Tasty tea cakes are always trendy, they sit ready to be enjoyed with a cup of tea or coffee. Our regular sponge cake seems to be the most popular, frosted or not. Sometimes there may be a bit of fruit in it. But looking beyond the horizon of a plain sponge cake, there are some other delightful flavours we can add, or other methods we can use, to create a beautiful and irresistible cake. Here are two of my favourites, both using the flavour of fresh coconut, which is lovely.
TOASTED COCONUT CAKE
1 cup finely shredded fresh coconut
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 1/3 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbs grated orange zest
1/2 tsp orange extract or vanilla
1/4 cupfresh orange juice
Preheat oven to 325F
Line, grease and flour the base and sides of a 9 inch cake tin.
Spread coconut onto a baking tray and lightly toast for about 5 minutes, just until coconut is dry and just beginning to turn colour. Do not brown coconut.
Crumble lightly with your fingers.
Cream butter until light. Add sugar one tablespoon at a time, beating well until sugar is dissolved and mixture is fluffy.
Sift flour with baking powder.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well between additions.
Combine orange juice, orange zest and orange extract or vanilla.
Combine coconut with flour mixture.
Fold in flour alternately with juice in three additions, beginning and ending with flour.
Spoon batter into prepared tin, bake for about 50 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted through the centre comes out clean.
Cool on wire rack for 6 minutes.
Turn out of tin, remove lining paper, and cool on cake rack.
Makes one 9-inch cake
COCONUT CHIFFON CAKE
5 egg yolks
6 egg whites
1 egg
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
2/3 cup finely grated fresh coconut
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup orange juice
l1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 325F
Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; salt 3 times.
Place egg yolks and whole egg into a Mixmaster bowl with beaters or whisk attachment and beat until frothy.
Add one cup sugar gradually, and beat until thick, fluffy and light in colour–about 5 minutes.
Slowly pour in oil in a steady stream. Continue beating for about one minute longer.
Divide dry ingredients into 3 parts, add to yolk mixture alternately with orange juice, beginning and ending with flour.
Wash and dry beaters and beat egg whites with cream of tartar until frothy. Add 1/3 cup sugar gradually, and beat to a soft meringue.
With a large spatula, fold 1/4 of the yolk mixture into the whites and then fold the whites into the yolk mixture in four additions, taking care not to over-fold.
Gently pour or spoon batter into a 10-inch ungreased angel food pan.
Bake for 60-65 minutes until springy to touch.
Invert cake and cool completely in pan before removing.
