Professor Butter Beard’s “Queen Charlotte”
One delicious cake (using a 6-cup Nordic Ware Charlotte Pan)
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
Zest of one large lemon
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla paste
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sweetened coconut flakes (plus ¼ cup more toasted for garnish)
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp ground ginger
½ cup unsweetened coconut milk
Lemon Curd (makes 2 cups):
1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
4 large eggs
¾ cup fresh lemon juice (about 4-5 lemons)
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into Tbsp size pieces
1) The night before, make your lemon curd. In a heavy saucepan, off the heat, whisk together the sugar, corn syrup and eggs. Whisk in the lemon juice and then turn on the burner heat to medium. Add the butter pieces and bring to a simmer slowly, stirring constantly – especially the edges of the pan. Once the curd coats the spoon, remove from the heat. Strain into a container, cover it and refrigerate overnight.
2) When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a 6-cup Nordic Ware Charlotte Pan with cooking spray with flour.
3) In the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk together the sugar and lemon zest until evenly distributed and the sugar appears a bit damp. Add the butter and cream together on medium-high until light and fluffy – about 5 minutes.
4) In another bowl, whisk together the flour, coconut flakes, baking powder, fine sea salt and ginger.
5) Once the butter/sugar is creamed, add in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla paste. Alternately add the dry mix and the coconut milk, beginning and ending with the dry mix. Spread the batter into the pan and bake on the center rack for 30-35 minutes, just until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6) When the cake is cool, top with lemon curd (to fill the well created by the pan). Toast the remaining coconut flakes and sprinkle around the edges. Serve with fresh blueberries or raspberries.
