Coconut and Lime Cake
Ingredients
- 100 gm crème fraîche
- 100 ml heavy cream (45% milk fat)
- To serve: finely grated flesh of 1 mature coconut
Malibu chiffon cake
- 300 gm (2 cups) plain flour, sieved
- 220 gm (1 cup) sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 125 ml (½ cup) vegetable oil
- 7 eggs, separated
- 2 tsp coconut essence
- Pinch of cream of tartar
- 60 ml Malibu
Lime curd
- 60 gm butter
- 40 gm caster sugar
- 40 ml lime juice (about 2 limes), plus rind of ½ lime, finely grated
- 3 egg yolks
- ½ titanium-strength gelatine leaf, softened in cold water for 5 minutes
Italian meringue
- 185 gm caster sugar
- 3 eggwhites
- Pinch cream of tartar
- 1-2 tsp coconut essence
Preparation method
Serves 10
Prep time 40 mins, cook 1 hr (plus cooling, setting)
Coconut, lime, meringue: what more needs to be said? This superbly moist cake is best eaten as soon as it’s iced.
For Malibu chiffon cake, preheat oven to 165C. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and ½ tsp salt in a bowl. Whisk in 200ml water, vegetable oil, egg yolks and coconut essence until smooth. Whisk eggwhites and cream of tartar in a separate bowl until stiff peaks form, fold one-third through flour mixture, then fold remaining eggwhites into flour mixture. Pour into two 20cm-diameter cake tins that have been buttered, floured and lined on the base with baking paper, then bake until cakes are golden and a skewer withdraws clean (30-40 minutes; don’t be concerned if cakes crack a little). Brush with Malibu, cool in tins for 15 minutes, remove from tins, cool completely on a wire rack, then trim tops level.
For lime curd, whisk butter, sugar, lime juice and egg yolks in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until combined, then stir occasionally until thick (3-6 minutes), stir in lime rind and remove from heat. Squeeze excess water from gelatine, add to curd, stir to dissolve. Cover closely with plastic wrap, set aside to cool, refrigerate until set.
For Italian meringue, combine sugar and 60ml water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and stir until sugar dissolves (1-2 minutes). Brush down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to remove sugar crystals, then bring to the boil and cook until syrup reaches 115C on a sugar thermometer (soft ball stage; 10-15 minutes). Whisk eggwhites and cream of tartar in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Meanwhile, continue cooking syrup to 121C (hard ball stage), then, whisking eggwhites continuously on medium speed, slowly add hot syrup until all is incorporated. Whisk on high speed until thick, glossy and cooled to room temperature (15-20 minutes), then stir in coconut essence.
Whisk lime curd in a bowl to a spreadable consistency and spread over top of one cake. Whisk crème fraîche and cream to stiff peaks and spread over curd, then top with remaining cake. Spread meringue over top and sides of cake, scatter with coconut and serve.
Prep time 40 mins, cook 1 hr (plus cooling, setting)
Coconut, lime, meringue: what more needs to be said? This superbly moist cake is best eaten as soon as it’s iced.
For Malibu chiffon cake, preheat oven to 165C. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and ½ tsp salt in a bowl. Whisk in 200ml water, vegetable oil, egg yolks and coconut essence until smooth. Whisk eggwhites and cream of tartar in a separate bowl until stiff peaks form, fold one-third through flour mixture, then fold remaining eggwhites into flour mixture. Pour into two 20cm-diameter cake tins that have been buttered, floured and lined on the base with baking paper, then bake until cakes are golden and a skewer withdraws clean (30-40 minutes; don’t be concerned if cakes crack a little). Brush with Malibu, cool in tins for 15 minutes, remove from tins, cool completely on a wire rack, then trim tops level.
For lime curd, whisk butter, sugar, lime juice and egg yolks in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until combined, then stir occasionally until thick (3-6 minutes), stir in lime rind and remove from heat. Squeeze excess water from gelatine, add to curd, stir to dissolve. Cover closely with plastic wrap, set aside to cool, refrigerate until set.
For Italian meringue, combine sugar and 60ml water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and stir until sugar dissolves (1-2 minutes). Brush down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to remove sugar crystals, then bring to the boil and cook until syrup reaches 115C on a sugar thermometer (soft ball stage; 10-15 minutes). Whisk eggwhites and cream of tartar in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Meanwhile, continue cooking syrup to 121C (hard ball stage), then, whisking eggwhites continuously on medium speed, slowly add hot syrup until all is incorporated. Whisk on high speed until thick, glossy and cooled to room temperature (15-20 minutes), then stir in coconut essence.
Whisk lime curd in a bowl to a spreadable consistency and spread over top of one cake. Whisk crème fraîche and cream to stiff peaks and spread over curd, then top with remaining cake. Spread meringue over top and sides of cake, scatter with coconut and serve.
Recipe from Gourmet Traveller by Lisa Featherby
This Cake has many steps but well worth the effort!!!
Bon Appetite
Mindy
Mindy Belle 