Coconut Honey Cake

Feeds 8-10 people

Another delicious cake from my mum’s recipe collection. The four eggs gives it custardy flavour than most cakes and the richness of the coconut works really well with the honey syrup and cream or yoghurt and gives the cut a lovely thin crust. If you’re feeding a crowd this cake can be made well in advance (a couple of days before) and stored in the fridge. Just bring it to room temperature before serving. It’s a good day when mum whips this out at family dinner.

Ingredients

Method - Cake

125 grams butter, softened
1 cup caster sugar (200 grams)
4 eggs, well beaten
2 cups desiccated coconut (160 grams)
1 cup Self Raising Flour (150 grams)
pinch of salt

Method - Honey Syrup

3/4 cup caster sugar (150 grams)
150 ml honey
1 1/3 cup water (315 ml)
4 strips lemon rind or 4 large lemon myrtle leaves

Method - Tangy Vanilla Cream

1 cup thickened cream (250 ml)
1/2 cup sour cream or mascarpone, greek yoghurt or labneh
2 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla

Toasted shredded coconut for decorating

Method - Cake

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Grease or line a deep 20cm round cake tin. A ring tin also works well. Don’t line it just grease it super well.

In a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This will take a good 5 minutes. Push through the pasty stage and make sure you well and truly arrive and fluffy stage.

Add the beaten eggs one at a time. At each addition scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat well.

Add the flour and salt to the egg mix and mix on a slow speed until just combined. Add the coconut and stir through with a spatula.

Spoon the cake batter into the cake tin and bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until cooked (a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean).

Once the cake has cooled, allow it to stand in the tin for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen the sides from the tin.

Use a skewer to poke holes in the cake. This is not absolutely necessary and if you forget don’t worry.

Method - Honey Syrup

While the cake is cooling make the honey syrup.

Place all the ingredients for the honey syrup into the a small saucepan.

Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.

Once the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 8 minutes. (If you are using a large saucepan only boil for 5 minutes). The honey syrup will reduce and thicken slightly and still runny.

While the cake is in the baking tin, pour over the honey syrup. Allow it to sit in the tin for about 30 minutes before attempting to remove it. Be patient (hard, I know) with the decanting from the tin.

To remove the cake from the tin I turn the tin upside down on a plate and just leave it be for a couple of minutes. Then jiggle the sides. If it’s stubborn, turn it back over, the right way up and just run a knife around all the edges where the cake and tin meet, especially in the middle if you’re using a ring tin.

Method - Vanilla Cream

Place all the ingredients into a bowl and whip until soft peaks.

Serve with dollop cream, plain whipped, vanilla cream (see recipe above), Greek yoghurt or labne.

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