Coconut Chiffon Cake

I received news from Jacksonville this week that made me sit down in the kitchen chair and put my hand on my chest and say, "Lord." Patricia called — not the regular Sunday call, the Wednesday call, the one that comes on a day that isn't a call day, which means it's either very good news or very bad news, and with this family you hold your breath until you know which one.

It's good news. Wayne Jr. was born. Darnell and Keisha's baby. A boy. Seven pounds, six ounces, born at Baptist Health in Jacksonville on a Wednesday morning, named Wayne Morris Jr. after Patricia's husband, the retired Navy man who builds birdhouses. When Patricia told me the name, I heard Wayne in the background saying, "They named him after me, Dot. After ME." Like he couldn't believe it. Like the boy who joined the Navy at eighteen and spent thirty years maintaining ships and then came home and started building houses for birds couldn't believe that someone would name a child after him.

Wayne is a good man. He has been a good man for the forty-something years Patricia has been married to him, and he has been a good father and a patient husband and a man who shows up, which is the Henderson standard — the Earl Henderson standard — and which Wayne has met every single day. He deserves a namesake. He deserves a seven-pound, six-ounce reminder that his name will echo forward into a future he helped build.

The great-grandchild count is now six: Amara (five), David Jr. (three), Elijah (two), and now Wayne Jr. Six children carrying Henderson and Williams blood into the next century. Six mouths to feed. Six reasons to keep this stove hot and this garden growing and this cast iron skillet seasoned and ready.

I am already planning the freezer meals. Darnell said, "Granny, we have food." I said, "Darnell, you have food for today. I am cooking food for the weeks when the baby is screaming at three a.m. and Keisha hasn't slept and you're too tired to boil water. That food is coming. Do not argue with me." He did not argue with me. The Henderson men learn.

Made oxtails and rice tonight. The celebration food. The food Hattie Pearl made when James Jr. was born, when each of us Williams children arrived. Oxtails braised low and slow until the meat falls off the bone, over white rice, with the gravy from the braising liquid that is so rich it could run for political office. I cooked this meal for a new baby, the way my mother cooked it, and her mother before her, and the line stretches back further than I can see.

Now go on and feed somebody.

The oxtails were for the freezer, for Darnell and Keisha and the long weeks ahead — but a name like Wayne Morris Jr. deserves something sweet on the table the night the news comes in. I made this Coconut Chiffon Cake because it is the kind of cake that stands tall and light and proud, the way Wayne Sr. stood in that background saying they named him after me, Dot, like he couldn’t believe his own good fortune. Hattie Pearl would have made something like this too, I think — something that rises high and lets the whole house smell like a reason to celebrate. Bake it for your people. They deserve it.

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 55 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes | Servings: 12

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup neutral vegetable oil (such as canola)
7 large egg yolks, room temperature
3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 large egg whites, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, plus more for garnish
2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 cup toasted coconut flakes, for topping

Instructions

Preheat and prepare. Heat oven to 325°F. Set out an ungreased 10-inch aluminum tube pan — do not grease it, as the batter needs to cling to the sides to rise properly.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the sifted cake flour, 1 cup of the granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt until well combined.
Add the wet ingredients. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the vegetable oil, egg yolks, coconut milk, water, coconut extract, and vanilla extract. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed until the batter is smooth and no lumps remain, about 2 minutes.
Whip the egg whites. In a separate clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with a hand or stand mixer on medium-high speed until foamy. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and continue beating until stiff, glossy peaks form.
Fold together. Using a large rubber spatula, gently fold one-third of the egg whites into the yolk batter to lighten it. Fold in the remaining whites in two additions, working carefully to keep as much volume as possible. Fold in the shredded coconut last.
Bake. Pour the batter into the ungreased tube pan and smooth the top. Bake on the center rack for 50 to 55 minutes, until the top is deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool inverted. Immediately invert the pan over its legs or over the neck of a bottle and let the cake cool completely upside down, at least 1 1/2 hours. This prevents the cake from collapsing as it sets.
Release the cake. Once completely cool, run a thin knife around the outer and inner edges of the pan. Turn out onto a serving plate.
Make the whipped cream frosting. Beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar together until firm peaks form. Spread over the top and sides of the cake.
Finish and serve. Press toasted coconut flakes generously over the frosted cake. Slice tall and serve at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Coconut Chiffon Cake — The Sweet Side of a Name That Will Echo Forward