Lemon Coconut Loaf

 

Coconut and lemon are a match made in heaven, and when that match is a dense crumbed, delicious and butter-less lemon loaf, well you may as well skip the rest of this and head straight to the recipe. But before you do, let me just point out that this is one of those cakes you need to have in your repertoire of baking. A slight variation on an otherwise very simple lemon yoghurt cake, the coconut and honey add a surprisingly decadent flavour and the ground almonds give the cake the perfectly dense texture similar to a pound cake ladened with butter…except there is none, so you can eat another piece, right?

Make this cake ahead and it stores well in the fridge for a couple of days but like many baked goods, it’s best moments are when it’s pulled straight from the oven, slathered with soft butter and served with a cup of tea.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup ground almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp honey
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sweetened desiccated coconut

• Preheat oven to 350/180C. Line a nonstick loaf pan with parchment paper
• In a bowl combine flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.
• In a separate bowl combine sugar and lemon zest, rubbing the mixture together. Add yogurt, honey, lemon juice, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking to combine.
• Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, finishing with the coconut.
• Pour into the loaf tin and bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. If you find it’s browning too quickly, tent with tin foil. Remove from the tin and allow to cool slightly before digging in.

 

 

Roast Rhubarb Crumb Cake

It’s come to that time of year when you begin to feel a bit impatient. Spring has (sort of) arrived with longer days, extended hours of sunshine, and the realization that we are already well into the New Year.

It’s been a few months of change but with lots of great opportunities ahead, and waking up today to see ‘May 1^st’ on the calendar was exciting but also daunting. Not only because spring brings new hope and good vibes into everyone’s lives, but also because it’s a substantial mark in the calendar. (Basically, it’s time to really get moving!)

Spring reminds me of my passion for baking because of all the great fruit you can find at the local markets. Reminiscent of spring back home, Rhubarb is one of those ingredients you can buy year round in the UK, something I found quite surprising upon moving here. The variety, called forced rhubarb, is grown throughout the winter months in greenhouses with no light, allowing the rhubarb to feed off the stored carbohydrates from the roots of the plant. I prefer to stick to the fresh spring product, so naturally I grabbed some at the store the other day curiously wondering what it would be transformed into.

The crumb cake is a twist on a basic coffee (or tea!) cake. Simple, yet satisfying, it’s one of those bar cakes you don’t want laying around out of fear that the entire thing could possibly be consumed within one sitting. The rhubarb works perfectly here because of the tart flavour and soft texture it adds to the cake. Rhubarb perfectly peaking through the middle layer, along with a classic crumb topping transform this otherwise unassuming tea-cake into something so splendid you’ll want to share it with all of your friends.

Rhubarb Crumb Cake

For the rhubarb:
250g (1 cup) fresh rhubarb
25 g (¼ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
squeeze lemon juice
½ vanilla pod, seeds removed
splash of water

For the topping:
45g (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold
45g (1 1/2 tablespons) demerara sugar
60g (a little under 1/2 a cup)
white spelt flour ( or all- purpose)
50g (1/2 cup) jumbo oats
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon

For the cake:
115g (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 medium eggs
160g (2/3 cup) caster (granulated) sugar
15 mL maple syrup
½ vanilla pod, seeds removed
95g (2/3 cup) white spelt flour
25g (1/4 cup) quick porridge oats, or large flaked oats roughly processed
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp dessicated coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
A pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 160C/325F

To prepare the rhubarb, trim the ends and place in a roasting pan with sugar, lemon and vanilla to toss with splash of water. Cover with foil and roast for 20 minutes or until tender. Remove and let cool.

To make the crumble topping, rub together the flour, sugar, flour and oats until you have something that resembles breadcrumbs. Chill in the fridge until needed.

Line a 20cm square baking tin with parchment paper overhanging the side and butter well.

To make the cake, beat the butter and sugar until smooth.  Add the eggs, one by one, continuing to beat until they are incorporated. Add the vanilla and maple syrup and beat until combined. Finally, sift together the flour, oats, the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt and fold the dry ingredients into the wet.

Spoon the cake mixture into the tin, smooth and top with roast rhubarb. Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top and bake for 35 – 40 minutes until the topping is golden and the cake is cooked all the way through.

Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before using the parchment paper to pull the cake out of the tin. When cool, slice into squares.