Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks

During my second year of teaching I had a parent who prefaced every conversation by saying, "Well, you know, I AM a psychologist..." Code speak for, "You are a young, lowly teacher who knows nothing, so let me enlighten you." I WAS young and new at the profession, not wise to the realities of parenting, but I wasn't stupid. Midway through October, I did what most every teacher I know does when group dynamics call for a disruption -- I changed the seating order in my classroom. Now, had I been a psychologist, I would have known that this was a dangerous thing to do to kids. My psychologist parent helped me see the light. "I AM a psychologist," the conversation once again began, "and humans are creatures of habit. In a large lecture hall, students will naturally gravitate to the same seat, day after day. Your students are being harmed by this new seating arrangement." Now back in the day I had to go up to the school office to take phone calls because we were still in the world of ditto machines and film strips. Modern technology was slow to reach American classrooms. This was probably a good thing because while I wanted to scream bloody murder at this woman, I calmly explained my own point of view and the realities of maintaining order among twenty-five students. I knew my words were falling on deaf ears. For the remainder of that school year, I regularly moved every student's desk but one. This solution seemed rather silly, but it appeased the psychologist and helped maintain order in my classroom.

I've thought many times about this creature of habit idea. Humans may in fact be drawn to following a set pattern, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing to do so. This morning I read an interesting essay by Harvard economist Sendhil Mullainathan titled, "Why Trying New Things Is So Hard to Do." One paragraph, in particular, really caught my eye: "Habits are powerful. We persist with many of them because we tend to give undue emphasis to the present. Trying something new can be painful: I might not like what I get and must forgo something I already enjoy. That cost is immediate, while any benefits -- even if they are large -- will be enjoyed in a future that feels abstract and distant." Why couldn't I have come up with those brilliant thoughts twenty-five years ago while on the phone with my psychologist friend?

I see and feel the ease of creature-like habits all the time. When I go on a bike ride, I often choose the same tried and true routes. When I choose a new book to read, I often veer towards the same genres. When I cook and bake, my favorite recipes never let me down. They're easy and dependable. And sometimes a little boring. This is why I wholeheartedly disagree with the psychologist. Humans may in fact be creatures of habit, but I think that comes at a cost. As the wise professor said, sometimes it helps to be more forward thinking. Will it really help me down the road to keep doing the same thing I've always done? It's been a year since I decided to stop teaching and almost six months since my last day in the classroom. This is definitely a new course and has come with some discomfort. I don't know what the future holds, and that uncertainty is messy. But as the wisest one of all once said, "Do. Or do not. There is no try." Yoda always trumps the psychologist.

I recently had a new baking success that was particularly thrilling. You see, I love all things coconut, and I have searched high and low for the perfect coconut cake recipe. Let me tell you, these things come in many shapes and sizes, with every form of coconut imaginable. I've had a lot of coconut cake failures in my life. Until now. As I searched for a cake to bake for my husband's birthday, hoping to veer away from the same ol', same ol', I stumbled upon a Melissa Clark coconut cake recipe. I am definitely a creature of habit when it comes to trying her recipes because she rarely lets me down. Could it be that I had finally found my coconut cake masterpiece? As my mom would say, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

I had my sous baker, aka my sister, to help in the creation of this masterpiece, and it's always helpful to have someone you trust when venturing into unknown territory. The recipe calls for three 8" cake pans, and I only own two. What's a baker to do? We chose to stick with the two and put the remaining batter in a little 5" cake pan that I acquired when I attempted my Miette cake disaster. See this post for a reminder of that sad day. The hidden beauty in this decision was that it left us with our own little Easy Bake Oven sample cake which we were able to taste in advance to make sure the cake was edible. I'm not going to type out the entire recipe here but send you instead to Melissa's actual recipe at New York Times Cooking. If you've never been to this site, you're in for a treat. Melissa's cake does not disappoint. The rum and the orange juice create fabulous flavors, and we all decided this was the first cake we had ever eaten that is just as tasty without ice cream. Coming from my husband, whose main concern when eating cake is the cake-to-ice cream-ratio, this was a big deal. I may not be a psychologist, but I do know a good cake when I eat it. Enjoy!

PS. I was just testing out my links to this post, and it appears as though the New York Times is requiring folks to have a subscription in order to view recipes at New York Times Cooking. As I said, this is a great site, but for those who don't want to subscribe, here's my rendition of the recipe:

Cake Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teas. salt
2 teas. baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs separated, plus 3 whites
1 1/2 cups sweetened cream of coconut, such as Coco Lopez (which I found in the grocery aisle with cocktail mixers)
1 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk (often in the international section of grocery stores)
2 T dark rum
7 T freshly squeezed orange juice
3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut (I used Bob's Red Mill)

Frosting Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups cream cheese, at room temp
2 teas. vanilla extract
6 cups confectioners' sugar (crazy amount, I know, but it helps to put thick layers of icing on the cake -- trust me on this)
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1) Grease 3 8-inch cake pans, dust with flour.
2) Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar and beat until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add 3 egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each one. Lower speed and gradually add flour mixture. The batter will be thick and pasty.
3)In a separate bowl whisk together cream of coconut, coconut milk, rum and orange juice. Alternately add shredded coconut and the orange juice mixture to the batter.
4) In another clean bowl, whip 6 egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into batter. Divide batter evenly among the pans. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes (mine were done closer to 45). Cool in pans on wire rack and unmold once they are cool.

Frosting:
1)Cream the butter and cream cheese, add the vanilla. Gradually add confectioners' sugar. Sifting the sugar in advance is a good idea and cuts down on clumping. Mix until fluffy.
2) Spread a healthy 1/4-inch layer of frosting on each layer, sprinkling each one with toasted coconut. Frost the sides.

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