Cakes & Bakes: Coconut loaf cake

If you remember, for last week’s Cakes & Bakes recipe, I was meant to bake a coconut loaf cake but I didn’t have any of the main ingredient.

Justin enjoyed the resulting almond loaf so much that I had to make good on last week’s previously planned bake.

Once again, this was a quick and easy cake to make. Cream the sugar & butter, mix together the wet ingredients, add together. Mix together the dry ingredients, add together. Bake. That’s it!

Nothing quite beats the aroma of coconut cake baking in the oven… and if we thought the last loaf cake was delicious, this one raised the bar even further – coco-nutty (of course!), moist, sweet – just scrumptious!

Coconut loaf cake

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Cook Time 1

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Ingredients

150 g/5oz butter softened
150 g/5oz caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsp milk
150 g/5oz plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
100 g/3½oz dessicated coconut

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 150ºC/300ºF/gas mark 2
Grease a 450g/1lb loaf tin
Using a food processor or electric whisk, cream the sugar and butter
In a measuring jug, whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla extract
With the processor/whisk still going, mix the wet mixture into the creamed butter & sugar a little at a time
In another mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients well (flour, baking powder, salt, dessicated coconut)
Add the dry mixture into the wet mixture in 3 stages, mixing after each addition
Spoon into the greased loaf tin and level out using a spatula or back of a spoon
Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until golden brown on the top and a skewer inserted into the centre comes away clean

Keyword cake, coconut, loaf cake, tea loaf

Cakes & Bakes: Coconut shortbread

Shortbread is my favourite biscuit. Sweet, crumbly, buttery and great with a cup of afternoon tea. What could be better? This coconut shortbread gives an old classic a bit of a twist.

Just take the basic shortbread recipe – butter, flour and sugar – and add an egg, dessicated coconut and a little cold water.

A great effort to reward ratio. Sweet, crumbly, buttery and now coconutty… and still great with a cup of tea!!

Coconut shortbread

The multi-cultural cuisine of Trinidad & Tobago and the Caribbean

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Cook Time 45

Course Snack

Cuisine Caribbean

Ingredients

225 g/8oz butter
200 g/7oz caster sugar
350 g/12oz plain flour
70 g/2½oz dessicated coconut
1 egg
pinch of salt
3 tbsp cold water

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 150ºC/300ºF/gas mark 2
Grease a 33 x 22cm/13 x 9-inch baking/brownie tin (or baking sheet if using a mould)
Cream the butter
Add the sugar, flour, dessicated coconut, egg and salt and pulse the food processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (less than a minute)
Add cold water, a tablespoon at a time, until the mixture just begins to come together
Tip the mixture on to the baking tin and press down firmly and evenly especially at the corners & edges (if using a mould, bring the mixture together to form a ball, wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes before moulding)
Sprinkle the top with a tablespoonful or so of caster sugar
Cook for 45-50 minutes or until the shortbread just begins to turn golden brown
Slice into fingers/petticoat tails while still warm before allowing to cool on a wire rack

Keyword biscuits, coconut, shortbread

Cakes & Bakes: Coconut brownies

Justin and I share similar tastes in a lot of things, desserts are not one of them. He prefers lemon tarts & drizzles – cream cakes too. I adore chocolate fudge cake, death by chocolate, chocolate brownies… you get the picture! We do occasionally have common ground; we both like carrot cake and baked vanilla cheesecake.

Last week I was lamenting his lack of love of brownies when he said, “Coconut brownies might tempt me”. That was all the encouragement I needed to whip up a batch.

I made it with cocoa instead of the usual dark chocolate and used less butter than would be usual as I wanted a dryer, less dense and chewy texture.

He hasn’t said whether he liked it or not. All I know is that it didn’t hang around for long!

Click here to pin the recipe for later

Coconut brownies

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Cook Time 30

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 9

Ingredients

75 g/2½oz cocoa
75 g/2½oz dessicated coconut
150 g/5⅓oz caster sugar
50 g/1¾oz plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
175 g/6oz butter
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 150ºC/300ºF/Gas mark 2
Grease a 20cm² / 8inch² cake tin
In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and make a well in the centre
In a small bowl, microwave the butter for about 15-20 seconds to just liquefy but not cook. Allow to cool slightly
Lightly whisk the eggs in a measuring bowl before adding the vanilla essence
Pour the wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients and combine well using a spatula
Pour the batter into the greased tin and bake for 25-30 minutes
Allow to cool in the tin before slicing into squares
Can be stored in a cool place in an airtight container for about 3 days

Keyword brownies, chocolate, coconut

Cakes & Bakes: Coconut ladoo

Justin cooked a curry for visitors between Christmas & New Year. We figured it would be the ideal flavour contrast to all the other seasonal fayre – and judging by the crowds we’ve noticed in our local curry house this week, we weren’t alone!! I usually make some type of cake for dessert, but following a hearty curry that option would likely prove too filling.

Dainty Indian sweets would be the perfect end to the meal. I chose to make coconut ladoo (or laddu) because we already had all 3 ingredients in our store cupboard.

It’s the flavour of the pungent ground cardamom which gives this sweet its Indian taste.

There are other kinds made with chickpea flour or semolina instead of coconut and fried in ghee. They are also be made with the addition of dried fruit and/or nuts such as pistachios or cashews.

They’re make a great little alternative present to the more traditional box of chocolates.

Coconut ladoo

A treat often served at celebratory events such as the Hindu festival of Diwali

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 5

Total Time 20

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian

Servings 30 balls

Ingredients

1 tin 397g condensed milk
250 g dessicated coconut
5 cardamom pods

Instructions

Remove the cardamom seeds from their papery outer shell and grind finely using a pestle & mortar
In a large saucepan add 220g of the dessicated coconut, condensed milk and powdered cardamom
Heat over a medium flame stirring constantly until just before the mixture begins to colour (about 5 minutes) and most of the liquid has evaporated
Allow the mixture to cool slightly before forming into balls the size of marbles using the palms of your hands
Roll the balls in the reserved 30g of dessicated coconut

Keyword coconut, ladoo, sweets

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: coconut

Cakes & Bakes: Coconut loaf cake

Coconut loaf cake

Ingredients

Instructions

Cakes & Bakes: Coconut shortbread

Coconut shortbread

Ingredients

Instructions

Cakes & Bakes: Coconut brownies

Coconut brownies

Ingredients

Instructions

Cakes & Bakes: Coconut ladoo

Coconut ladoo

Ingredients

Instructions