Raspberry Coconut Birthday Celebration Cake
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 90 minutes (best started the day before)
Cooking time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Serves: 12 people
For Cake
- 450g/1lb. cake flour*
- 400g/14ozs. caster or superfine sugar
- 110g/3.8ozs desiccated coconut
- 2.5 teaspoons bicarb of soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 250g/8.8ozs. frozen raspberries
- 400ml/14flozs coconut milk
- 160ml/5.4flozs. water
- 230g/8.1flozs. coconut oil (melted or in liquid form)
- 4.5 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- 2 teaspoons coconut flavouring
For buttercream frosting
- 850g/1.8lbs icing or powdered sugar
- 240g/8ozs. butter or butter substitute, room temperature
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5-6 tablespoons milk or milk alternative
- Pink food colouring
- A few drops raspberry flavouring
To decorate:
- 6 raspberry heart biscuits (vegan ones)
- 200g/7ozs raspberry jam (optional)
- Raspberry lollies
- Extra large sprinkles
Please note this recipe uses two 16cm/6.3 inch cake tins. This gives the cake a nice, taller and narrow look
Cake flour can be bought at the supermarket. You can also make it at home. To make 1 cup/150g/5.2ozs of cake flour replace 2 tablespoons of plain all purpose flour with cornflour/fine cornstarch and whisk well. I usually mix up a big batch of this and keep it in a container ready for baking cakes as it produces a softer texture.
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 170C/338F and grease and line the base and sides of 2x 16cm or 6.3 inch baking tins. In a large bowl whisk the flour, sugar, coconut, bicarb and salt. Take out 3-4 tablespoons of this flour mixture and toss the raspberries in this in a bowl and set aside. In a large jug whisk the coconut milk, water, coconut oil, vinegar, vanilla and coconut flavouring until emulsified. Make a well in the centre of the dry mixture and gradually add the wet mixture in stirring. Make sure there are no lumps or hidden streaks of flour.
Step 2 - Add the raspberries and any flour into the batter and stir to combine and distribute the raspberries. Scoop into the two tins evenly and rest on the counter for 10 minutes. Then bake for 1 hour 5 minutes or until the centre springs back when pressed (this is a deep, high cake so it takes a bit longer to cook than a flatter 20cm/8inch tin). Cool completely in the tin and remove and wrap up in cling film.
Step 3 a traditional method-Make the buttercream. Beat the icing sugar, butter, vanilla and 3 tablespoons of milk with electric beaters on low speed for a minute. If the buttercream is looking stiff add the remaining milk tablespoon by tablespoon. Beat for 3-4 minutes on high speed until pale and fluffy. Spread over the cold cake.
Step 3b Thermomix directions: place the icing sugar in the bowl and set to 30 seconds speed #6. Add the butter and set to 5 minutes, reverse speed 4. After 15 seconds add 3 tablespoons of milk. After 2 minutes add the food colouring and raspberry flavour and more milk if needed.
Step 4 - Take a cake disc and place on a cake turntable. Slice the tops off the cakes so that they are even and slice each cake in half horizontally so that you have 4 cakes. Smear a teaspoon of buttercream in the centre of the cake disc (so that the cake sticks to it) and place one cake on the base and spread with buttercream and then jam (don't bring the jam all the way to the edge, see above). Repeat with the remaining cakes.
Step 5 - Make a crumb coat using some of the icing. The crumb coat is to catch any cake crumbs and should be a thin layer of icing. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up and dry and then spread another thicker layer of icing on the outside. I use a piping bag with a plain tip and I piped some buttercream around the cake. Then use a tall scraper to scrape the buttercream until smooth. If there are any spots that need filling add some icing on those and repeat scraping and filling until smooth-you may have to do this half a dozen times.
Step 6 - Add sprinkles around the base. I tilt the cake a little and press sprinkles into the bottom inch of the cake. Then take a #867 or French star piping tip and fit it in a piping bag. Pipe tall rosettes leaving a little space for the cookies. Add the cookies and place raspberry lollies on top of the rosettes and add a candle in the centre.
Step 7 - Dog figurine detail: Using a spoon scoop out a corner of the cake around the height of the dog figurine's mouth. Dab a little buttercream on the dog's nose.