The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/15/08
"I hope you can help me. When I married over 25 years ago, I had a cookbook that contained a recipe called Hawaiian Wedding Cake. The dough for this cake was made completely of graham crackers and contained nuts, pineapple and a cream cheese frosting. I've never seen another cake like it. It's so unique and sooo delicious."
LIZ MORGAN, Fayetteville
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There are a few of the goddess's loyal readers whom she feels should be christened "Deputy Goddesses," because they seem to always come through for her. One is Dae Thompson of Marietta, who must have the largest recipe file in Georgia. Thompson writes: "I rummaged through my stash of recipes and believe I found the recipe for Hawaiian Wedding Cake Ms. Morgan is looking for! I believe it came from Southern Living magazine or book." Attention please, though. There is not an omission; there is no flour in this cake.
Thompson recommends buying whole graham crackers and grinding them up in a food processor or blender, advising, "they will taste much better." The original recipe called for a 1-pound box of graham crackers. It seems the box has now shrunk to 14.4 ounces, which is about a 1/2 cup shy of the suggested amount of crumbs, so you should supplement it or choose to live dangerously and see how it comes out without the added crumbs.
Hawaiian Wedding Cake
15 servings
Hands on: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, plus 1 hour or more cooling time
You can also serve a square of cake with whipped cream instead of cream cheese frosting.
For the cake:
1 (14.4-ounce) box graham cracker plus 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 (3 1/2-ounce) can sweetened shredded coconut or 1 packed cup
1 cup milk
1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, well drained
For cream cheese frosting:
1 (8-ounce) package cold cream cheese (don't need to remove from refrigerator before using)
5 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
To prepare the cake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan.
In a food processor, crush graham crackers into crumbs and combine with 1/2 cup crumbs. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl, if necessary. Combine baking powder, nuts, coconut and crumbs and gradually add to sugar mixture. Slowly add milk and pineapple. Batter will look curdled. Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing top. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Cool slightly in pan before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.
To prepare the frosting: While cake is cooling, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until combined. Gradually add sugar. Continue to add more sifted confectioners' sugar until you reach a consistency and sweetness that fits your taste.
Frost when cake has cooled completely.
Per serving: 524 calories (percent of calories from fat, 56), 8 grams protein, 51 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 33 grams fat (17 grams saturated), 132 milligrams cholesterol, 381 milligrams sodium.
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