Coconut cake

Make up: I’m no expert - mascara and lipstick are the only things I wear - but know how much different it makes. Not to mention make up in movies – there are fabulous and talented artists out there. Otherwise it would be impossible to transform the charming Gary Oldman into an old and ugly vampire... Especially after he showed up as a handsome 19th century gentleman (I had the biggest crush on him when that movie was released). :D

As for this cake, the “make up” – a.k.a., the icing - served as a cover up: I unmolded the cake after completely cooled and some of it got stuck in the bottom of the pan. :(

Even though the icing came in handy here, I found this cake so tender and delicious that it should be served with nothing more than a sprinkling of icing sugar on top.

Coconut cake
from Donna Hay magazine

250g butter, softened
275g sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
300g self-rising flour, sifted
80g unsweetened desiccated coconut
250ml milk

Icing:
640g icing sugar, sifted
80ml (1/3 cup) boiling water*

Preheat the oven to 160ºC/320ºF; Grease really well a 10-cup capacity bundt or ring pan.

Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs and beat well.
Add the flour, coconut and milk and beat until well combined. Spoon the mixture into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely – don’t let the cake cool completely in the pan or it might stick.

For the icing, place the sugar and water in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Spoon the icing over the cake and allow to set.

* even though I added more water, my icing was a lot thicker than the one in the magazine, but ended up keeping it that way to cover up the bruises on the cake

Serves 8-10 – I halved the recipe and used a 19cm (6-cup capacity) ring pan