Helen's Coconut Cake

Richman uses canned coconut, which she likes because it's moister than packaged, and Southern-style --- grated and not flaked --- making a crunchier topping in her mother's recipe. She recommends making it only when you have a crowd to feed or you might wind up eating it all. To make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup milk with 2 tablespoons butter to scalding. Meanwhile, start beating eggs in an electric mixer. Add sugar and beat well until thick and foamy. With the beater going slowly, gradually add hot milk. Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt. Beat into the egg mixture with the mixer on slow speed. Pour into a greased and floured 13-by-9-inch pan. Bake about 30 minutes, testing with a toothpick after 25 minutes. Let cool slightly in the pan. To make the topping: Melt 6 tablespoons butter and add 10 tablespoons brown sugar. Stir in coconut and vanilla. Spread topping over cake as evenly as possible. Put under the broiler about 4 to 6 inches from the heat, and broil until topping is bubbling and brown. Turn the cake if necessary to brown evenly and broil until topping is as brown as you can get it without burning it. Watch very carefully, as it goes from done to burned in an instant. Let cake cool, cut into squares, place in cupcake papers and serve. --- From: "A Taste of Murder" by Jo Grossman and Robert Weibezahl (A DTP Trade Paperback Original by Bantam Dell Publishing Group, $14.95) Per serving: 386 calories, 5 grams protein, 13 grams fat (percent calories from fat, 31), 63 grams carbohydrates, 94 milligrams cholesterol, 276 milligrams sodium, 1 gram fiber.