Toasted Coconut & Almond Crumbly Cake

We are making the best kind of mess today!

This cake’s construction requires, as Ina Garten would say, ‘a chef’s best tools – clean hands’. And (thankfully) as I’ve matured (cough)…I’ve come to the realization that sometimes we just have to get our hands dirty.

Let’s go back, shall we?

According to my parents, I was not one for messes, not even as a baby girl in her high chair. I’d point out every last crumb on my tray that needed fast action removing, which makes today’s recipe for Toasted Coconut & Almond Crumbly Cake all the more fun [for me].

Crumb is in the title and our hands are required for mixing…talk about an exercise in desensitization.

I was doing a little reading for pleasure recently and stumbled upon a recipe in Anna Del Conte’s, Italian Kitchen, called La Torta Sbrisolona aka Crumbly Cake. It was love at first sight. In her description of the recipe, she paints the picture of her husband munching away and commenting that this cake is not just moreish but once you start eating, you can’t stop.

I was in!

I happened to be in a toasted coconut kind of mood, so I played around with this fun addition, adjusted a couple ingredients, and we were off and running. To toast shredded sweetened coconut, simply put two cups in a non-stick skillet over medium heat for a couple minutes, stirring as you go, until coconut becomes soft and golden.

Now, I must warn you: If you’re looking for a cake with a tender crumb, you’ve come to the wrong place.

This cake is buttery and dense, crunchy and well, crumbly, like the name states.

Soft? Not so much. Delicious? Absolutely.

And don’t you just love a cake that’s baked in one pan?

Though you’ll dirty a couple pans, one to toast the coconut and another to bake the cake; dirty your food processor to crunch up your almonds and mix in some sugar; and grub up your hands to combine yolks and butter with your dry ingredients…it’s nothing we can’t handle. Piece of cake, as they say.

You can enjoy your crumbly cake with a glass of sweet wine or a cup of tea, however, we enjoyed ours with a pipin’ hot mug of coffee to help celebrate Mom’s birthday. And because I know she’s not a ‘huge’ fan of sweet sweets, I thought this might be right up her alley. I think I was right. Because I presented it in crumbles with a shower of confectioner’s sugar on a serving plate vs. neat slices, it was easy to grab bite-sized (or larger) pieces to munch or dunk. I’m pretty certain I saw Mom enjoying herself a crumble or two.

Happiness.

Buon Appetito!

Toasted Coconut & Almond Crumbly Cake

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• Author: Ciao Chow Bambina
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: Italian

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Ingredients

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• 9 Tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
• 3/4 cup toasted almonds
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup coarsely ground yellow corn meal
• 2 cups shredded coconut, toasted
• pinch of salt
• 3 egg yolks
• confectioner’s sugar, to dust the top

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. With 1 Tbsp. butter, generously butter an 8-inch shallow round cake pan.
3. Line the bottom with parchment paper and set aside.
4. Put the almonds in a food processor with 2 Tbsp. of granulated sugar. Process to a coarse powder.
5. In a medium sized bowl, mix the flour, corn meal, the remaining granulated sugar, ground almonds, toasted coconut, and salt.
6. Add the egg yolks and work with your hands until the mixture is crumbly.
7. Add the 8 Tbsp. of butter to mixture to incorporate thoroughly, until the dough sticks together in a crumbly mass.
8. Spread the mixture evenly in the pan, pressing it down with your hands.
9. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out dry.
10. Turn cake onto a wire rack and peel off the parchment paper. Let cool.
11. Before serving, sprinkle the cake with sifted confectioner’s sugar.

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Ciao!