Retro Valentine's Day Cake

Retro Coconut and Cherry Valentine Cake

It seems Valentine's Day gets a bit of a bad rap nowadays, no one wants to spend money on unnecessary gifts that will be forgotten, or flowers that will die, just to show someone you care. I get that, after all, shouldn't we be showing our affection on a daily basis? Of course we should. 

That doesn't mean we can't use this day as an excuse to bake an amazing cake.

Because what says "I love you" better than a big heart-shaped cake covered in pink coconut? 

Nothing, that's what. 

Ingredients

    2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour                                 1/4 cup marschino cherry syrup

    1 1/3 cups sugar                                                 16 maraschine cherries, cut in eighths

    3 tsp baking soda                                               1/2 cup milk

   1/2 cup margarine                                              4 egg whites

   1/2 cup chopped walnuts                                    1 packaged shredded coconut

Directions

Make sure all your ingredients are room temperature before you begin!

Heat your oven to 350F. Prepare two heart shaped pans, or two 9" inch rounds, by lining them with parchment paper. There's no need to grease the pans. 

Sift flour, sugar and baking powder together in a large bowl. 

Add margarine, cherry syrup, cherries and to the flour and blend by hand, then beat for 2 minutes.

Add the egg whites and beat for another 2 minutes.

Fold in the nuts. Divide batter into two prepared pans. 

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.

Once cooled, run a knife around the edge of the cakes and flip them out onto a cake platter. Peel off the parchment paper. 

Once completely cooled, frost between layers and sides of  cake with white frosting. 

Frosting Ingredients

             3/4 cup softened butter                                       4 cups confectioners sugar

             3 Tbs milk or cream                                            1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat all ingredients together until thick and creamy. Coat entire cake. 

To tint coconut pink: Place shredded coconut in a jar, add a few drops of red food coloring, cover and shake well until it's a uniform color. 

Place wax or parchment paper around the outside of the cake. Decorate sides and top of cake with pink coconut, catching the excess with the paper. 

Remove the paper and use a heart shaped cookie cutter to fashion the coconut heart on the top of the cake.

A perfect Mid Century cake for Valentine's Day, or any day!