Savour the Season - A Family Favourite, Coconut Cake

21st November 2014

Savour the Season - A Family Favourite, Coconut Cake

 

by Christiana Lambrou, a local Palmers Green resident

Coming from a large family we always enjoy meeting up for a BBQ during the weekends and, being the baker in family I am the one always designated to bring the cakes. I have always had a passion for baking from a young age, always the girl looking in the cake shop windows admiring the beautiful patisseries hoping that, one day, I could make them myself. I was taught how to make this cake by my mother, who made it for my family. As there were 6 brothers and sisters, cakes didn't last very long in our house. It was when my brother asked recently if I knew a good recipe for a coconut cake that I remembered this cake from my childhood days. I am now sweet talked into making it most Sundays for the whole family to enjoy. It’s a great cake to cook over the festive season as it’s a light sponge, not too heavy after a big meal, there is a touch of syrup which keeps the cake nice and moist, and it tastes even better the next day with a cup of tea.

INGREDIENTS

Syrup

• 2 glasses of water

• 1 glass of sugar

• 1 tablespoon of rose water

• 1/4 of a Cinnamon stick (optional)

Cake Mix

• 4 medium size eggs

• 1 glass of sugar

• 1 tsp of vanilla extract/ or vanilla sugar

• 1 glass of sunflower oil

• 1 glass of milk

• 1 200g packet of desiccated Coconut (reserve a table spoon for decoration)

• 2 glasses and 2 tablespoons of self raising flour

• 2 tsp of baking powder

This is a 1 cup recipe the good thing about this cake is that there is no need for measuring , I would recommend you use a medium size glass for all the ingredients, as long as you use the same glass you can't go wrong.

Method

Start by making the syrup first as once the cake is cooked you need to add cold syrup to a hot cake. Put all the ingredients in a saucepan apart from the rose water and bring to the boil, once boiling leave for another 10 minutes then switch off. Add the rose water and allow to cool.

Then in another bowl beat the eggs for 4 minutes with a electric mixer until they become pale in colour.

Add a glass of sugar and continue to beat for another 2 minutes. Then followed with the oil and beat for a further 2 minutes, then add the milk, then the coconut. Continue to beat for another 2 minutes, add the flour, once combined switch off the mixer and fold in with a metal spoon your baking powder. Oil your cake tin so that the mixture doesn't stick when you are baking the cake.

As seen in the picture I used a bundt tin, or you can use a standard 12 inch cake tin.

Pour the cake mix into the oiled tin and bake in a preheat over glass mark 5 / 180C.

Bake in centre of oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or once it has reached a golden brown colour.

Take out of the oven and pour the cold syrup evenly over the hot cake, then to finish sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

 

Allow to cool before removing from the tin.