# Why do all the coconut cake recipes have cake mix in them?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [May 21, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243 "2009-05-21T21:53:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/1 "2009-05-21T21:53:01Z")
I HATE coconut cake, but my dad loves it, and it’s about to be his birthday. So I was looking around at [allrecipes.com](http://allrecipes.com), which is usually really good for this sort of thing (you can see exactly which one is worth your time, read the reviews, etc - my amazing chocolate layer cake comes from there too) but every single recipe I click on, and I refuse to click on anything with less than, say, 25 reviews, starts with cake mix. WTF? Cake mix?
Do you have a _guaranteed_ coconut cake recipe with no cake mix? And I mean you have to swear by the thing because I am not testing it beforehand, as I cannot stand coconut cake.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/2 "2009-05-21T21:57:49Z")
Okay, addendum - I looked at epicurious, and you can keep to yourself **all recipes that have an actual coconut in them**. Unless it’s an absolutely amazing foolproof recipe, and none of the ones on epicurious were that well reviewed.
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### Author:  [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2009, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/3 "2009-05-21T22:41:04Z")
You could try [Alton Brown’s coconut cake](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3JAF-usAAM&feature=PlayList&p=D4A76EAC372FAFCA&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=4). I haven’t tried this one, but I also haven’t had an AB recipe not turn out.
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### Author:  [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/4 "2009-05-21T22:51:08Z")
Which has actual coconut in it.
But frankly, if you’re really wanting to bake a coconut cake without coconut, I’m thinking that you shouldn’t bother. I mean, you already have the handicap of not being able to stand coconut cake to begin with (not that I don’t understand; I don’t like coconut either), which is an obstacle for any cook.
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### Author:  [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2009, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/5 "2009-05-21T23:03:51Z")
Make this on[http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/04/cooking-from-the-glossies-key-lime-coconut-cake-recipe.html](http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/04/cooking-from-the-glossies-key-lime-coconut-cake-recipe.html)e I used just regular limes too, not Key Limes.
It’s good. It’s easy and I’m no cook at ALL. It beat out (in my family) the Mississippi Mud Cake that I got from a local ladies society cookbook from the fifties. (that involves a halfpound of butter in just the cake! Add icing and marshmallow creme and well, Dayum!)
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### Author:  [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/6 "2009-05-21T23:26:25Z")
> [@Leaper](#):
>
> But frankly, if you’re really wanting to bake a coconut cake without coconut, I’m thinking that you shouldn’t bother.
She’s trying to make it without packaged cake mix, not without coconut.
Last month’s Cooking Light magazine had a recipe for coconut lime cupcakes that looked lovely and was from scratch, but I don’t have it handy unfortunately.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2009, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/7 "2009-05-21T23:48:13Z")
I’m also trying to make it without A coconut. Like, one from a tree.
Maybe it’s easy, I dunno, never opened one. Is it easy? (Don’t lie. I’ll know if you lie. God hates liars.) I make pretty much everything from scratch if I serve it to other people at a party or something - is a scratch cake with pre-opened coconut not worth it? Seriously, I don’t know, not liking the stuff myself.
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### Author:  [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2009, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/8 "2009-05-21T23:50:37Z")
The recipe that I saw had flaked coconut. Is it that common to see real, fresh coconut in sweets recipes these days?
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### Author:  [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/9 "2009-05-22T00:11:51Z")
> [@Zsofia](#):
>
> I’m also trying to make it without A coconut. Like, one from a tree.
>
> Maybe it’s easy, I dunno, never opened one. Is it easy? (Don’t lie. I’ll know if you lie. God hates liars.) I make pretty much everything from scratch if I serve it to other people at a party or something - is a scratch cake with pre-opened coconut not worth it? Seriously, I don’t know, not liking the stuff myself.
Opening a coconut sucks. There are like 75 different methods, and they’re all a gigantic pain in the ass. It’s a much better taste than prepackaged shredded coconut, but takes a lot of work. If I could pawn off the coconut opening/shredding onto someone else, I’d use fresh. As it is, I use prepackaged.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2009, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/10 "2009-05-22T00:15:44Z")
Let me put it this way. I have made puff pastry from hand. Once. It was not worth it. I use frozen now. On the other hand, I would NEVER use, say, powdered garlic, unless there was a reason for it. You have to at some point make a cost benefit analysis.
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### Author:  [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/11 "2009-05-22T00:22:01Z")
Peeling & chopping garlic is maybe 5 times as difficult as using garlic powder. Opening a coconut is 5000 times as difficult as using shredded.
The first time I opened a coconut, it took a drill, a hammer, and a big screwdriver. I think it was 90 minutes from the time I started until I had a pile of delicious shredded coconut, and my hands were cramped and bleeding.
The fifth and latest time I opened a coconut, I used the oven method, and it probably only took 50 minutes beginning to end. My hands were cramped, but not bleeding.
There will probably be a sixth time, but not for a while. I’ll happily use shredded until then. Make sure to find unsweetened shredded though - the sweetened is OK for toppings, but the extra sugar will screw up actual recipes.
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### Author:  [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/12 "2009-05-22T00:22:24Z")
**Zsofia** , you can use any white or yellow cake recipe that you like and make a sour cream-coconut frosting. Moistness is the hallmark of a good coconut cake (to me anyway). You can poke a few holes in your cake layers and drizzle them with a simple syrup a couple of times, allowing for the syrup to soak in well. I almost always start a cake from a boxed mix. There’s no shame there. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/13 "2009-05-22T00:23:35Z")
I don’t think opening a coconut is that hard, especially the modern ones with a groove cut in (just poke a screwdriver into two eyes, pour out the juice, then wrap the coconut in a kitchen towel and smash it with a hammer). It’s the grating of the coconut that’s difficult: I cut myself up on the coconut shell and the knife and the grater and it was just hell.
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### Author:  [@Mithril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithril)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/14 "2009-05-22T00:30:19Z")
[This recipe](http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/coconut-cupcakes-recipe/index.html)is for Ina Garten’s coconut cupcakes. I made them for a friend’s wedding. During a trial run, she said she wanted to make out with the cupcakes. People who don’t like coconut like them. They could probably be adapted to a cake recipe with ease.
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### Author:  [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/15 "2009-05-22T00:35:02Z")
Not sure where you are looking for recipes, but not-from-scratch recipes are pretty common on craptacular sites like allrecipes. Try looking at [MyRecipes.com](http://MyRecipes.com) (the site for Southern Living and Cooking Light magazines) and [Epicurious.com](http://Epicurious.com) (Bon Appetit, Gourmet, etc.) (Note, I’ve already looked on these sites for coconut cake, none with 100% glowing reviews on MyREcipes, but Epicurious had several.)
Rich’s department store, based in Atlanta back in the day before all the dept stores became divisions of conglomerates, had a fabulous bakery. Their coconut cake was justifiably famous. Here is the recipe: [http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/food/stories/2007/04/06/0408recipe.html](http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/food/stories/2007/04/06/0408recipe.html)
As for using real, fresh coconut vs. packaged, it’s one of those judgment calls. It’s worth it to some people, not to others. If a recipe calls for packaged, I use packaged because it’s sweetened slightly – I assume the recipe has been calibrated to take that into account.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/16 "2009-05-22T00:38:49Z")
Notice that none of those Epicurious recipes are universally glowing.
I do like Allrecipes because after you get through the “semi-homemade” stuff there’s real track-record thousand-rating recipes that have fantastic information on them. My chocolate cake _cannot_ be beat, and I got it from there. And you can’t beat it for a casserole - you have to ignore everybody who says “It’s too spicy!” because they’re probably from Peoria and they think salt is a spice.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2009, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/17 "2009-05-22T00:39:49Z")
I found one on Recipezaar that looks promising, by the way - I like to get a bunch of recipes together and compare and contrast before I decide.
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### Author:  [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/18 "2009-05-22T01:54:05Z")
> [@Zsofia](#):
>
> Notice that none of those Epicurious recipes are universally glowing.
Well, 'scuse me.
With Epicurious and MyRecipes, you have to take the reviews with a grain of salt. There is almost always one or more people who will swear up and down that any given recipe is the worst thing they ever made. There will also be a couple of people who will say, “Well I changed xyz, and I didn’t have any abc so I substutited lmnop, and I left out the jkh because we don’t like it. The recipe was terrible!” Also, lots of perfectly good recipes garner no reviews for whatever reason.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2009, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/19 "2009-05-22T03:48:44Z")
Oh, doesn’t that just drive you batty? I think all the recipe sites are like that - why on earth would you review it if you changed it and it sucked? You changed it and made it more awesome, sure, but you deliberately screwed it up and didn’t like it?
My favorite “Midwestern Moment” from Allrecipes - “I made this, but I had to take out the onions because my husband doesn’t eat white vegetables.” It’s so typical, “my \_\_\_ doesn’t eat \_\_\_” being the most common phrase in the reviews in general, but I just chortle over the idea of this grown man living in terror of white, flabby grotesqueries from under the soil. Hide the parsnips!
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### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2009, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-coconut-cake-recipes-have-cake-mix-in-them/497243/20 "2009-05-22T04:30:55Z")
It is really hard to argue against the results you get from a Duncan Hines cake mix. You want a perfectly shaped, pleasantly flavored, cake, right? The pastry only exists as something you can dismiss as an adequate substrate while you pile other good things on it? Go with a mix and screw the claims of TV chefs.
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