Did you ever want to change your Christian name? I did, and I have. The name most people know me by (Jenny) is not the name on my birth certificate. But I’m not telling you what my real name is, because that way ridicule lies. When people find out, there is generally a bit of leg pulling, until they forget all about it again.
I have always been a bit jealous of my sister’s name – Marsha – as I always thought it was very exotic. I still do in fact. Another name I think is exotic and would rather like for my very own is Viveca. I’d never heard of it until I saw Vera Miles play a character called Viveca in an episode of Columbo.
She’s such a magnificent actress, and it was such a great character that I thought, ooooooh, Viveca. What a great name! If I get a lady dog when I retire, perhaps I will name it Viveca? Can you imagine me shouting at it across the park? VIVICAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Then suddenly out of the blue, Viveca Lindfors cropped up on one of my birthday present playing cards:
and then, when I found out that Coconut Cake was one of the NEW categories for the Muswell Hill Horticultural Society Spring Show Cookery Classes and I spotted that she had a favourite recipe for one, I was ON IT.
One of the pitfalls to watch out for when transcribing recipes for the blog, is missing out a step in the method. So it was with this recipe. It wasn’t clear when to add the egg whites to the mixture. Before, or after the flour? I went with the latter, which I now think was wrong. No matter. I still got a first!
I’m not sure it warranted it to be honest. The outside of the sponge was a bit crispy for my liking. The filling was delicious though. Here’s a better photo before it melted in the heat.
I might try it again adding the egg white earlier, if I do I’ll write up the recipe with the new method. Or I may just try a few of the ace looking recipes in this book instead.
I recently found this gorgeous thing in my shoe cupboard… This is the joyful kind of thing that happens when you are a bona fide hoarder like me, living in a rented 1930s flat with a VAST amount of cupboards. Surprise! In amongst the thousands of pairs of shoes I can no longer walk in, is a lovely 1950s coconut cookbook!
It reminded me how much I like coconut, and how much I would like to make a smorgasbord of coconut delicacies like this from the shoe cupboard cookbook sometime…
NB – this post was written a LOOOOOOOOOOONG time ago, but I lost the cookery book for about 4 months so couldn’t get the photos I wanted to include. I found it again recently, when I was looking for something else entirely (this happens a lot as I am so untidy) so I am very happy to be able to get the Viveca Lidfors’ Coconut Cake post off my “to-do” list at last! Whoopee!
Heeeeere’s Viveca!
16 responses
I certainly understand hating your own name. I hate mine too (and it is not really Poppy)!
Oooh, now I’m doing that thing that I suppose some people do when they find out that Jenny isn’t my real name. I’ve started wondering what your REAL name is – ha ha! Don’t tell ANYONE!
I certainly understand hating your own name. I hate mine too (and it is not really Poppy)!
Oooh, now I’m doing that thing that I suppose some people do when they find out that Jenny isn’t my real name. I’ve started wondering what your REAL name is – ha ha! Don’t tell ANYONE!
I adore Viveca Lindfors. She grew more beautiful as she aged. Love your blog, too.
Ah thanks! I’m going to have a browse around your blog sometime soon, I see you have written about the fabulous Yul Brynner cookbook – I love it!
I agree with you about Viveca Lindfors, I thought that when I was looking for pictures to use in my blog post. A very elegant woman.
I adore Viveca Lindfors. She grew more beautiful as she aged. Love your blog, too.
Ah thanks! I’m going to have a browse around your blog sometime soon, I see you have written about the fabulous Yul Brynner cookbook – I love it!
I agree with you about Viveca Lindfors, I thought that when I was looking for pictures to use in my blog post. A very elegant woman.
I found your post during a search. My name is Viveca. My dad liked the actress, Viveca Lindsfors and liked her name and decided to name me Viveca. I didn’t like it when I was small, so when I was a teenager I went by the name Viv. Later when I was in my 30s, I decided I liked it again.
One thing I never liked it that it was so unique that I couldn’t find anything personalized. I’ve always had to have personalize things custom made.
Anyway, these days you can do a search on the internet and find lots of Viveca’s. And now we have the actress named Vivica Fox. I wish her parents had taken the time to look up the spelling–but I guess one can spell it the way they want.
Hope you don’t mind me popping in to write!
I found your post during a search. My name is Viveca. My dad liked the actress, Viveca Lindsfors and liked her name and decided to name me Viveca. I didn’t like it when I was small, so when I was a teenager I went by the name Viv. Later when I was in my 30s, I decided I liked it again.
One thing I never liked it that it was so unique that I couldn’t find anything personalized. I’ve always had to have personalize things custom made.
Anyway, these days you can do a search on the internet and find lots of Viveca’s. And now we have the actress named Vivica Fox. I wish her parents had taken the time to look up the spelling–but I guess one can spell it the way they want.
Hope you don’t mind me popping in to write!
Oh, how wonderful Viveca! I think it’s a lovely, lovely name. I can understand shortening it when you were a teenager. I expect that you have to spell it out a lot when you tell people your name?
Thanks so much for dropping by and taking the time to write!
I might make another version of Viveca’s cake sometime soon. I have two more recipes by Viveca – Applekaka (Applecake) and Sjomansfiff (Sailor’s Beef) – ooh, I might look those up when I get home tonight!
Best wishes from rainy London – Jenny x
Oh, how wonderful Viveca! I think it’s a lovely, lovely name. I can understand shortening it when you were a teenager. I expect that you have to spell it out a lot when you tell people your name?
Thanks so much for dropping by and taking the time to write!
I might make another version of Viveca’s cake sometime soon. I have two more recipes by Viveca – Applekaka (Applecake) and Sjomansfiff (Sailor’s Beef) – ooh, I might look those up when I get home tonight!
Best wishes from rainy London – Jenny x
Here you are talking about two of my favorite things: Viveca Lindfors and changing your name.
I saw her perform a one woman show called I am Woman and she was magnificent. And I had seen her also wonderfully talented son, Kristoffer Tabori, perform as Hamlet earlier.
I changed my name also, and no I won’t tell you my birth name either….but after I did SO many people confided in me how much they despised their names. But when I suggested finding one they liked well, they just looked at me in alarm. I guess we get used to what we get used to.
I’ve been Devon now much much longer than my birth name. Except for my family I’m not sure anyone I know now even knows what it is!
Here you are talking about two of my favorite things: Viveca Lindfors and changing your name.
I saw her perform a one woman show called I am Woman and she was magnificent. And I had seen her also wonderfully talented son, Kristoffer Tabori, perform as Hamlet earlier.
I changed my name also, and no I won’t tell you my birth name either….but after I did SO many people confided in me how much they despised their names. But when I suggested finding one they liked well, they just looked at me in alarm. I guess we get used to what we get used to.
I’ve been Devon now much much longer than my birth name. Except for my family I’m not sure anyone I know now even knows what it is!
Devon! How fabulous that you saw Vivica perform her one woman show, I’m jealous. I love that you changed your name too. It’s only my brothers who call me by my real name now and then. I’m not sure if they do it on purpose to annoy me, or just because they can’t get the original one out of their heads.
Thanks for dropping by. You’ve prompted me to get the Coconut Cake recipe out again. In the early days of the blog I didn’t actually include the recipes, but I do now. So I shall find it and pop it into the post, even if I don’t get around to making it again xx
Devon! How fabulous that you saw Vivica perform her one woman show, I’m jealous. I love that you changed your name too. It’s only my brothers who call me by my real name now and then. I’m not sure if they do it on purpose to annoy me, or just because they can’t get the original one out of their heads.
Thanks for dropping by. You’ve prompted me to get the Coconut Cake recipe out again. In the early days of the blog I didn’t actually include the recipes, but I do now. So I shall find it and pop it into the post, even if I don’t get around to making it again xx