Pat's Coconut & Lemon Syrup Cake

SERVES: MAKES 1 20CM ROUND CAKE - 8 SERVES
PREPARATION: 35 MINUTES
COOK: 45 MINUTES + 10 FOR SYRUP

Ingredients
cake
4 eggs
125g butter
grated zest of 1 lime 
grated zest of 1 lemon
1 cup (250g) caster sugar
2 cups (180g) desiccated coconut
1 cup (150g) self raising flour




lemon syrup
1/2 cup (125ml) water
3/4 cup (190g) sugar
Juice 2 lemons
rind of 1 lemon - cut into strips 


Method
Preheat oven to 180C. Butter and flour a 20cm spring form tin.


Cream the butter, caster sugar, lime and lemon zest together until light and fluffy.


Gradually add the eggs one at a time and beat until they are fully incorporated.


Fold in the coconut and the sifted flour. 


Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes away clean.


Meanwhile prepare the syrup. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves. 


Bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. 


When the cake is cooked, pour over the hot syrup and leave it to cool in the tin before turning it out. Serve with double cream. 

My Notes



I didn't notice that the recipe said spring form tin until it was too late....and used a normal tin. I also didn't butter and flour the tin, I greased and lined it like a good girl :).


The batter was really thick! I didn't think it was going to come together there for a minute, but it did. 


I think the cake needed another 5 - 8 minutes in the oven it did sink in the middle! (hate that) so I turned it upside down for presentation. 


As for the syrup I cooked mine for longer, about 15 minutes and reduced it quite a bit.
I also used the juice from 1 lemon & 1 lime instead of the 2 lemons. 


I also poked holes all over the cake with a skewer and then poured the syrup over. 


I looked through my books to make a cake with ingredients that I had handy, and came up with this one from a book called cafe cafe - A cookbook for the easy life by Kirsten McKay.
This book was given to me by my daughter's school friend Heidi for Christmas in 1998! and I had NEVER made anything from it....but I have now and will continue too :) 

Cafe Cafe A Cookbook for the Easy Life
click here to buy it at Amazon


This recipe is credited in the book to a cake cook named Pat Birley. 


The cake it self is really gorgeous, tart and sweet, just adore it!   

Lime Glazed Chicken Fillets with Coconut Pancakes

Lime Glazed Chicken Fillets with Coconut Pancakes
SERVES: 4
PREPARATION: 20 MINS
COOK: 10 MINS 


These recipes are from a combination of 1 book being a Tupperware cookbook called Cook Some More which was given to me by my lovely friend Karen a couple of years ago for my birthday, from which the lime fillet recipe comes from, and secondly a free magazine I picked up from Woolworth's today when I went to buy limes & snow peas! and I was wondering what I was going to make with the chicken, lucky I had the ingredients for the pancakes handy!

Ingredients
Lime Glazed Fillets
4 large (approx 230g each) chicken breast fillets 
3 tbsp pure olive oil
1/4 tsp chilli flakes (I didn't have any so used fresh red chilli)
3 limes
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp honey
Rock salt and peppercorns 


Coconut Pancakes
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt flakes 
1/2 tsp white pepper
200ml coconut milk
1 egg
1/2 cup water


Snow peas to serve


Method
Lime Chicken Fillets
Trim the chicken breasts, removing the skin and excess fat. Seperate the tenderloin from the breast and cut the breasts in half lengthwise. Place all the chicken in a container, add 2 tablespoons of the oil and chilli flakes, seal container and turn to coat.


Zest and juice the limes. Trim, skin and mince the garlic, place in jug with the honey, cover and microwave on high (800 watts) for 1 minute. Stir to combine.


Lightly oil frying pan with paper towel. Heat pan over a medium -high heat until slightly smoking. Add the chicken to the frying pan, turn the heat to low and cook 4 - 5 minutes each side (the tenderloins will only need 1 1/2 minutes each side). Brush the chicken regularly with the lime and honey mixture. 


If the chicken fillets are very thick through the centre, cover the frypan for 1 - 2 minutes during the cooking to ensure the centre is cooked through. 


Remove the chicken and rest for 3 minutes. Add any remaining marinade to the pan and cook quickly until reduced to a thick glaze. Season to taste with freshly ground salt and pepper.


Coconut Pancakes
Combine flour, turmeric, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk in egg, coconut milk and water until smooth. 


Heat 2tsp oil in a non stick frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, add 1/4 cup portions of batter and cook for 3 minutes until bubbles form on the surface. Turn and cook for 1 minute or until golden. Transfer to a large plate and keep warm until time to serve. 


Plate Pancakes in a stack of 3, top with chicken fillets & drizzle with glaze. Serve with snow peas on the side. 

My Notes 


This was quite a nice dish, with a zingy chilli punch! I don't think there was enough honey in the glaze to balance the sourness of the lime but that would be easily rectified next time. 


The pancakes offered a nice twist to a work night meal, quick and easy to make! and would be even yummier with a sweeter glaze running through to them. 

Cute cover on this Tupperware cookbook, it didn't photograph very well but that has more to do with my lack of skill than the book lol 

It has some really nice recipes and great photos throughout and who knew Tupperware did cook books? not me! However it is quite easy to miss some crucial step or ingredient because you have to wade through all the Tupperware product placement throughout the recipes, which out of the kindness of my heat I have weeded out in my reproduction. 

The Woolworths "Fresh" issue 52 June 2010 I just picked up free at the checkout, worth picking up while your there for the weeknight meals and 1 pot pot luck dinners

This last photo is for nothing other than to admire the awesome plates I picked up today from Red Dot of all places for $2.99 a plate! I know! I couldn't walk past them.....bought the last 4 and got home and one was broken :(