Coconut Lime Cake

I am a big fan of coconut and anything coconut! Bounty and Mound chocolate are two of my favorite and I’ll take coconut rice over fried rice any day! It was only natural for me to try a cake recipe that involved coconut. What I loved about the most about this cake was its lightness and fluffiness.  The lime infusion also gave it a slight tanginess which balanced well with the sweetness of the coconut. The recipe’s frosting was a little too sweet for my taste but I know now to make changes when I try this again. Do you like coconut as much as I do?

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

21/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

grated rind of 2 limes

4 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 cup dry unsweetened coconut

For the frosting:

11/2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

2 egg whites

4 tbsp cold water

1 tbsp liquid glucose

2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line two 8 inch round pans with parchment paper. Sift together the flour and baking powder into a bowl. In another large bowl, beat the butter until soft. Add the sugar and lime rind, then beat until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding 1 tsp of the flour mixture with each addition to stop the batter from curdling. Beat the mixture well between each addition. Using a wooden spoon, fold in the flour mixture in small batches alternating with the lime juice. When the batter is smooth, stir in two-thirds of the coconut. Divide the batter between the tins and spread it evenly to the sides. Bake for 30-35 or until insert comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out to cool on a wire rack. Remove the lining paper. Leave to go cold.

Spread the remaining coconut in another cake tin. Bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Watch carefully so that the coconut does not get too dark. Allow to cool in the tin. To make the frosting, put the sugar in a large heatproof bowl, and add the cream of tartar, egg whites, water and glucose. Stir to mix. Set the bowl over a pan of boiling water. Beat with an electric whisk at high speed for 7 minutes or until thick and stiff peaks form. Remove from the heat. Add the vanilla extract and continue beating for 3 minutes or until the frosting has cooled slightly. Put a cake on a serving plate. Spread a layer of frosting on top. Set the second cake on top. Swirl the rest of the frosting all over the cake. Sprinkle with the toasted coconut and leave to set.