Lemon Coconut Cake

I experimented and came up with this cake last weekend to use up some of our lemons.  The recipe turned out great!  The first cake came out perfect so I made another one and ended up making this layered cake.  I’ve put the recipe down with quantities to make the two cakes, but if you just want one, half it.  Also, my oven only bakes nicely in the middle, I baked one cake and then the other.  I would recommend most people do this too – if you bake the two cakes in the same part of the oven, then will turn out similar to each other. 

I think this cake is the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea.  I wish I had some now.  I’ve got a cup of tea and I am sitting in bed writing this post, but there’s no cake, or any other baking for that matter.  I’m a bit sick with a cold and have had a very unproductive day.  However, the sight of that lemon curd oozing out of the cake is pretty cheerful and an uplifting reminder that Summer in New Zealand is on its way!

Ingredients (for a double layer cake):
300g butter, softened
2 cups sugar
6 eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups self raising flour
250g sour cream
1 ½ cups desiccated coconut
rind (finely grated) and juice (about a cup) of 4 lemons
1 cup cream
lemon curd (I made some using this recipe which tastes awesome and is easy, or you can use store bought)
icing sugar (to dust)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Grease a 22cm circular baking tin.
Beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add in the eggs and beat again to combine. 
Mix through the flour in three lots, alternating with the lemon juice.  Stir through the sour cream.  Mix in the coconut and finely grated lemon rind.

Pour half the mixture into the prepared tin.  Bake for 40 – 45 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the centre can be removed cleanly.
Once the cake has cooked, remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before turning out of the cake tin and onto a cooling rack.
Re-grease the tin.  Give the remaining cake batter a good stir before pouring into the prepared tin and baking like the previous cake.

Once both cakes have cooled, level one of the cakes by cutting off the top.  Beat the cream until it is thick and holds its shape.  Spread the cream over the top of the levelled cake.  Cover the cream with lemon curd.  Place the remaining cake on top and dust with icing sugar.

Enjoy!

When life gives you lemons…

It’s that time of year when Lemon trees around New Zealand are producing lots of yummy fruit.  Sure, you could make lemonade or a gin and tonic, but I say when life gives you lemons GET BAKING!  Why not try out one of these delish recipes:

Dirk's Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon meringue pies look tricky.  Trust me, they're not.  So simple in fact, that this is now quite often our go to dessert to make if we are in a rush and off to someone’s house for dinner.

Lemon Bars

These are super yummy.  This is a fave recipe which I really need to get around to making and photographing again as this picture doesn’t do it justice.

Lemon Loaf

Again, this is another beautiful recipe that I need to remake and photograph as the picture is rubbish.  Trust me, the loaf it not :)

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

These are delicious and impressive.  Fill them with your own home made Lemon Curd to really be fancy.

Lemon Poppyseed Cake  and Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

I love the texture that the poppy seeds give to these two recipes.  The cupcakes are particularly divine – really moist and a nice flavour.

Lemon Tart

This lemon tart is just beautiful.  If you really want to go for gold, you can make your own short crust pastry too (however, store bought stuff will work just as well).

Lemon Tea Muffins

How cute are these?  They are almost too darling to eat.  Almost.

Lemon Whoopie Pies

So far, this is my fave whoopie pie recipe.  They have a lovely lemon flavour, but it is not too overpowering.

Sour Cream Lemon Cake

This cake is beautifully moist.  Who could resist tucking into that with a side or cream or yoghurt?

Here’s a couple of recipes to help you add a little something special to your baking:

Lemon Curd

Candied Lemon Peel

Hopefully that gives you a few ideas on how to use your lemons up :)

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

These were delicious – they didn’t last long at my house!  I wanted to make them after trying a Lemon Poppy Seed muffin at a cafe.  The muffin was nice, but it wasn’t anything special; just a plain muffin.  I jazzed mine up a bit which made them super cute and taste just that much more amazing.

Makes 12

150g butter
¾ cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
rind and juice of 2 lemons
125g sour cream
1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powders
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons poppy seeds

To decorate (optional):
3 – 4 tablespoons lemon curd
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
¼ cup candied lemon peel (recipe will be up on Wednesday)

Icing:
1 ¾ cup icing sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon milk
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 160°C and line a 12 hole standard muffin tin with paper cases.
Cream the butter and sugar, then stir in the remaining ingredients until just combined.  Spoon into the prepared muffin cases evenly and bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tray for 5 minutes before transferring onto a wire rack.

So, there you have it.  You could just eat these little babies now, or…

You could decorate them…

Once cool, inject each muffin with lemon curd.
Mix the butter, lemon zest and vanilla together until all lumps are gone.  Add the milk and quickly cream it into the butter mixture.  Mix in the sugar half a cup at a time and then cream on high for 2 minutes.  Mix in the lemon juice.  Pipe or spread the icing evenly over the cupcakes.
Sprinkle the tops with some extra poppy seeds and place 3 – 4 pieces of candied lemon peel on top.

What do you reckon?  Much better.

How to make Lemon Curd

A little while ago Courtenay posted up a recipe for Lemon Meringue Cupcakes and coincidentally my flatmate Ashley (who has previously contributed the Tropical Muffin recipe to our blog) had made some too!

Ashley’s (pictured in this post) were slightly different from Courtenay’s as they were popped them under the grill for a few seconds to brown the tops.  She also made the lemon curd to go in the middle and has passed the recipe on to me, so I thought I would share it with you all :)

You will need:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
⅔ cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes.  Slowly add the eggs and yolks.  Beat for 1 minute.  Mix in the lemon juice.  The mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.
In a medium, heavy-based saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth (the curdled appearance disappears as the butter in the mixture melts).  Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 15 minutes.  It should leave a path on the back of a spoon and will read 75°C on a thermometer.  Don't let the mixture boil.
Remove the curd from the heat; stir in the lemon zest.  Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator.  The curd will thicken further as it cools.  Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.

Thank you Ashley for the recipe and photos.

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

I have been dying to try and make this meringue topping for cupcakes after sampling the lovely Meredith’s weeks ago but I have been waiting for a special occasion – my Nana’s 85th birthday party was the perfect occasion. Now I have to apologise – the above photo does not do the topping justice, I was in a rush to get to the party and the topping had been on the cupcake for about two minutes before I bit into it to take a picture so it didn’t get time to set. However, it doesn’t matter because the cupcakes were absolutely delicious and a hit with everyone.

Ingredients:
90g softened butter
90g softened cream cheese
The rind of 1 large lemon (minimum of 2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice
⅔ cup caster sugar
2 eggs
½ cup all-purpose flour
⅓ cup self-raising flour

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 160°C. Line a 12 cupcake pan, with cupcake papers.
Beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth, then beat in lemon rind/juice, sugar and eggs until you have a nice creamy mixture.
Sift the flours. Add the flour gradually to the cheese mixture and beat on a low speed, until just combined.
Divide the mixture evenly between the cake cases and bake for 20 minutes until firm to touch. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

I used my ¼ teaspoon measure to scoop out the centre of the cupcake and I filled the hole with ‘Barker’s Lemon Curd’ or, you could make your own lemon curd.

 
Meringue Topping:
2 egg whites
150g caster sugar

Whisk egg whites and caster sugar in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water for approximately 5 minutes (until sugar has dissolved - when you rub some of the mixture between your fingertips it won't feel grainy). Move bowl to mixer, using whisk attachment mix until stiff peaks form and the mixture thick and glossy.

 All packed up and ready to go

I doubled the recipe for both the cupcakes and the topping to take 24 along with me. I definitely recommend giving these a go – you will thank me, I promise. Oh and if you were wondering about the cute cupcake casings they are ‘Mrs Roger’s Baking Cups’ from Living and Giving.

Happy Birthday Nana! xox