Taking the idea of coconut cake and transforming it into a drink, specifically a smoothie of some sort, was achieved months ago as part of my Coconut Birthday Year–officially beginning the next day after my birthday last February.

A childhood-through-adult fancy for all things coconut worked its way into a recipe for a blender drink (and no doubt you’ve read about my turning baked goods into drinks). For a sparkling moment I thought about taking a day-old slice of freshly baked coconut cake, marshmallow frosting and all, and spinning it furiously with coconut milk and vanilla extract–but then, the very next instant, another option took over in my mind. Suddenly, it seemed, the contents of my old-fashioned ribbed-glass blender jar hosted a complete reconfiguration of ingredients: coconut milk, unsweetened wide-flake coconut, honey, raw cashews, whey protein powder, and golden flaxseed meal. Out came a frothy and rather floaty tonic of sorts, with a gentle coconut flavor. (Well, it was my kind of tonic.) A little crushed ice and frozen coconut milk gave it a somewhat slushy texture. I’ve been adoring this drink weekly all through the aforementioned CBY (Coconut Birthday Year), as is, or (and admittedly) along with two coconut clouds.

A dreamy, liquidy salute to coconut is only a button-push away.