Bernice Watson’s Coconut Cake

Mrs. Edward Z. Watson “disclaim[ed] any fame as a cook,” said a profile in the Afro-American in 1958. The article described the vivacious teacher, seamstress, and mother of two as a “party girl,” who “not only adore[d] going to parties but [was] not adverse to giving them either!”

They shared her cake recipe using “many of the newest methods,” including a MixMaster mixer. The title of the feature was “Mrs. Edward Watson makes the highest cake you’ve ever seen.”

The light and fluffy cake could be served a variety of ways. “For the chocolate frosting I use the recipe right on the Hershey can,” Watson declared. She also confessed to using ready-mix caramel icing. But Bernice Watson’s cake is no lazy feat. With egg whites beaten separately and folded into the batter, plus a seven-minute icing made over a double boiler, the cake requires plenty of attention and generates a fair amount of dirty dishes.

I just had to make it – particularly the coconut variation, which Watson would flavor with “lemon or almond” flavoring. (I used the latter.) I couldn’t find the canned style of coconut that she preferred, and I’m not skilled at cooked icings, but the recipe did indeed turn out a tall, light delightful cake.

“Sometimes I scarcely think it’s worthwhile. A big beautiful cake now. A few hours, no cake at all,” Watson sighed in 1958.

She was born Bernice Calverta Francis in Philadelphia in 1922, the granddaughter of a Sharp Street Methodist reverend, McHenry Jeremiah Naylor. After attending high school in Baltimore, and Coppin State Teacher’s College, she went into teaching at Baltimore City schools.

Along the way, she married fellow teacher Edward Z. Watson, who would serve a full career at BCPS as a teacher and later as an administrator.

Bernice took a more varied path, leaving teaching to pursue her passions as a seamstress and a designer. From 1976-1986, she worked as a librarian at the Enoch Pratt Free Library.

In the Pratt Library’s African-American Department, within a special collection, “African American Funeral Programs,” are the funeral programs for both Bernice and Edward Watson.

They offer a more intimate view of the lives and personalities of this couple, and their importance within their families, communities and churches. Edward’s 2001 obituary describes how he worked on the B&O Railroad and at country clubs before going into teaching, and continued to hold summer and evening jobs because “he was determined to provide many advantages and opportunities” for his three children.

Both Bernice and Edward are portrayed as fun-loving. Bernice “was known for her savvy way of dressing and her great ability to design ‘runway’ fashions for herself and others.”

Bernice C. Francis Watson’s photograph on the front of her 2006 funeral program shows a woman with the same smile seen nearly fifty years earlier in her photo in the Afro-American, where she leaned over with a plate of food, dressed in a strapless white dress and statement earrings. Even her haircut remained similar later in life.

The years between were filled with social and charitable clubs, community service, children and grandchildren. No doubt they were also filled with the parties that Bernice professed her love for, and many impossibly tall and light cakes.

Recipe:

• .5 Lb butter
• 2 Cups sugar
• 6 eggs
• 1 Teaspoon salt
• 1 Cup milk
• 4 Teaspoons baking powder
• 4 Cups cake flour
• almond extract

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour three round nine-inch cake pans. Separate egg whites from yolks. Beat egg whites until they begin to stiffen and set aside.

Cream butter until smooth. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt (if using unsalted butter). Add dry ingredients to cake batter, alternating with milk, starting and ending with the flour. Stir in flavoring. Gently fold in beaten egg whites and divide among the cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set in middle and golden brown. Fill with coconut seven-minute icing.

Seven-Minute Icing:

• 2 egg whites (may add yolks to cake)
• .5 Cup sugar
• .333 Cup water
• dash salt
• 2 Teaspoons white corn syrup
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 lb moist shredded coconut

Combine egg whites, sugar, water, salt and corn syrup over a double boiler. With water boiling below, beat rapidly until it begins to thicken, scraping the sides of the bowl frequently. Stir in vanilla and coconut. This will make a filling and topping for the cake but it isnt enough to ice the sides. If full coverage is desired, double the recipe.

Recipe adapted from the Afro-American newspaper, June 14, 1958