It was my cousin's birthday last Friday so naturally I baked her a cake. She's a big fan of Bounty chocolate bars so I knew a chocolate and coconut cake would go down a treat.
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Although I was initially miffed that I couldn't get my hands on some shredded coconut, toasted desiccated coconut made a pretty cake covering along with some chopped up chunks of Bounty bars. My favourite thing about using desiccated coconut to finish a cake is that you can be as messy as you like with the butter icing underneath. Nobody will know!
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Word of warning though, watch your desiccated coconut like a hawk when it's toasting in the oven as it really doesn't take long to colour. Yup, you guessed it, Iincinerated burnt the first batch.
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This is definitely a grown up chocolate cake - dark, rich and almost fudgy in texture. It balanced nicely with the creamy, sweet, coconut icing. I think my cousin was delighted that a dark, chocolatey cake was hiding beaneath the light, fluffy exterior.
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Word of warning though, watch your desiccated coconut like a hawk when it's toasting in the oven as it really doesn't take long to colour. Yup, you guessed it, I
This is definitely a grown up chocolate cake - dark, rich and almost fudgy in texture. It balanced nicely with the creamy, sweet, coconut icing. I think my cousin was delighted that a dark, chocolatey cake was hiding beaneath the light, fluffy exterior.
The cake recipe is from the Primrose Bakery, the same cake I baked for my sister in law a couple of years ago. The only change I made was swapping the milk for coconut milk. I also only used the two sponges as I didn't need to make a huge, triple layer cake (and it meant I got to keep a layer at home for myself, yay!) The recipe is a bit labour intensive and you end up with a lot of bowls to wash up, but it's definitely worth the effort for a fancier occasion.
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For the icing I used 500g icing sugar, 115g butter (half salted, half unsalted as that's what I had to hand), 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extact and 60ml coconut milk - beat it together for a good 5 minutes until very light and fluffy and it easily fills and covers the cake. I used a couple of boxes of desiccated coconut to toast but probably only needed one as I had loads left over. The coconut was patted on by hand after icing the cake.
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A fancy cake requires fancy china! I think my Aunty said that this gold china set belonged to my Uncle's Granny and dates around the 1880s. I've already forgotten the brand, I think it was Royal Albert, but it's a very stylish set. I love the square shaped side plates. I'm also a sucker for thin, shaped rimmed teacups.
Two birthday cakes baked and devoured in the first week and a half of 2015. Not bad!
For the icing I used 500g icing sugar, 115g butter (half salted, half unsalted as that's what I had to hand), 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extact and 60ml coconut milk - beat it together for a good 5 minutes until very light and fluffy and it easily fills and covers the cake. I used a couple of boxes of desiccated coconut to toast but probably only needed one as I had loads left over. The coconut was patted on by hand after icing the cake.
A fancy cake requires fancy china! I think my Aunty said that this gold china set belonged to my Uncle's Granny and dates around the 1880s. I've already forgotten the brand, I think it was Royal Albert, but it's a very stylish set. I love the square shaped side plates. I'm also a sucker for thin, shaped rimmed teacups.
Two birthday cakes baked and devoured in the first week and a half of 2015. Not bad!