Julie Goodwin’s Lemon Coconut Cake Recipe

This delicious Lemon Coconut Cake recipe by Julie Goodwin extracted from her new cookbook Classic (RRP $39.99, Penguin). Available now from bookstores and online retailers.

This is one of those cakes that looks unassuming but when people take a bite, their usual first reaction is to say ‘Oh my God’ through a mouthful of crumbs. It is that delicious. If you’re searching for your signature dish, the bake you take when you’re told not to bring anything, the cake that everyone in the office looks forward to and pesters you for, make it this.

Ingredients (serves 8)

PREPARATION TIME 15 minutes | COOKING TIME 35 minutes

125 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (220 g) caster sugar
2 eggs
1⁄2 cup (45 g) desiccated coconut
2 lemons, zested and juiced

1 1⁄2 cups (225 g) self-raising flour

1 cup (250 ml) milk

Icing

1 1⁄2 cups (225 g) icing sugar
1 cup (90 g) desiccated coconut

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Grease a 20 cm round cake tin and line the base with non-stick baking paper.
2. 2 Using an electric mixer or electric hand beaters, cream the butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Stir in the coconut and most of the lemon zest, reserving 1 teaspoon. Add half the flour and half the milk and stir through gently. Repeat with the remaining flour and milk.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 35 minutes, or until golden and springy to a gentle touch. Turn out of the tin and cool
   completely on a wire rack.
5. For the icing, combine the icing sugar, most of the coconut, and the reserved lemon zest with half of the lemon juice. Add the remaining lemon juice a little at a time until the icing is a spreadable consistency. Spread the icing over the cooled cake and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.