Coconut cake is so unusual but absolutely delicious. It has a summery, holiday taste. I think it makes a great celebration cake. We can always get vanilla or chocolate cakes but very seldom see a coconut cake. Totally yum. This recipe is not a Gluten free method but I will be trying out a GF version soon. I have adapted this recipe from the queen of delicious food, Nigella Lawson.

225g salted softened butter

225g caster sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

4 eggs

200g self raising flour

25g cornflour

1/2 tsp baking powder

50g desiccated coconut soaked in 150ml boiling water

For the icing:

75g soft salted butter

150g icing sugar

100g flaked coconut for decoration

2ml coconut essence or if you have it  1tsp Malibu ( I used the essence as my 19 year old son and his mates had glugged all of my Malibu)

Set the oven to 180degs and grease up two 20cm cake tins. Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature before you start. The method I use differs from Nigella’s. She likes to throw it all together and beat it up. I find that you get inconsistent cakes that way. I like to beat the sugar and the butter together till they are soft and pale, and then add the eggs one at a time. I use my Kenwood  mixer. I beat this mix until it it light and fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients: flour, cornflour, baking powder and coconut with the water. Beat these in quickly. Don’t over beat at this stage as you don’t want to beat all the air out of the eggs. Pour this into your tins and bake for 25 min.

To make the buttercream icing:

Mix the butter and icing sugar together with the Malibu. The secret to a light fluffy icing it to beat it for a long time. If you find the icing it to dry add a few drops of water, and if to wet add a little more icing sugar. Once your cake it cooked and cooled, sandwich together with a thin layer of icing. Then proceed to ice the sides and top with a pallet knife. Take the coconut shavings ( which you can get at a health store or at Montague dried fruit and nuts – SA) and press them into the sides of the cake with your hand. May get a little messy but you can always pick up the dropped shavings and press them into the cake so as not to waste. Sprinkle with edible glitter for a party sparkle!