Lime, Raspberry & Coconut Cake

This tall, moist and scrumptious cake has a coconut topping that is briefly baked on the cooked cake, which both sets the topping and browns it for added flavour. The cake keeps well for several days.

CAKE

240g butter

2 cups caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 limes, finely grated zest

8 eggs, at room temperature

4 cups desiccated coconut

1 cup raspberries (fresh or unthawed frozen) 2 cups self-raising flour

SYRUP

1 cup water

1 cup caster sugar

2 limes, juice and finely grated zest

TOPPING

1 cup brown sugar 300ml cream

1 cup desiccated coconut 1 cup coconut thread

Heat oven to 170°C. Line a 24cm cake tin with baking paper so it stands 2cm above the rim. Cream butter and caster sugar together. Beat in vanilla and lime zest then add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

Fold in coconut followed by the raspberries then the flour. Transfer mixture to tin and bake 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. In the last 15 minutes of the cake cooking, make the syrup by boiling all the ingredients together for 5 minutes. When the cake is cooked, take it from the oven and stab it all over with a toothpick then pour over the syrup.

Increase oven temperature to 180°C. To make the topping, combine the brown sugar and cream in a pan and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Allow to simmer for several minutes then stir in the coconuts. Press the mixture over the cake and return it to the oven for 5-10 minutes until the topping just starts to brown. Cool the cake completely in the tin before serving. Serves 8-10