Caribbean Tropical Cake

Coconut & lime are a wonderful aromatic combination.  Making this cake fills the kitchen with a thick scent of lime and it's wonderful.  An easy cake to make, as long as you get a decent gadget to shred the peel of the limes as 90% of the ingredients can be thrown into a bowl and whisked together at once.  I personally don't like doing that and always cream the butter and sugar together first then add the eggs and then the rest.

Tastes of the Carib - coconut & lime 

Ingredients:

50g desiccated coconut

zest and juice of 2 limes

175g butter
175 g caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
175g
self raising flour (I use Shipton Mill flour and do 3/4 self raising and 1/4 soft cake and pastry flour)
1 large teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons coconut milk powder
a large dash Preema coconut flavouring essence (not obligatory but pushes the coconut taste)

zest the limes, place zest in small dish and cover with cling film
squeeze the lime and pour the juice over the desiccated coconut, cover and leave to soak for about an hour

Set oven to gas mk 3/325F/170C

empty creamed coconut into a small bowl, add a small amount of boiled water and stir to a thick but pourable consistency
either cream butter, sugar and eggs traditional way and then add flour & baking powder, lime zest and soaked coconut and then the creamed coconut mixture - whizz altogether
pour mixture into 2 lined 20cm sponge tins
cook for 30-35 minutes in middle of oven
cool for 10 minutes on a rack then ease out and let cool completely

FOR the icing topping  middle:

zest 3 limes
225g icing sugar in a bowl
then remove the lime segments (not pith) and mix into the icing sugar, let stand for 5 minutes
spread over first layer of cake and place second layer on top then spread remaining icing on top of cake
sprinkle lime zest over cake
let set and enjoy!