God gave a Loaf to every Bird —
But just a Crumb — to Me —
I dare not eat it — tho’ I starve —
My poignant luxury —
To own it — touch it —
Prove the feat — that made the Pellet mine —
Too happy — for my Sparrow’s chance —
For Ampler Coveting —
It might be Famine — all around —
I could not miss an Ear —
Such Plenty smiles upon my Board —
My Garner shows so fair —
I wonder how the Rich — may feel —
An Indiaman — An Earl —
I deem that I — with but a Crumb —
Am Sovereign of them all —
~ Emily Dickinson
Last week, I blogged about poet Emily Dickinson’s lesser known passion— cooking and baking. I was able to track down one of her actual recipes, a Coconut Cake– or, as Emily spelled it, Cocoanut Cake. Tomorrow (December 10) is Emily’s birthday, so I decided to celebrate the life of this brilliant American poet by baking her Coconut Cake.
Emily’s hand written recipe is being shown at The Poet’s House in New York City as part of their Emily Dickinson Exhibition, which runs through January 28, 2012. The exhibit is described as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a rare selection of original manuscripts, letters, fragments, rare books, archival materials and even a recipe for coconut cake belonging to Emily Dickinson.” I’m hoping to stop by and see the exhibit on my next trip to New York.
Here is a scan of the actual recipe (or, as recipes were called in Emily’s time, the “receipt”). It’s a bit hard to read, so I’ve transcribed it below.
Image courtesy of Poet’s House c/o President and Fellows of Harvard College
Emily Dickinson’s Cocoanut Cake
1 cup cocoanut
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoonful soda
1 teaspoonful cream of tartar
This makes one half the rule–
No baking instructions are given, but anybody with a basic understanding of baking techniques should have no trouble with this recipe. It’s a simple cake or “quick bread,” meaning it uses baking powder as a leavening agent. The mixture of cream of tartar and baking soda produces baking powder; you can combine the cream of tartar and soda as written, or simply substitute 1 1/2 tsp baking powder. I’ve written out detailed instructions for baking the cake below so you can try it yourself.
Regarding the phrase “one half the rule,” it would make sense that Emily would want a recipe in half-portion. A loaf-sized cake would be easier to wrap up and send than a full cake. Though Emily was reclusive and rarely left her home, she was known to send food gifts to friends and acquaintances. In Emily’s obituary, her brother’s wife and lifelong friend Susan Dickinson describes her sister-in-law’s fondness for sending out care packages:
Very few in the village knew Miss Emily personally, except among the older in habitants, although the fact of her seclusion and intellectual brilliancy was one of the familiar (Amherst) traditions. There are many homes among the classes into which her dainty treasures of fruit and flowers and almost ambrosial dishes for the sick and well were constantly sent, that will forever miss those dainty traces of her unselfish devotion…
The Dickinson Children, painted by Otis Allen Bullard ca 1840. From the Dickinson Room at Houghton Library, Harvard University. Emily is on the left– this is one of the few surviving images of the poet.
I made this recipe the old fashioned way, beating the butter by hand and using an antique flour sifter to get into the spirit of the project. I stopped short of grating the coconut by hand. Grating fresh coconut is time consuming, so I used dried grated coconut instead of fresh. If you want to take that shortcut too, soak the dried coconut in warm water until soft and drain well before integrating it into the batter. You can also use soft sweetened baker’s coconut, if you wish– this cake is not overly sweet, so the extra sweetness from the baker’s coconut wouldn’t hurt.
Next time I bake this, I’ll probably use a large loaf pan. The medium loaf pan (8 inches) compressed the cake batter a bit, which made it billow up on top. Not a big deal, though (in fact, the effect is kind of pretty). The texture is not light or airy, it’s more like a dense pound cake. Using cake flour instead of regular flour would lighten up the texture a bit. My favorite part of this cake is the lovely golden crust, which gives it enough structure for dunking in coffee or tea. You might want to bake one yourself and give it to a literary friend as a holiday gift!
Thank you to Stephen and Christina at Poet’s House for their help with this post.
Happy birthday, Emily Dickinson!
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Emily Dickinson's Coconut Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar + 1/2 tsp baking soda OR 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour and cream of tartar + baking soda OR baking powder. I used my antique sifter to get in the "Emily Dickinson" mood.
- In a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together till the mixture is light and fluffy, and the sugar is well incorporated into the butter. I did this by hand, the old fashioned way, like Emily Dickinson would have. It took several minutes. You can do it much faster with an electric mixer.
- Mix in the eggs, then the milk.
- Add liquid ingredients to dry and stir till just incorporated. A thick batter will form. Do not overmix.Fold in the shredded coconut. If your shredded coconut is dry (not fresh), rehydrate it with a little warm water and drain well before mixing it into the batter. Again, don't overmix.
- Spread the batter into a small loaf pan.
- Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes on the middle rack of your oven till cooked through and golden brown around the edges. Test with a skewer or toothpick for doneness in a few places-- if the toothpick comes out clean (no wet batter sticking to it), it's done.
- The cake is not overly sweet, which was perfect for me (I don't like my desserts too sweet). If you want to sweeten it up, use a bit more sugar, or use sweetened coconut instead of regular coconut. Enjoy!
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Gretchen Goodliffe says
I am in central Mexico and have purchased a freshly chopped coconut for this cake.. it is in the oven and when it emerges it will be drizzled with juice of a fresh mandarin mixed with powdered sugar.. MMMMMM
Gretchen Goodliffe says
I am in Mexico and also have this loaf in my oven, having used freshly cut coconuts. I think it will be a favorite… I have squeezed a fresh mandarin orange with some powdered sugar to drizzle over when it comes out….
Mark says
Can I use Vegan butter instead? Like Earth Balance?
Tori Avey says
Hi Mark, you can use Earth Balance buttery sticks (not the tub kind, look for the sticks in the margarine aisle).
Sabrina @ Familynano says
Best cake in the world!! So so good!
Thank Tori 😉
Cheryl says
I was drawn to the recipe since I share a birthday with Ms. Dickinson. I’ve made it several times (I use a cake pan instead of a loaf pan) and everyone adores it. Most recently, I made it to use at a lecture on Victorian tea for a group of teens who were learning about the Civil War era. They loved it and asked for the recipe! Thank you for sharing this gem!
Jackie says
Oh, my gosh, I share her birthday, too, and that’s why I studied her, and found this recipe! Love it, and the history lesson, by the way.
Emilybh says
I substituted organic coconut oil for the butter and water with some vanilla (since I didn’t have any coconut water that I wanted to use) for the milk and it tastes great – especially along with fresh organic blueberries.
Min says
Hi Tori,
I had freshly grated coconut left, and imagine my excitement when I found your recipe. Made the cake today for tea fellowship in church. Doubled it and baked it for abt 45mins in a 9×13 rect pan.
It was a hit! So super yummy. Not a few came to ask for the recipe! Thanks for sharing it. Am so bookmarking it. Will be baking it again definitely!
Clodagh O Connor says
I am about to make this cake – testing it out for the (Irish) launch of my cousin’s book “Miss Emily”. Her fictionalized story of part of Emily’s life includes chapters where Emily bakes. (if you are interested – it is already out in the US – http://www.amazon.com/Miss-Emily-Novel-Nuala-OConnor/dp/014312675X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1438202344&sr=1-1&keywords=miss+emily )
Kandice Dickinson says
Thank you so much, Tori, for posting Emily’s recipe and poem along with the scrumptious photographs! And I was so happy to discover the book “Miss Emily” from reading the comment left by Clodagh O’Connor which I’m looking forward to hearing on Audible soon! Emiy is my 6th cousin 4x removed – but I know that ALL of us who love Emily feel like we are part of her family, welcomed into her Soul whenever we tend our gardens, read her poetry, and partake of her coconut cake! -Kandice Dickinson 🙂
Eileen says
my favourite cafe in my neighbourhood sells this cake by the slice and I’m addicted to it . I buy an 2 extra pieces when I go there to take home for my husband and I to have later with a cup of earl grey tea. I do this often enough that I asked about the recipe as was told of its origin. I do have all of the ingredients and can indeed bake so I’m going to do just that!!!!!It’s just the best ever!
Monti says
My cake is in the oven at this moment and looking good so far. Thank you for the recipe.
Tori Avey says
Glad to hear it Monti! I love the way the kitchen smells while this cake is baking, so homey.
patrizia says
yesterday evening I had coconut rapee to use and I found in a simple book of USA recipes published in Italy a coconut cake; it tastes very good and this evening by Google with my great surprise I discover here that this was a recipe loved by Emily Dickinson; all this is very nice, thanks for the gift that you have brought from Emily to me
Toni says
I have just made this lovely cake, it is in the oven as I write. I will let you know how it turns out. I love this site, So many great things on here. Thank you so much :O)
Amanda D. says
Mine has just gone into the oven, looking great so far. Thank you.
Lavender Poet says
What a joy to find this recipe! I adore Emily Dickinson, and she is one of the major reasons I began my own website. I have just invited my visitors to bake a cake, have an Emily party with everyone wearing white and reading poetry. What fun! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Kaveri says
Hi Tori,
I tried this case and sadly it didn’t turn out the way it should have. i used 1 1/2 tsps baking powder instead of the soda and cream of tartar. my cake pan was 8 x 4 inches. the cake was light brown on the bottom and the sides but completely white on top. i baked it for about 55 minutes and the toothpick came out clean. i don’t know what i did wrong. please help. i don’t know what i did wrong. please help.
Tori Avey says
Hi Kaveri, I’m sorry, I’m not sure but it sounds like you did everything right. Other readers have had a good experience with the recipe. Wish I knew what went wrong! Sorry I can’t be of more help.
Dorethy says
I made this once with gluten free flour mix, coconut milk and half butter & the other half coconut oil. I also avoided sugar, used less milk & honey & maple syrup to sweeten.
It was delicious!! I am going to re-make it for my birthday. Thanks for this awesome recipe & website!
Amrita Jhingran Lopez says
I have been searching for a perfect coconut cake recipe, and must say, this is it! I tried this cake recipe and only alteration I did was, instead of plain milk I used unsweetened coconut milk, it was so dense, moist and delicious!
Thank you so much for sharing this, and really appreciate all your hard work. I love your website!
Thanks again
Tori Avey says
Great Amrita!
Kathy Rupff says
As a new Emily Dickinson fan and avid baker, I am delighted to come across your beautifully researched, written, and photographed post on her cake recipe!! Thank you so much–Bravo!!
Tori Avey says
Thanks Kathy! 🙂
darlenebeckjacobson says
Thanks for this recipe. Can’t wait to try it.
Lily says
Awesome receipt. :-). I actually have cocoanut flour, cocoanut sugar and shreded cocoanut. Also will replace butter with cocoanut oil. I’m a cocoanut freak! :-). The cocoanut palm tree is called the tree of life and it’s has lots of nourishing properties.
Mmmmm yum. Will be making this cake on Saturday for my dad’s birthday but I will double the rule. My family is going to love it. 🙂