basil, lime & coconut cake
I tend to feel like baking on Mondays. Something about the flour on my nose and the butter in my fingernails makes me feel like the weekend is back again, if only for a couple of happy hours. Not that I ever end up with flour on my nose or butter in my fingernails. Oh no. The best part about Monday evening baking is figuring out what to make. It may involve flicking through a book, leafing through a magazine, or, as happens most Mondays, working it out on the fly and hoping for the very best. As for inspiration? Well that comes from all over. And on Monday, it came in the form of our herb plot.
The bugs had gotten to the basil again. And I wasn't going to allow them the pleasure of chomping down on the rest of the leaves. We had some shredded coconut in the fridge. And oh! The limes from my house cooling. From the cocktails that we never ended up drinking. So, all of them? In a cake? Sure, why not?
shredded coconut in a pan
basil, lime & coconut cake
ingredients for the cake:
1/4C shredded coconut
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1 lime
handful of vietnamese basil (about 2tbsp once chopped)
125g softened butter
3 eggs
1.5C self raising flour
1/2C white sugar
60ml milk
ingredients for the glaze:
50ml lime juice (about 1.5 limes)
rind of 1 lime
3/4C icing sugar
method:
1. The hardest thing about this cake is probably toasting the coconut. Which isn't hard at all. All you do is put your shredded coconut in a frying pan over a low heat. Stir it around a bit. Oh! The fragrance! And then *bam!* all of a sudden, it will start to go brown, and your kitchen will smell like the Bahamas. Bikinis optional.
toasted coconut!
zest the limes & chop the basil
everything straight in the bowl!
whip it good, then into a tin
6. Now dump the cake mix (smooth and creamy) into the tin and smooth it out a bit. Doesn't have to be perfect. It will melt before it sets anyway. Because of all that butter. Do not think too hard about the butter lest you eat only a smidge of cake later.
letting the cake cool
lime juice, rind & icing sugar
pouring onto the cake
(note: a good vanilla ice cream mutes the sharpness of the lime nicely but may hide the flavour of the coconut & basil somewhat.)
13 bites more:
Cakes with glaze are so heavenly. As if cake itself isn't fabulous enough as it is! I've never had flour on my nose. I'm convinced it only occurs in romantic comedies where the heroine is supposed to look adorable while cooking and the hero comes in and swipes it off adoringly. And that's probably why I don't really watch rom-coms :P
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I love citrus sponge cakes so this one is right up my culinary alley.
Maybe a thin cream or warmed custard instead of the vanilla ice cream? Perhaps it's the cold of the ice cream that's the contributing factor. Perhaps not. Just a thought I had, that's all.
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I like when you say "the hardest part is roasting coconut which isn't that hard at all"? WTF? LOL. We tried the basil granita at the Taste and is rather a strange feeling using basil as a sweet dessert, I am very curious how this cake will taste like.
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Lime and coconut....what a heavenly combo. Yummo!
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Oohh yuummmmmmm! Hahha I haven't baked in yoonnkkkss... now I feel like doing so but how do you have so much free timmmee!?!?
Mmmm craving coconut of any sort now
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yum yum. this sounds amazing. i love the idea of using basil in a syrup cake. and booh to basil-chomping bugs, although at least it gives you the impetus to bake and that is maybe a good thing, no?
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Lorraine: i'd always thought similarly until i once forgot what i was doing and rubbed the itch on my nose whilst making scones. hrm. :)
Simon: very possible. it's a buttery cake so a custard may be a little strong, but i can see a poured cream working well with it.
Billy: well if the hardest part isn't very hard, then the whole thing is fairly easy. yes? i'm only just starting to love the whole herb-in-dessert thing. different, but so fragrant!
Karen: i've made these in a sponge cupcake (sans basil) before - they went like wildfire! the flavour is like summer in the tropics :)
FFichiban: i don't! but i get home from work on Mondays and go a little nuts then eat dinner & take showers while it's in the oven. hooray for Monday desserts!
Helen: a good thing it surely is. now about that mint that the bugs have moved on to...
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I still haven't tried basil in a sweet, but it seems to be coming up a bit lately. I like the way it makes it greenish. It would be great for a theme for Halloween.
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We made a lime and basil cake at Adrtiano Zumbo's cooking class last year that was very similar to yours. It tasted fantastic, from what I remember. And well done for baking on Monday, ie. not being knackered after a day at work!
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Oh, I like the sound of that combo. I still haven't tried basil in a dessert (I've seen a couple recipes) and this one is very tempting.
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Arwen: neither had i - this is my first foray into the herbs-in-sweets realm. the Bean has dubbed this the "confetti cake" because of all the green flecks in it. maybe a subconscious st patrick's day recipe?
Belle: truly? how delicious! and really, it's not that difficult as long as i'm not icing anything :)
Anita: as had i, and thought there was no harm in experimenting. good thing it turned out ok!
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CONFETTI CAKE!!!!!
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Delicious looking cake! I adore that combination of flavours, and like you, love baking on Mondays. Or any other day of the week, really :)
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