freedom to dither

i baked this for @kissability’s picnic today and several people asked for the recipe.  so here it is (courtesy of the brilliant neil perry) …

ingredients

for the cake

350g caster sugar

300g self-raising flour

90g desiccated coconut

zest of 1 lime

250 g unsalted butter, melted

2 eggs

250ml milk

for the lime syrup

225g caster sugar

185ml water

zest of 1 lime

juice of 5 limes

method

preheat oven to 180°C.  lightly grease a 22cm round cake tin or a 19cm square cake tin.  line the base and side of the tin with baking paper that extends 2cm above the side.  sift together the sugar and flour and mix with the coconut and lime zest in a bowl.  stir in the butter.  combine the eggs and milk and add to the bowl.  mix until smooth.

spoon the mixture into the tin and bake on a tray for one hour, or until a skewer put into the centre of the cake comes out completely dry.  if the top of the cake starts to brown before it is baked through, cover with some foil and continue cooking.  meanwhile, make the syrup.  put the sugar and water in a saucepan and stir over a low heat until the sugar is fully dissolved.  add the lime zest and juice, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 8 minutes, then strain.

remove the cake from the oven and use a skewer to poke a few holes evenly over the cake.  slowly pour the hot syrup over the cake.  let it stand for about 20 minutes, or until the syrup has soaked into the cake, then turn the cake out onto a wire rack lined with baking paper and allow to cool.

two final tips:

1. make sure the cake is still hot when your pour the hot syrup over it.
2. don’t skimp on the limes - you don’t want it to be too sweet, and the limes add a delicious citrusy bitterness to balance out all the sugar.