Month: July 2011

I made this for Father’s Day. The lemon and coconut flavours complemented each other gorgeously in this light, fluffy cake.

Aside from a mille crepe, this is the most time consuming cake I’ve ever baked. I was standing from 11am – 4pm just making this. The end result made it all worth it though :)

That said though, as long as you’ve got all the ingredients ready and prepared, it would cut the time down significantly.

# – Coconut lemon layer cake.

For the cake:

• 175 grams of plain flour
• A pinch of salt
• 6 eggs
• 225 grams of granulated sugar
• 65 grams of desiccated coconut
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

For the lemon curd filling:

• 1 tablespoon of cornflour
• 125 grams of caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 120 ml of water

For the frosting:

• 75 grams of butter, at room temperature
• 175 grams of icing sugar
• Zest of 1 1/2 lemon
• 30 ml of lemon juice
• 200 grams of dessicated coconut

Lets start with making the cakes…

# – First, put a large bowl over a pot of boiling water. Crack 6 eggs into it and beat.

# – Beat for about 10 minutes until the mixture has turned pale, like this.

# – Add the lemon zest in it.

# – Add the one tablespoon of lemon juice.

# – Followed by the dessicated coconut.

# – Sift some of the flour into the mixture, stir to combine and then repeat till all flours are used up.

# – Divide the mixture into 3 non-stick/greased cake tins.

# – Stick them in a pre-heated oven 180 degrees celcius for 20 minutes. Remember to rotate the cakes around for even baking.

While the cakes bake away, it’s time to make the lemon curd filling.

# – Dissolve the cornflour with a dash of water.

# – Crack an egg over the mixture and whisk till combined. Set aside.

# – Melt butter, caster sugar, lemon zest and 120 ml of water in a saucepan.

# – When butter has melted, pour the egg + cornflour mixture into it while still whisking.

# – Keep whisking and you will start seeing the mixture thickens while turning a gorgeous yellow.

# – Stop whisking when it’s thick and gooey. Pour it out into a bowl to cool down. Delicious, homemade lemon curd, DONE!

The last bit to whip up is the yummy frosting…

# – Dump everything except the dessicated coconut into a bowl and beat till creamy.

# – Lemon frosting, DONE!

Finally, it’s time to assemble the cake, woohoo :D

# – Lay the cakes, lemon curd filling and lemon frosting out so it’s easier to work :)

# – Spread lemon curd over one cake.

# – Then lay another cake over and the rest is self explanatory in the following picture.

# – Next, frost the cake up. Yummy!

# – Then sprinkle dessicated coconut all over the cake and voila, coconut lemon layer cake, DONE!

# – Eat up!

Light, lemony fluffy cake with gorgeous homemade lemon curd and a tangy frosting. Absolutely delicious! If you’re planning to make something for a loved one, look nowhere else as this is the cake that says ‘I Love You’ :)