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Lemon Cocoanut Cream
Juice and grated rind 1 lemon 1 cup powdered sugar Yolks 2 eggs 1 cup shredded cocoanut Mix lemon juice and rind with sugar and yolks of eggs slightly beaten; cook ten minutes in double boiler, stirring constantly; then add cocoanut. Cool, and use as a filling for Corn-starch Cake, or any cake made from the whites of eggs.
A lemon curd thickened with egg yolks and bulked out with coconut, meant to pair with a white cake that has used up the whites. The whole thing hinges on gentle heat.
- Keep the water below a simmerThe custard sets by yolk protein, and direct or vigorous heat will scramble it into grains no amount of stirring will fix. Hold the water at a bare tremble and pull the filling off when it coats the spoon thickly, around 170-175F.
- Ten minutes is a guide, not a ruleDepending on your pan and the heat, thickening can take eight minutes or fifteen. Judge by body rather than the clock, and strain the hot curd through a fine sieve before adding the coconut if any threads of cooked egg appear.
- Powdered sugarIn books of this period the term usually meant granulated sugar ground fine, not modern confectioners' sugar with its cornstarch. Either works here; superfine granulated gives the cleaner lemon flavour.
- CocoanutThis is most likely dried shredded coconut, which was sold in packets in this period, though freshly grated coconut was still used as well. Use unsweetened if you can find it, since the cup of sugar is already generous; sweetened flake will make a markedly candied filling.
- Grating the rindTake only the coloured zest and none of the white pith, which is bitter, and grate it into the sugar so the oils are held rather than lost on the grater.
- Cool it properly before spreadingWarm filling will slide out from between the layers and soak the crumb. Cover the surface with plastic or buttered paper to stop a skin forming and chill it until firm.
- YieldRoughly a cup and a half, enough for one thick layer or two thinner ones in an 8- or 9-inch cake. It keeps three or four days covered in the refrigerator.