon juice.
To make Fluffy White Frosting: Combine 1 cup sugar with corn syrup and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Continue cooking without stirring, until the temperature is between 234 and 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface. In a large glass or metal bowl, whip remaining 2 egg whites until soft peaks form. Pour the hot syrup in a thin stream into the egg whites while continuing to whip until thick and glossy. Stir in almond extract.

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REVIEWS

Reviewed on Sep. 24, 2003 by DECLAWED

How silly to write a review for a recipe without even trying it--hardly counts as a review if... MORE

Reviewed on Sep. 24, 2003 by Cheryl

I made this cake for Mother's Day. Everyone loved it. I chose this recipe because it uses egg... MORE

Reviewed on Feb. 9, 2004 by snowpea

I followed the recipe exactly but it just didn't turn out. The cake was dry and heavy, the... MORE

Reviewed on Aug. 15, 2003 by Kristin Del Mul

Maybe I didn't do something right but this recipe did not turn out for me at all. The cake did... MORE

Reviewed on Jul. 3, 2007 by Kristine

Full Review

The reviewer gave this recipe 4 stars. This recipe averages a 0 star rating.

Kristine
Jul. 3, 2007

First of all, in order to make the orange striped layers in the photo, you would have to cut each cake in two and maybe double the recipe for the middle citrus filling (little more runny than expected). Secondly, I thought the cake would be a little more coconutty and light, but the coconut was more for extra flavor and texture and the cake was a heavier and more crumbly than I thought it would be. The frosting recipe I had to change as I didn't have almond extract (which I'm sure would have tasted better), so I used vanilla extract. The result was kind of like what I would imagine marshmallow fluff to be like, except more buoyant and light. Delightful! Making it was a bit difficult since I didn't have a candy thermometer--but I let it simmer for a couple minutes after it seemed to clear up after boiling (the test didn't work out so much for me--perhaps the water wasn't cold enough or the sample was too hot). Apparently I did it all right since I really liked the frosting texture (yielded quite a lot even though only one egg white was used--brilliant!). Since it wasn't what I imagined the cake to be, I give the recipe **** but it was a lot of fun to make and my sister LOVED it and craved it for about a week after we first made and finished it. Great flavors indeed, although a bit on the sweet side. I'd cut back the sugar in the cake and/or the citrus filling, or else I would have it with a nice summery drink or a cold glass of milk!

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3 users found this review helpful

First of all, in order to make the orange striped layers in the photo, you would have to cut... MORE