Orange & Coconut Syrup Cake
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Serves: 8
- 200g/7ozs. plain all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornflour/fine cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 50g/1.7ozs. desiccated coconut
- 175g/6ozs. caster sugar
- 125g/4ozs. butter, room temperature cut into cubes
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 125ml/4flozs orange juice
- 125ml/4flozs coconut milk
- Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
Orange and vanilla syrup
- 250ml/8.8flozs orange juice
- 70g/2.3ozs caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Orange Buttercream (optional)
- 40g/1.4ozs. butter
- 300g/10.6ozs icing sugar
- 100ml/3.5flozs. orange juice
- Pinch of salt
- Orange zest to decorate
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F and line a 450g/1 pound loaf tin with parchment on the base and sides. Whisk the flour, cornflour, baking powder, coconut and caster sugar together in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a beater attachment and beat for 30 seconds. Add the butter cubes one at a time on low speed. It will start to look like buttercream. Whisk the eggs, orange juice, coconut milk and orange zest in a jug and pour into the batter in two lots on low speed until combined.
Step 2 - Scoop into prepared tin and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until the centre springs back when touched.
Step 3 - Make the orange syrup. Boil the orange juice and caster sugar for 3 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Add vanilla and set aside. Poke holes in the top of the warm cake still in the tin and pour the syrup into the cake - use as much or as little as you want and if you use it all it will be sweeter and denser. Cool completely in the tin and when ready, remove from the tin.
Step 4 - To make the buttercream beat the butter for 1 minute, then add the icing sugar, orange juice and salt and beat until smooth. Spread over the cooled cake and grate zest over the cake. I added nasturtiums too.