RECIPE | COCONUT AND LIME POLENTA DRIZZLE CAKE

I love to bake with polenta and having not made a polenta cake in a while I thought I would try out with a new recipe.

The grittiness and nutty texture of the polenta compliments the bite of the dessicated coconut. When both are combined and drenched in a lime syrup drizzle it makes for a super moist cake.

 

Ingredients:

Cake:

200g Caster Sugar

200g Butter

3 Eggs

1tsp Vanilla Essence

Zest of 2 Limes

100g Polenta

140g Self-Raising Flour

1tsp Baking Powder

70g Dessicated Coconut

4tbsp Milk

Drizzle:

Juice of 2 Limes

40g Granulated Sugar

50g Caster Sugar

Icing:

6tbsp Icing Sugar

1tsp of Water

2tbsp Toasted Dessicated Coconut

 Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 180C and grease and line a loose bottomed 8" cake tin.

2. In a bowl, place the milk over the dessicated coconut and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar until it is light in colour and fluffy in texture.

4. Add the eggs, vanilla essence and lime zest and beat the mixture together until it is well combined.

5. Add the flour, polenta and baking powder to the wet ingredients and fold them together.

6. Add the milk soaked dessicated coconut to this mixture and fold together until a smooth cake batter is formed.

7. Place the mixture into the cake tin and place on the centre shelf of your oven to bake for 30-40 minutes.

8. To make the drizzle, take the juice of 2 limes and stir together with the granulated sugar and caster sugar. Once the cake has been removed from the oven, immediately pierce it with a skewer all over and then pour the lime drizzle mix on top of the cake.

9. Once the cake has cooled and the drizzle has set you can remove the cake from the tin. Make up the icing mix by sieving the icing sugar and adding the water to create a thick drizzling consistency. Drizzle this over the cake in lines and then scatter with the toasted dessicated coconut.

RECIPE | OAT AND COCONUT CRUMB LOAF

A healthyish take on the perfect cake for your cup of tea.

A loaf cake with texture, flavour and bite.

Ideal on it's own or slathered with a generous serving of your favourite jam. 

OAT AND COCONUT CRUMB LOAF

Ingredients:

Cake:

150g Butter/Margarine

175g Caster Sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2tsps Vanilla Essence

140g Self-Raising Flour

1tsp Baking Powder

50g Dessicated Coconut

25g Oats

100ml Creme Fraiche (I used Half Fat)

Crumb Topping:

2tbsps Oats

2tbps Coconut

2tbsps Demerera Sugar

Instructions:

1.  Heat your oven to 180ºC and line a 2lb loaf tin with butter and greasproof paper.

2.  Cream together the butter and the sugar until creamy and fluffy and light in colour - It's quicker and easier to do this with an electric hand whisk.

3.  Add the vanilla essence and eggs and whisk or beat until combined,

4.  Add the desiccated coconut, oats, self raising flour and baking powder to the wet mixture and beat until combined. Add the creme fraiche to the mixture and if it still feels like the batter is too heavy then add milk until it loosens.

5. Place the cake mixtures into the lined cake tin and then scatter evenly with the crumb topping mixture.

6. Place on the middle shelf of your pre-heated oven for 40-50 minutes until baked.

Leave to cool for at least 30 minutes before removing from the tin.

RECIPE | COCONUT, ALMOND AND JAM SPONGE

Upon hearing the news of having four very hungry boys coming to stay with me last week, I knew that they would be expecting cake. As my sole cake tasters throughout university, I knew I would need to wow them with something new, so I had a dig through the cupboards to see what I could conjure up.

I decided to go on a mix of my coconut and raspberry loaf cake with my fruity bakewell sponge. The result turned out to be a delightfully moist and fluffy coconut, almond and jam sponge!

COCONUT, ALMOND AND JAM SPONGE

Ingredients:

225g Butter (or Soft Margarine)

225g Caster Sugar

4 Eggs

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence

200g Self-Raising Flour

50g Dessicated Coconut

1 1/2tsp Baking Powder

2-4tbsps Milk (Only if needed to loosen the dough)

6-8tsbs of Jam (Whichever you fancy)

3-4tbsps of Flaked Almonds

Instructions:

1.  Heat your oven to 180ºC and line a loose-bottomed cake tin with baking paper.

2.  Cream together the butter and the sugar until creamy and fluffy and light in colour - I recommend doing this with an electric hand whisk.

3.  Add the vanilla essence and eggs and whisk or beat until combined,

4.  Add the desiccated coconut, self raising flour and baking powder to the wet mixture and beat until combined. If you're mixture feels to heavy then add 2-4 tbps of milk to the mixture to loosen the batter.

5. Place half your batter in the lined cake tin and then dot your jam all around this layer. Follow by covering this with the left of the cake batter and then sprinkle with flaked almonds

6. Place on the middle shelf of your pre-heated oven for 45-55 minutes (use a skewer or something similar to test). Leave to cool for at least 30 minutes before removing from the tin and then dust with icing sugar to serve.

RECIPE | KIWI, COCONUT AND CRUNCHY LEMON MUFFINS

Inspiration for these muffins was taken from THIS recipe. 

I used lemons as I had no limes and decided to experiment a little bit by making a lemon drizzle to top the muffins with to give it a nice and tangy sugary crunch

 These are delightfully moist and a great way to use up over-ripe Kiwis.

This recipe makes around 9 muffins or 12 cup cakes.

Ingredients:

For the Muffins:

150g Plain Flour

1 1/4 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

Pinch of Salt

60g of Dessicated Coconut

3tbsp Oil

120g Caster Sugar

1 Egg

1tsp Vanilla Essence

Zest of 1 Lemon

2 Kiwis

For the Crunchy Lemon Drizzle:

3tbsp Granulated Sugar

Juice of 1 Lemon

Instructions:

1.  Preheat your oven to 200 and line a muffin tray with 9 muffin cases or 12 cupcake cases.

2.  In a bowl, whisk together the sugar and oil until creamy, light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla essence and beat until mixed.

3.  Peel the kiwis and blend them with a hand blender or in a food processor until pureed. Add 2tbsp of water to the kiwi puree. Add the kiwi puree, along with the lime zest to the sugar, eggs and vanilla essence.

4.  In a separate bowl, sieve the flour and mix in the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and coconut. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

5.  Place a generous tablespoon (or more) of mixture into each muffin case and then sprinkle the muffins with a bit of extra dessicated coconut. Place in the middle tray of your oven and bake for 12-15 minutes.

6.  Whilst waiting for the muffins to cook, take a saucepan and on a low heat add the sugar and lemon juice. Keep stirring until it starts to thicken.

7.  When the muffins are out the oven, take a skewer and whilst hot poke around 5 or 6 holes into the top of each muffin.

8.  Drizzle over the lemon and sugar mix whilst hot and leave to cool.

RECIPE | COCONUT, LIME AND COURGETTE CAKE

This is my recipe for a birthday cake I made for my sister last week.

It's a mixture of several recipes I found on the internet and then adapted to make one that suits my families tastes.

Very easy to make...and also very handy for using up the abundance of courgettes we have produced from our allotment this month!

COCONUT, LIME AND COURGETTE CAKE

Ingredients:

Cake:

350g Self-Raising Flour

250g Caster Sugar

250g Butter

1tsp Vanilla Essence

4 Eggs

350g Grated Courgette

60g Dessicated Coconut

Zest + Juice of 1 Lime

Frosting:

200g Cream Cheese

60g Butter

250g Icing Sugar

Generous portion of Dessicated Coconut for sprinkling.

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line two 25cm cake tins.

2. Beat the sugar and butter in a bowl until smooth and creamy.

* A tip from Mama Wood is to use an electric whisk and wait for the mixture to become lighter in colour.

3. Add the eggs individually, beating them into the mixture.

4. Add the flour, vanilla essence, grated courgette, lime zest, lime juice and dessicated coconut.

5. Pour the mixture into the two cake tins and place on the middle shelf of the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes.

6. When the cakes are cooked, remove them from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Remove the cakes from the tins and allow them to cool for a further hour on wire cooling racks.

7. To make the frosting: Mix the cream cheese, butter and icing sugar together until smooth and fluffy. Spoon the mixture over the top of one of the cakes.

Place the other cake on top (like a sandwich!). Then use the rest of the frosting to cover the whole cake. Once the cake is covered, sprinkle generously with dessicated coconut.

The Result:

A lovely, moist and flavoursome sponge cake with a generous layering of cream cheese frosting.

And trust me, you won't even taste the courgette!