This recipe is a coconut cake recipe and it is the quintessential coconut cake that everybody loves. It is soft, moist, fragrant and delicious. This is a one-bowl method recipe, which means measuring all ingredients into a bowl and beating with an electrical beater. Most simple cake recipes transform easily into cupcakes.
This recipe makes 15 cupcakes or one 20 cm cake. If you have a roasting pan or any square pan (23-25 cm), turn this into coconut squares. This would make a great coconut loaf cake, baked in a 22/23 cm loaf tin.
Great cakes don’t need any frosting and this cake is utterly delicious on it’s own. Frosting brings a prettiness to cakes that is always welcome. Any frosting will do here – chocolate, vanilla, cream cheese, whipped cream, ganache etc. (see frostings and fillings)
For this recipe, I have chosen a strawberry buttercream.
Ingredients for cake
- 185 g butter
- 3/4 c caster sugar
- 1 1/2 c self-raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2/3 c dessicated coconut
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 c milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
Method to make cake
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
- Line a 12-hole muffin pan with cupcake liners. You will need 2 pans here. Or do one lot and before baking, beat the remaining mixture lightly again before filling the cupcake liners.
- Measure out all ingredients into a mixing bowl.
- Beat with an electric beater till smooth, pale and fluffy. (should take about 3 – 5 minutes depending on the power of your beater)
- Using a spoon or ice-cream scoop, fill each liner 2/3 full.
- Bake for 20 – 25 minutes till cupcakes are golden brown, well risen and springy in the centre.
- Leave out to completely cool before frosting.
Strawberry Buttercream
- 250 g softened butter
- 3 c sifted icing sugar
- juice of 1 lemon (set aside one tsp for icing and use the rest to cook strawberries)
- 1/2 c fresh strawberries
- 2-3 TB sugar
- Hull strawberries and chop into small pieces.
- In a small saucepan, add strawberries, juice of a lemon and 2 – 3 tablespoons of sugar. Some strawberries are more tart than others and will need more sugar. Sweeten to taste.
- Cook down strawberries on a medium heat till coming apart into a sauce. (15-20 minutes)
- Puree with a blender if a smooth sauce is desired. Small pieces of strawberries are very appealing in the buttercream, should you forego the blending part.
- Make sure puree is completely cool before adding to buttercream. (see tip below)
- With an electric beater or stand mixer beater butter till smooth and fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl many times during the mixing process. This allows for all the ingredients to be equally distributed and well combined.
- Add icing sugar in 2 batches and beat well with each addition. Add a teaspoon of lemon juice and the strawberry puree and beat well.
- Using a large star nozzle pipe swirls of buttercream over cupcakes. Or simply use a palette knife and spread icing over each cupcake.
- Garnish with fresh strawberries. (optional)
TIP: if the strawberry/fruit puree has been made in advance and is fridge cold, slightly warm the puree before adding to the buttercream. A very cold puree can split the buttercream As a rule, I always warm my puree in the microwave, ever so lightly, before adding to the buttercream.
