I have so much coconut!!

I ordered a 25kg sack load of organic coconut flakes some months back as it was such a good deal at that size…however I am trying to get through it before it begins to dry out.

I use a lot of desiccated coconut flakes for making coconut butter …it’s so cost effective that way, however there is a limit to how much coconut one person can eat! So recently I’ve been using lots of extra coconut in my granola bars, in my smoosh bars, and of course in this chocolate slice and in this coconut ice too.

You may see a few more coconut inspired treats coming along in the next few weeks!

So, today I thought a coconut cake was in order. This cake also uses coconut flour which I also have in my regular baking supplies (just not in such vast quantities), it’s something I actually don’t use that often, often forgetting it’s there or simply using the coconut flakes instead.

It’s a really great but strange flour. Great because it has a delicate flavour and texture, is gluten free and high in fibre. But strange in that it is very ‘drying’ and absorbs liquid so you’ll find that the proportions of liquid in a recipe and the consistency of the batter are different to the norm. Don’t let that put you off- it’s fun to try new things!

This cake has a really delicate crumb, and is light and moist probably helped by the extra coconut and banana. I kept the sweetness fairly low so that it did not overpower and took on more of a ‘teabread’ type sweetness with the raspberry preserve adding an extra sweet kick. Feel free to increase the agave or add some stevia if you like. The coconut-raspberry combo was inspired by these tarts…oh they were so good and so I just had to get the combo going again. The coconut ‘bombe’ also worked really well with the warm gooey raspberry centre.

Recipe: coconut cake with raspberry delight

1 x 21cm loaf tin (or smaller tin plus one small microwave cake see below)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup each coconut flour, tapioca starch, buckwheat flour
• ¼ cup dessicated coconut flakes (plus more for topping)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch salt
• 1 small banana- mashed
• 1 tsp ground chia mixed with 2 tbs water
• 1/3 cup orange juice (or pineapple juice/non-dairy milk)
• 3 tbs agave syrup (more to taste)
• 1 tsp rum extract
• Sugar free raspberry jam- for glaze

Method (for loaf)

Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and then add wet ingredients. Mix together gently but well.

Note the coconut flour is very ‘drying’ so the batter will not be as runny as normal cake batter. It will probably be very light and airy.

Spoon the batter into a loaf tin (or a smaller loaf tin plus small round microwavable bowl-see below). Smooth the top of the batter and cover with a fairly generous layer of desiccated coconut flakes, gently press them into the batter 180C for approx. 30 mins until the top is golden and toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes away clean. Note- I loosely covered the loaf with tin foil after being in the oven for 10 minutes to ensure to coconut flakes did not burn.

Allow to cool slightly in the loaf tin before lifting out. Drizzle with raspberry jam whilst still warm and allow to cool fully before serving.

Method (for mini ‘bombe’)

serves 2

Keep aside approx. ½ cup of cake batter. Lightly oil a small microwavable round bowl (approx. 10 cm diameter rim). Sprinkle 1tbs of desiccated coconut flakes in the bottom and then carefully top this will ¼ cup cake batter. Spread the batter evenly across the bottom of the bowl. Dollop 1 generous tsp of raspberry jam into the centre of the batter before covering with the remaining  ¼ cup of batter. Smooth evenly ensuring all the jam is fully covered.

Cook in the microwave for 90 seconds. Lightly touch centre to check if cooked and if still wet cook for another 30-60 seconds as necessary.