Front Burner : CULINARY SOS / ROSE DOSTI : The Coconut Groove

DEAR SOS: My husband keeps asking me to bake a coconut cake like the one made at the Brown Derby. I realize that the restaurant has been out of business for years, but I thought you might have the recipe in your files.

HELEN LANG

Palm Desert

DEAR HELEN: We are forever grateful that the recipe for Brown Derby’s Dreamy Coconut Cake has been in our files for ages. Otherwise it would be lost, and what a shame that would be. Besides, we are only too delighted to test the recipe one more time. We topped our version with the White Mountain Frosting recipe from “The Doubleday Cookbook.”

Brown Derby Dreamy Coconut Cake

Active Work Time: 45 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

CAKE

1 1/2 cups cake flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup oil

3 eggs, separated

3 tablespoons grapefruit juice

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

* Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into bowl. Make well in center of dry ingredients and add water, oil, egg yolks, grapefruit juice and lemon zest. Beat until very smooth.

* Beat egg whites in small bowl with cream of tartar until stiff but not dry. Gradually add egg whites to batter and fold in gently until just blended. Do not stir.

* Turn batter into ungreased 9-inch springform pan and bake at 350 degrees until top of cake springs back when lightly touched, about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Loosen edges of cake carefully with knife and remove from pan.

WHITE MOUNTAIN FROSTING

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup water

3 egg whites, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

* Mix sugar, corn syrup and water in small heavy saucepan. Insert candy thermometer and partly cover pan. Bring to boil over medium heat. Remove cover and boil without stirring until drop on tip of spoon will spin 6- to 8-inch thread or thermometer registers 240 to 242 degrees. Just before syrup reaches proper temperature, beat egg whites with electric mixer until soft peaks form. When syrup reaches correct temperature, set mixer at high speed and pour syrup into whites in slow thin stream. Beat until glossy and firm enough to hold shape. Beat in vanilla extract.

ASSEMBLY

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

* With serrated knife, cut cake in half to make 2 layers. Fill with part of White Mountain Frosting. Frost top and sides with remaining frosting. Sprinkle generously with coconut.

8 to 12 servings. Each of 12 servings: 431 calories; 260 mg sodium; 80 mg cholesterol; 15 grams fat; 70 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 0.42 gram fiber.