FOOD AND TRAVEL

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Coconut And Lime Olive Oil Cake




Must have been sixth or seventh grade, a classmate who's name I have conveniently forgotten but the taste of her mom's tender pound cake, the one we used to get the thinnest slice of considering it had to cater to a class of twenty five, still lingers on in my fondest memories. The sight of the glossy aluminium foil loaf pan would get us all excited and I would for an otherwise timid child be a part of all the hullabaloo the class created.



Coming home, I would talk endlessly about the lightly scented orange cake or the intensely coloured but mildly chocolatey pound cake. My favourite though was the lemon cake. Under a perfectly domed cracked crispy top was the egg-yellow crumb, enthralling fresh citrus scent and a sticky topping of gritty sugar icing sealed it as the best cake throughout those years.

Sometime around this time  last year,  with my bundle of joy in hands, looking at her little fingers and toes, I asked Ammi, so what do you remember about me as a child? Considering she had me while she was really young and had three children after me,  I wouldn't be surprised if time just flew by her. But Ammi confessed that she felt a little guilty about not baking when I came home raving so much about those cakes. I convinced her that I had only beautiful food memories and a cake was never missed.

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I couldn't help but bake this loaf cake thinking about her. She loves it, and every time I bake it when she is around she gets as excited as I'm about her legendary biryani being made side by side on the stove!

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This is the sturdiest cake ever. It travels and freezes extremely well so I always make an extra loaf. I bake this in two mini 4 inch loaf pans which saves exactly one muffin worth of batter which I bake in a muffin pan. One loaf for mamma, one loaf for pappa and a muffin for my muffin - the rhyme I sing!

But yes, a 9inch loaf pan works perfectly.  All it requires is a cup of coffee but if you are feeling luxurious, a dash of whipped coconut cream or fresh thick cream and some raspberries are a sweet contrast.


Coconut And Lime Olive Oil Cake
(Recipe adapted from Poires au Chocolat, originally from Alice Medrich's Olive Oil Pound Cake in Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts)


Ingredients

200g caster sugar (I used organic golden caster)
125ml olive oil
5g lime zest, or zest of 4 big limes (or zest of 2 lemons or 1 orange)
165ml milk
3 eggs, cold from the fridge
200g all purpose flour
Pinch of sea salt
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
100g sweetened shredded coconut

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Line a 9x4" loaf tin with baking paper.

In a mixing bowl rub the zest into the sugar until the oils are realised.

Add the olive oil and beat until well combined.

Add the eggs one by one, mixing well between each addition. Beat the eggs at medium high for 5 minutes. Beating the eggs is important step so I time it and wait till the mixture is pale and thicker. Don't get impatient!

Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder together. Add third of the flour to the mixer, stirring on low until combined.  Add half the milk, then another third of the flour, the rest of the milk and the rest of the flour, mixing until uniform in between each addition. Fold in the shredded coconut. The mixture will be pretty liquid.

Pour the mixture in the prepared tin and bake for 60-70 minute until well risen. The top should be golden brown. Let it cool for 10 minutes and remove from tin.

Serve with dollop of cream and some raspberries.

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26 comments

  1. I love the flavours in this cake - so yummy!

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  2. Assalaamu'alaykum Kulsum. Wow, I can't believe I had not come across this blog until today. I'm an Indian food blogger as well!! Well, there *are* quite a bit of us but still, I never knew you were here, right under my nose :)

    This cake looks lovely by the way. I've never made Olive Oil Cake but have always wanted to since I saw a very convincing recipe on Food52. I love your recipe since it can be whipped up with ingredients you'd mostly have in your house. Great for company, I hope :)
    In the recipe, you said that the beaten eggs should be pale in colour. What kind of colour am I looking for exactly? And how long do you time the beating process for?

    By the way, your photos are awesome! Please make du'a that InshaaAllah I become better at taking food photos as well, Ameen :)

    Wa'alaykumus Salaam~

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    1. w/s lovely, I just updated the recipe where I missed writing 5 minutes. Thanks for noticing. Nothing works better than practise :) best of luck

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  3. Exquisite! Those are wonderful flavors.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  4. Yum! Lemon cake was my favorite when I was small too. This looks delicious!

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  5. This is such a beautiful posts, love this combination of flavors!

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  6. Such a beautiful colour. Looks really really good.

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  7. I am amazed by the beautiful golden crust you got with olive oil. So pretty!I am just waiting & waiting till Alisha starts eating sweet things again (right now she is completely refusing them) & I will bake this.
    And that board - yet another thing I WANT :)

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    Replies
    1. Can you send that luck my way? T only eats sweet things!

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  8. Kulsum, this probably one of the most gorgeous pound cakes I have come across. Beautiful work as always!

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  9. yum, really love the combination of coconut and lime, must be gorgeous! Kulsum, when do I add the olive oil? Bookmarking this for this weekend treat :-)

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    1. I need to stop writing recipes at midnight! Thanks for noticing, just updated the post. Do let me know how it goes :)

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  10. Sounds like a delicious combination and it certainly looks beautiful!

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  11. I love your photos, what is your secret?
    Lucia from Italy

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  12. Can I state the obvious and say: stunning photos! And lovely words. Your description of the pound cake makes me want a slice, even though I just ate lunch. :)

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  13. Some really gorgeous photography here, Kul. And I love baking with olive oil x

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  14. Beautiful photos & what a wonderful cake. It's wonderful that it can evoke such lovely memories :)

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  15. Hi kulsum, tried this cake n i must say the scent of the lemon is refreshing.. Because the lemon scent is quite intense my brain must hv been expecting the cake to be a bit sour..however the cake had a mild sweet taste n the coconut gives the cake a nice crunch..perhaps adding a layer of lemon glaze on the cake would help achieve the soury taste.. Wht do u reckon ?

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    1. Hi Karen - This cake certainly isn't sour or have a very heavy citrus note. It's supposed to be a subtle which makes it in my opinion very moreish. But definitely a lime glaze would work perfectly well. Thanks for trying!

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  16. Sounds delish. Wish I had the recipes that we did in home Ec class.
    What is the U.S. Measurements, in tsp and cups?

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  17. Hey can we use any other oil instead of olive oil in this recipe?? Say coconut oil?

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  18. Hi kuslum!
    Great blog..
    I was wondering if v could use any other oil instead of olive oil in this recipe??
    Say coconut oil or even butter?

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    Replies
    1. I think coconut oil should work even though the fat content is higher. Haven't tried it though.

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