Grandma Yearwood Coconut Cake

Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

6 large eggs, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla

One 12-ounce box vanilla wafers, finely crushed

6-ounces grated coconut

½ cup chopped pecans

Coconut Lemon Glaze

2 cups sugar

2 T. cornstarch

Pinch of salt

Grated zest of 2 large lemons

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

6-ounces grated coconut

Directions: 

For the cake: Grease and flour a 9-inch tube cake pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  

Cream the butter and sugar until light and smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating 

well. Mix in the vanilla wafer crumbs, coconut and pecans. Pour into the pan and 

bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes 

before turning out onto a rack. 

For the glaze: Mix the sugar, cornstarch, salt, lemon zest and juice, 1 1/2 cups of 

water and coconut in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until 

thickened, for about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly, then using a toothpick, poke 

several holes in the top of the cake and drizzle the glaze over the cake.

Comment:  From Trisha Yearwood show.  She used food processor to turn vanilla 

wafers into flour.

This is a rich cake.  Sometimes takes a little longer to bake.  Because of richness, 

may want to substitute a simple confectioner sugar and milk glaze with a little lemon 

zest.  The recipe’s lemon/sugar glaze piles on the sweetness.