Coconut Milk Cake

150ml Tinned Coconut Milk
50g Desiccated coconut
½ Vanilla Pod, scraped
Or
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
50ml White Rum, plus extra to drizzle!
250g Unsalted butter, softened
300g Caster Sugar
3 Large Eggs
275g Plain Flour
2½ level tsp Baking Powder
6 tsp Freshly squeezed lime juice

Method

Butter the sides and line the bases of three 20cm round Victoria sponge tins with discs of non-stick baking parchment. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-assisted). Heat the coconut milk till boiling, then remove from the heat and stir in the desiccated coconut, vanilla pod (or extract) and rum. Leave to soak for 30 mins so the dry coconut softens. Place the sugar and butter in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, until evenly combined. Sift the flour with the baking powder two or three times, then fold alternately with the coconut mixture (remove the vanilla pod now, if used) into the butter mixture until smooth. Divide between the cake tins, smooth the tips and bake for 30-35 mins or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Leave the Coconut Milk Cake to cool in the tins, then remove carefully. Sprinkle 2 tsp lime juice and 1 tbsp of rum on each layer.

Sandwich together and top with buttercream

Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients

3 Egg Whites (125g) from large eggs
200g Caster sugar
500g Unsalted Butter, slightly softened
1 tbsp Vanilla essence

Method

Place the whites and the sugar in a saucepan and stir over a moderate heat until the mixture is hot and the sugar dissolved. Tip mixture into a bowl and beat with an electric which for about 5 minutes until very thick and cool. Beat tin the butter, 50g at a time. Stop whisking as soon as all of the butter is evenly mixed through. Finally, beat in the vanilla.

For lime, lemon or orange meringue buttercream, add 2-3 tbsp grated zest with the butter.

For more cake recipes click Coconut Milk Cake