Raspberry, coconut and lime cake

 

A sign of a good cake is how often you make it. Since the recipe for this one was published on The Design Files mid-October of 2020, it's been in heavy rotation in my repertoire and has come to be associated with bright spots in what was undoubtedly a challenging year. The first time I made it was to take with me to see my dad for the first time since January in the border bubble between Queensland and NSW. In early November I caught a plane to Ballina, he drove down from Brisbane to pick me up at the airport and we pulled over at the first sign of a picnic table to eat this cake, a belated birthday one for him. I made it again it to take to my cousin and his wife who'd just had a baby (once they got home from hospital, where visitors weren't allowed) and, more recently, when a Victorian friend I hadn't seen all year because of their state lockdown, swung by Sydney on her way to Byron Bay for Christmas with her family. We ate it for dessert after dinner and the next morning I packed her off with a few fat slices for the road. Loaf cakes, as all this attests, are incredibly portable. Maybe it's partly the emotion of the occasion but there's something really joyful about the combination of flavours and colours in this cake - the tropical feel of the coconut, the pop of pink raspberry and the the zing of the lime. I'm always partial to sour cream in cakes, because of the taste and also as it keeps well.. which means it's both brilliant for leftovers and can be made in advance.

Raspberry, coconut and lime cake 

Adapted from a recipe by Julia Busuttil Nishimura, as published on The Design Files

 

You can absolutely use frozen raspberries for this. I also make a 2/3 quantity of the recipe (scaling based on number of eggs - 2 instead of 3) and bake it in the slightly smaller loaf tin. I find it cooks for about the same time but check it at the 40 minute mark, just in case.

200g unsalted butter, softened

200g caster (superfine) sugar

3 eggs

Juice and zest of two limes

150g sour cream

100g desiccated coconut

250g self raising flour

125g raspberries

 

Lime sour cream glaze
70g sour cream
150g icing sugar, sifted
Zest of a lime
Shredded coconut, to serve

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 23 x 13x 8cm loaf tin.

Cream the butter and sugar til light and fluffy. Incorporate eggs, one at a time, followed by the zest and juice of the limes. Mix in the sour cream and the coconut, then sift in the flour and stir until just combined. Gently fold in the raspberries and spoon batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre. Allow to cool in the tin briefly then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

To make the glaze, combine the sour cream with the icing sugar and lime zest. The glaze should be pouring consistency, but not too thick. Pour the glaze over the cake and allow it to drip down the sides. Top with some shredded coconut.