Gâteau d’Hélène (Coconut Cake) Recipe (2024)

You can stabilize whipped cream with gelatin and the dessert will keep in the fridge for several days. ½ t of gelatin bloomed in 1 T water. Melt the gelatin in the microwave for a few seconds or in a cup in a pan of simmering water. Gradually add the warm gelatin to half whipped cream and finish whipping until medium firm peaks. - From the Pastry Bible

1/4 cup of Sour Cream will stabilized the Whipped Cream, and the flavor profile works with this cake.

Substitute powered sugar for granulated in the frosting and et voila! whipped cream that will go the distance. And, don't forget to whip in a chilled (from freezer) metal bowl. We serve several desserts with fresh made whipped cream.

The only problem with this is, it needs to be consumed in 24 hours, or the cream doesn't hold up well. We're only two people. I rarely have enough company to justify it. However, I could do cupcakes, and freeze 2/3 of them; then make enough whipped cream for 2-4 of them, on an "as needed" basis. Ditto the syrup.

Re cutting those layers: A favorite baking gadget is the Westmark Simplex-Duo cake cutter AKA Tortenschneider. A handle holds 2 adjustable cutting wires allowing multiple settings to cleanly and evenly make nice level layers with minimum effort. The 2 wires create 3 equal layers all in one motion. Can be set to cut only 2 layers also, as desired. Super easy to use. Mine is very old from a kitchen shop but I see they’re currently on Amazon.

Mascarpone or creme fraiche will also stabilize the whipped cream and actually make it creamier and richer tasting.

Re: baking in three pans… you need three cut slices for an open crumb so the rum/apricot mixture saturates the cake.

It has gotten hard to find, but Trader Joe still carries it: Get Pasteurized Heavy Cream, not Ultra-pasteurized. The Pasteurized Heavy Cream, stabilized only with some confectioner's sugar, will hold up for a week on a cake. It does not weep and liquify like the ultra-pasteurized. But watch out: the pasteurized heavy cream must be watched carefully when beating so that it does not turn into butter. The Ultra-pasteurized can't turn into butter, but it also does not hold its stiffness.

You could also make a batch of Ina Garten's Make Ahead Whipped Cream, which keeps for a couple of days covered in the fridge. It uses creme fraiche as a stabilizer and is delicious. She serves it with a berry Pavlova or her Tres Leches cake - life changing

I have been making this cake for years (from Simca’s cookbook). It never fails to receive raves…the perfect sweet.

I’m going to use guava instead of apricot for this filling. Make it really tropical!

I have been making a genoise cake with rum in cake layers, apricot jam and whipped cream for 30 years every year, and I simply freeze it, cut it after it has been taken out of freezer. No need for gelatin. Just whip it to the correct consistency. I keep it in the freezer and cut a piece or two and put it back. With a chocolate shell on the outside it has been our family's favorite.

I use Dr. Oetker Whip It to stabilize whipped cream:https://www.oetker.ca/ca-en/our-products/baking-ingredients/dr-oetker-whip-it

1/4 cup of sour cream, or mascarpone, or creme fraiche will stabilize the whipped cream ( last longer).use guava instead of apricot.Ina Garten Make Ahead Whipped Cream ...

Maybe go almond instead of orange, a natural complement to the apricot and coconuts.

Cooked recipe and it was tough and dense

I used an Italian meringue instead of the whipped cream. Came out great and I didn’t have to worry about the cream losing its stability and sliding onto the floor.

Flavor combo seems fantastic but like many other commenters I could not get a rise out of my cake :/ and therefore even though I cut only two layers one broke because they were so thin sigh

I love this cake! Note you need a springform pan. I have made the orange/apricot version in the winter. Then in Florida summer I make a tropical version: substitute lime zest for orange zest, pineapple juice for orange juice, and guava jam (called guava dessert at Latin grocery) for apricot jam. Coconut is the same!

Made cake instead w 1/2 recipe Joanne Chang’s coconut chiffon cake.

Did anyone have a heck of a time getting the apricot preserves to spread? Maybe the brand I got was too thick, but I had a really hard time getting the preserves to spread evenly over each entire layer and the cake was very crumbly. I also had a hard time getting the coconut/cream mixture to spread evenly.

I made this cake twice but with mixed results both times. Both times the cake didn't rise properly for me and ended up pretty dry. I took notes from the commenters and added the gelatin to the frosting and it turned out all right. Overall I like the flavor combinations, but I would try it with a different cake recipe.

Confused by these directions, like somethings missing. I don’t understand about the cream and coconut. Reserve 1/2 cup cream and stir in 2/3 cup coconut? Stir the rest of the coconut into the remaining cream and use it to frost the cake? If that’s the case, what is the reserved cream for?

I made this as specified 5 days ago, and my whipped cream has held up beautifully without any stabilization. Unfortunately I don’t have a 8” springform, so I used a 9” and baked for 45 minutes. It probably only needed 40. I then chickened out and only cut my sponge in half, but the rise was good enough I probably could’ve gotten 3. I made my own apricot preserves, using the Alison Roman recipe for stone fruit jam. It’s a really beautiful cake and everyone who’s tried it has given it rave reviews

My mother prepared a cake like this every year for my father on his birthday. She always made boiled icing which is a bit tricky and it doesn’t keep well but that was his favorite.

Any suggestions (beyond reducing the baking powder) for baking this at altitude? We're at 6,000 feet.

This is a fantastic cake. Followed the instructions "to a T" and it turned out great. (Did add some sour cream to the frosting, as others suggested.). Day 3 and it still tastes fresh! Will make again.

Delicious cake but too flat for three layers only got two. Checked it at 45 minutes and was already done…would reduce less next time. Toasted the coconut because I am into that. Very very yum.

I've made this fantastic recipe three times now, and after reading all of the notes about unstable whipped cream, I'm wondering what I could be doing wrong. I make it exactly as described in the recipe and have never had a problem. It all holds up beautifully if refrigerated. And anyway, it's so delicious, if there is any cake left after four days, you've made it wrong.

Is a springform pan necessary? It seems like with a parchment paper bottom and buttered sides, you can get the cake out of a round pan pretty smoothly.