Some may find it strange that after a AAA travel writing assignment covering so much of gracious, antebellum Charleston, I find it necessary to pontificate on the perfect piece of coconut cake. But this isn’t just any old slice of sublime sweetness. After all, this specimen is rumored to be chef Bobby Flay’s favorite dessert. It even has its own web page.

So, with all this hype, I just had to throw myself on the grenade and taste it for myself. But, the problem was, this particular cake is served up at the very pricey Peninsula Grill, a AAA Four Diamond restuarant. No can do.  I didn’t have the required coinage to embark on a culinary tour de force. So, I picked up the phone and dialed the Peninsula. “Can one sit in the bar and order up a piece of coconut cake?” I casually inquired. I was met with an enthusiastic “Absolutely ma’am!  People come in all the time asking for that cake.” I was home free.

So, on a windy, rainy Charleston evening, I dragged my travel companion to the Peninsula Grill’s cozy, classy bar and ordered up a slice along with some coffee. Just one slice and two forks, please.
The infamous dessert arrived, a sinfully large slice, adorned with toasted coconut on the side, buttery frosting on the top and count them—six layers of mouthwatering pound cake with six layers of delectable coconut cream in between.  Heaven on Earth. My guest—who claims to have a lukewarm regard for coconut—was fighting me for bites.

Hats off to Chef Robert Carter for sharing his family recipe with the rest of the coconut-loving world. You can have the cake delivered to you for a mere $100, plus the $75 or so shipping fee. But better yet, coconut cake fans planning to visit Charleston should add this experience to their travel agenda. And by the way, I’d sure like to hear from coconut aficionados out there willing to share their own fabulous dessert discoveries.