Homemade Coconut Lumberjack Cake with Maple Coconut Topping

Lumberjack Cake

An Original Recipe by Not Quite Nigella

• 1.5 cups apple - approximately 2 apples peeled, cored and chopped (I used Granny Smiths)

• 1 cup/135grams pitted dates, chopped

• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

• 1 cup boiling water

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup caster sugar

• 1/2 cup oil (a vegetable or lightly flavoured oil is best, olive oils can be quite strong)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1.5 cups plain all purpose flour

• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder

For topping

• 70g/2.5ozs butter

• 4 tablespoons cream

• 1/3 cup brown sugar

• 1/3 cup maple syrup

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

• 1.5 cups shredded coconut or moist coconut flakes

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Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a round 9 inch springform tin with butter and baking parchment. In a bowl, place the chopped apple, dates, bicarb and boiling water and the bicarb should fizz. Allow to stand for 10 minutes making sure that the fruit sits in the water.

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Step 2 - In the bowl of an electric mixer with a beater attachment, beat the eggs, sugar and oil for 3 minutes.  Add the apple and date mixture, water and all, to this mix and fold to combine. Then fold into the salt, flour and baking powder folding gently, ensuring that it is completely mixed. The batter is quite wet at this stage so I always put the springform tin on another baking tray as I don't want it to drip onto the bottom of the oven. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

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Step 3 - Meanwhile while the cake is baking, make the topping. In a small saucepan on low heat, melt the butter along with the cream, brown sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. Once melted and it becomes a rich butterscotchy maple sauce, add in the coconut. No need to toast the coconut as it will go into the oven where it will get toasted.

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Step 4 - When the cake is done, take the tin out of the oven and then spread over the topping reaching to all of the sides. Place cake in the oven on the same temperature and bake for another 20 minutes until the topping is golden. Serve to your lumberjack of choice.

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