Vanilla Pecan Coconut Torte Food

CHOCOLATE COCONUT PECAN TART

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together 8 tablespoons butter and the confectioner's sugar. Beat in the yolk until combined, then beat in the vanilla. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and 1/8 teaspoon salt. With the mixer running on low, beat in the dry ingredients until just combined. Scrape the dough into a ball and flatten into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and chill 1 hour.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into an 11-inch round. Transfer to a 10-inch fluted tart pan. Chill 30 minutes.
• Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the crust with foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake 15 minutes; remove weights and foil and return crust to the oven to bake until dry to the touch, 5 to 10 minutes more. Cool.
• Melt the remaining stick of butter. In a bowl, combine butter, honey, cream, brown sugar, egg, bourbon and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Stir in the coconut and pecans. Pour filling into the crust. Bake until the top is golden brown and the filling is gently set, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

VANILLA-PECAN COCONUT TORTE

Steps:

• 1. Make vanilla cake mix according to directions. Instead of using whole eggs, I like to lighten it up by using 3 egg whites. I pour batter into 2 (two )greased and floured fluted-edge cake pans and bake as directed. Allow to cool. While oven is on, but after you have removed cake, take a baking sheet and spray with vegetable oil and spread 1 Cup of the coconut on it. It will stick together so make sure you spread it out. Put into oven and just as it starts to turn brown on the edges, pull it out and let cool. On another sheet, spray and spread out 3/4 C Pecans and bake for about 10 minutes, just to release flavor. Remove and cool.
• 2. While cake is baking I make a buttercream frosting. Use a large bowl for this. Put into bowl crisco and butter. Add 1/2 bag powdered sugar. Add vanilla. Mix and add a tad of milk to bring frosting together. Mix thoroughly. If you think you will need more icing, add more powdered sugar and add milk again as needed. Refrigerate mixture.
• 3. Remove frosting mixture from fridge 1/2 hr before you are ready to frost cake, and let stand at room temperature. In the mean time, take your baked coconut and mix in a bowl with another 1/4 C coconut that has not been baked, stir together well. In another bowl, take your baked pecans and add another 1/4 C pecans to it and mix together. Turn out your cakes.
• 4. Now we are ready to assemble the cake and decorate. Take a cake pedestal and put about a Tablespoon of frosting in the middle to hold down your cake, then put down your first layer of cake. Add some frosting to the top of it and spread.Do not frost the sides. Add half the mixture of pecans on the top, then add 1/2 the mixture of coconut on top of that. Put your second layer on top of the first one. Do not push down on it. Add frosting to the second layer and spread out. Repeat with pecans and coconut. If you have a few pecans left, stick them around the middle layers where frosting oozes out. Right before serving you can take some Hershey's Syrup and drizzle over top of cake in a back and forth motion. The picture does not show this, because I do it right before serving. Add a dab of whipped cream and enjoy!

COCONUT-PECAN TART

Steps:

• For the Crust: Spray a 9-by-1-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray (or brush with oil). In a bowl, combine coconut, flour, and kosher salt. Stir in butter and syrup until mixture has the texture of wet sand and no dry flour remains (it should be crumbly but hold together when pinched between your fingers).
• Sprinkle evenly over bottom of prepared pan, with slightly more of mixture at edges, then press evenly into bottom and up sides of pan (since crust is thin, it's important to distribute evenly before packing down). Refrigerate until ready to use or, covered, up to 1 day.
• For the Filling: Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, cream, and kosher salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook until thickened slightly, about 2 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes. Transfer tart pan to a rimmed baking sheet. Pour cooled butterscotch into crust, smoothing to edges with an offset spatula. Sprinkle chocolate and pecans into crust. In a bowl, whisk together condensed milk, eggs, and vanilla. Pour over chocolate-pecan mixture.
• Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly in places, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 20 minutes. Carefully remove sides from pan and let cool completely (if crust is sticking anywhere along sides of pan, loosen by running a paring knife up and down in sticky spots before removing). To serve, sprinkle with flaky salt and cut into fingers.