It happened a while back, and it was a lovely surprise.
The cards began arriving.
My Ed and I have birthdays one day apart, and I have saved a lot of money and energy over the years by baking only one cake for both celebrations. On this birthday, as usual, the family gathered for the month’s five birthdays in the family and the three the following month.
Then the cards started arriving in our mailbox. We had cards from longtime friends and from people I have not seen in years. How did they know? I thought I had the answer and asked our daughter Catherine, who pled guilty to the card caper. Mystery solved! She had sent out the word on her computer to folks all over. It was a thoughtful thing to do, and my Ed and I have both really enjoyed the card shower.
And we had birthday cakes. The children had brought two cakes for our family gathering, and Ed’s friend Bud had brought a lemon pound cake. We enjoyed all these, but a real birthday cake must be coconut, caramel or chocolate with a semi-smooth frosting so the candles will be pretty.
I was planning to share with you the 1-2-3-4 Cake recipe that I have used for decades and the Seven Minute Frosting recipe, but then I saw this one. With the name Best Coconut Cake Ever, it had to be good – and it was a lot easier than the “from scratch” cake I usually make. It is from Glenda Inabinet, and was in the cookbook published by the First Baptist Church School of Charleston a few years back.
The school, which serves children in Charleston, Dorchester and Berkeley counties in grades K-12, has been in business a long time. According to the cookbook, published a few years ago, the current school program goes back to September 1949, but records show that a day school was held in the church in 1757. From this school, a Religious Educational Society was established in 1775, and “from this Society the Baptist denomination education movement of the Southern Baptist Convention began.”
What a great history for the church and for Baptists all over South Carolina!
Back to Mrs. Inabinet. The phone number she had when her children were in the school is no longer viable, and we can’t find Mrs. Inabinet. Wherever she is, we thank her for contributing the recipe to the cookbook. On seeing it, our daughter Lee said, “I’ve made that,” and declared it good – an unsolicited endorsement for Mrs. Inabinet’s cake.
Thank all of you who sent the birthday greeting cards. Doing so was a lovely and kind thing to do, and we are still re-reading them, along with enjoying Mrs. Inabinet’s cake for … Sunday Dinner.
Best Coconut Cake Ever
Cake:
1 box yellow cake mix
Frosting:
2 6-ounce packages of frozen coconut, defrosted
16-ounce carton sour cream
2 cups sugar
Prepare the frosting recipe two or three days prior to serving. Mix the coconut, sour cream and sugar; then place in the refrigerator for at least three hours (but overnight is better).
Make the cake at least two days before serving. Preheat oven as recommended on the package.
Prepare two cake pans, either 8-inch or 9-inch, by greasing and lining with waxed paper. Make the cake according to the directions on the box, adding whatever ingredients are needed for the mix that you buy.
Bake the two layers in the preheated oven. When baked, allow the cake to cool and remove from pans. When completely cooled, carefully divide the layers into horizontal halves, making four cake layers.
Frost the cake (cut sides down) with prepared and cooled frosting between layers, on the top and sides.
Store the cake in the refrigerator for two days before serving.
Dear Readers:
People tell me they enjoy the Sunday Dinner column. Please send your recipes and/or church-published cookbooks to Sunday Dinner, The Baptist Courier, 100 Manly Street, Greenville, SC 29601. – Juanita Garrison