Coconut pound cake with three forms of coconut

Coconut is optimizing its resume. As it should. No job is secure in the gig economy, not even topping seven-layer bars over the holidays.

Coconut counts up its credentials: the tropical background, that first job serving as squeaky snack. Extensive travel. The innovation that inspired flake. The collaboration that led to cream pie, curry, candy. The side hustle in cocktails. Impressive.

Now, when many a fruit is packing it in, padding the 401(k), picking out real estate in the Keys, coconut is taking on the 21st-century challenge: retooling, again.

Coconut’s got new skills: not just meat and milk, but oil, sugar and flour. A cake mixed from coconut components might, the baker reasons, reconstitute into a whole shaggy brown nut.

It doesn’t. Coconut pound cake bakes up moist and aromatic, with a dense, fine-grain crumb. Add that to coconut’s handbill: megatasker.

Coconut Pound Cake

Butter or coconut oil for greasing pan

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup coconut flour

1/3 cup almond flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

6 tablespoons coconut oil

3 eggs

Grease a loaf pan with butter or oil. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk flours, baking powder and salt. In a measuring cup with a spout, whisk coconut milk and vanilla.

Using an electric mixer set on medium-high speed, beat sugar and coconut oil until fluffy, about 1 minute. Crack in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Stop and scrape bowl as needed. Switch to low speed. Mix in some of the flour mixture, then some of the milk mixture, alternating until the ingredients are just incorporated.

Scrape batter into the prepared loaf pan. Smooth top. Bake until top turns golden and a pick poked in the center comes out clean, 45-48 minutes. Cool in pan, 10 minutes. Tip loaf out of its pan, and cool on a rack.