I have been reading this series with my children this year while we watch the series on Netflix, and we are having a really good time! A couple of months ago I published a recipe for the pasta puttanesca from The Bad Beginning, the first book in the series. You can find that article here . Anyway, we have finished the second book in the series called The Reptile Room and my kids picked Uncle Monty’s coconut cream cake to be the dish that we cooked out of it.
For those of you not familiar with the second installment of the series, The Reptile Room is a continuation of the unfortunate tale of the Baudelaire orphans. This time the orphans are placed under the care of their closest living relative, snake specialist Dr. Montgomery Montgomery. “Uncle Monty”, whom children immediately like.
They are also fascinated by the many snakes he has in his special study called the “Reptile Room”.
When Stephano, Uncle Monty’s new assistant arrives, the children realize immediately that he is Count Olaf in disguise. Count Olaf tries to carry out another deadly plot to get his hands on the Baudelaire’s fortune but is thwarted by the children and then slips away before he can be apprehended. This leaves the orphans in search of another suitable guardian.
The cake appears in the novel when the children meet uncle Monty for the first time:
“I am Uncle Monty, and this is really perfect timing! I just finished making a coconut cream cake!”…The cake was a really magnificent thing, rich and creamy with the perfect amount of coconut. -Lemony Snicket
I thought the delicious description given the cake was interesting and I think that the coconut cream cake could be significant in two ways. The first being the imagery of cake as a symbol of love and affection. The symbol of the cake often deals with romantic love (like a wedding cake) but also parental love (like birthday cake). I think that Snicket capitalizes on this imagery by having Monty make a cake for the children on the day they move in with him. This symbolizes his guardianship and the genuine feelings they have for each other in a familial sense.
The second meaning behind the cake comes from the imagery of cake in classic literature as a representation of a life that never happens. In Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations (another book about orphans) there is a vivid scene that includes the description of a moldy cake in Miss Havisham’s house. In Expectations, the cake represents the life Miss Havisham missed out on with her potential husband just as it represents a life with Uncle Monty that the Baudelaires will never experience in Snicket’s novel.
I searched around trying to figure out how to make a coconut cream cake. I have made a coconut cake before but never anything creamy. I found a few recipes and tried to put them all together to come up with something really delicious; I wanted coconut inside the cake, in the frosting, and covering the cake.
The recipe that I came up with is absolutely delicious, however, it is time consuming because of the refrigeration it requires. If you try to rush this, the cake will turn to mush so be prepared to make this ahead! My only other tip is to make sure you use Cream of Coconut sometimes referred to as Coconut Cream in this cake, NOT coconut milk.
The baking of the cake was easy, however, make sure you poke your holes and spread the filling while the cake is still hot. It will absorb so much more of the filling that way! I made two of these cakes and one cooled before I had time to spread the filing and it didn’t hold nearly as much. It doesn’t ruin the cake but it does make it a little less coconut flavored.
I also added a few tablespoons of the coconut cream to the frosting to give it a little kick and I was pleased with the results. I didn’t include that in the recipe because I didn’t measure how much. I encourage you to try this, adding a little at a time but be careful your frosting doesn’t get too runny.
My kids loved making this cake (especially the sprinkling of the coconut on top!) as much as they enjoyed reading the novel and watching the show. Be on the lookout for our next adventure with book 3 of the series!
Coconut Cream Cake:
- 1 box of coconut cake or white cake mix plus ingredients to prepare
- 1 7 oz package sweetened flaked coconut, divided
- 1 15 oz can cream of coconut
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 x 2 inch non stick metal pan or spray with baking spray.
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For the cake: Prepare the cake per the directions on the box mixing in ½ of the 7 oz bag of sweetened flaked coconut into the batter by hand.
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Bake per the directions until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes back clean.
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For the coconut cream filling: After removing the cake from the oven use a fork or bamboo skewer to poke holes over the top of the hot cake.
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In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the cream of coconut with the sweetened condensed milk. Slowly pour over the hot cake, spreading the coconut milk into the holes as you go. Allow the cake to cool completely. Chill overnight.
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For the frosting: beat together the heavy cream, powdered sugar, softened cream cheese and vanilla extract. until light and fluffy. Spread over the top of the cake.
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Sprinkle the remainder of the coconut evenly over the frosting.
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Chill for 1 more day before serving.
That looks so delicious. I’ve been wanting to try to cook and eat a few ASOUE themed treats. I started reading the books in high school, and absolutely loved them. The Netflix series was a fantastic adaptation. Maybe I need to make a night out of it, Pasta Putenesca for supper and coconut crème cake for dessert.