Toasted Coconut Pound Cake

Today, as we celebrated Memorial Day, I was reminded of my father, who survived World War II in the European theater, but only by a twist of fate. He told us of an incident that forever haunted him his entire life. While walking point on patrol, he stopped to bend over and tie his boot lace. The fellow directly behind him moved in front and was shot by a sniper, dying on the spot. My father carried the burden of one of his friends taking the bullet intended for him for the remainder of his life, grieving that he was able to come home, while his buddy had to be buried in France, so far from home. 

My dad loved coconut anything, his favorite being coconut cream pie, which my mother taught me to make from scratch. However, today as I was surfing through Pinterest, I came across this recipe from the blogsite "Little Bits of..." This seemed like the perfect recipe to create for a nostalgic remembrance of my Daddy and that solder, whose name I never knew, but whose sacrifice gave me the most important man in my life.

I roasted my own coconut, which was a first for me. But, after learning it was just a matter of cooking in a small frying pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes, I was willing to give it a go. Turned out beautiful, with just the right amount of crunch. 

I used margarine, instead of the butter the recipe calls for, as I've got the cholesterol level of a baby boomer raised in the south... although my doctor would say that just means it's time to pay the piper. I like the use of buttermilk, which makes it dense and moist, unlike most pounds cakes which tend to be on the dry side for me. And, a lot of folks don't realize buttermilk is actually lower in calories that 2% milk (although barely) and has lower fat and cholesterol amounts. The downside is it's higher in sodium. For that reason, I eliminated the salt called for in the recipe. 

While initial batter taste tests told me it was going to be amazing, I thought it just looked like the perfect breakfast/brunch treat with its sunshine gold colors. The glaze and coconut topping are perfect finishing touches. 

Since I am taking this in to work tomorrow morning, I felt it was required that I do a final taste test. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. It really is delicious! Yeah, I'm pretty sure my coworkers are gonna love me! However, I must warn you, it's no lightweight in calories. If my math is correct, it's about 4,000 calories total. So, use caution when slicing. Trust me... it's rich enough that a little goes a long way, but it's worth the extra mile on the jogging path.