Coconut Meringue Cake

I was fortunate to have a 3 week hiatus between my previous and new jobs.  The unusual luxury of time has permitted me to kick off this blog, and also permitted me for midweek afternoon bakes.  After a leisurely London day featuring lunch in South Ken with my Dad, I returned to my kitchen a couple of weeks ago now ready to bake a cake for dessert that evening.  This recipe caught my eye as I love coconut (and cake) and have the American sweetened coconut to use up.  This turned out to be the toughest interpretation yet, as the quantities in the transcribed recipe were just plain wrong unfortunately.  It resulted in one batch thrown out, which the Aberdonian in me is loathe to do, and some google-consultation.  The first final product was tasty, but not ideal, so I had 2 more attempts (over a course of days you understand!) and I'm pretty pleased with the final result.  I'll describe the 3 variations below, but first, the final recipe:

The recipe with the actual amounts used, and Chrissie's quantities in brackets for info:
100g Butter(1 tablespoonful)
70g Sugar (1 tablespoonful)
135g Self-raising flour (1 teacupful flour + 1 teaspoon baking powder)
2 egg yolks (same)
Meringue:
3 egg whites (2 egg whites)
70g caster sugar (3/4 cup)
1 cup shredded coconut (same)
100ml milk (this was my addition)

Instructions:
- Grease a round cake tin (I used 8 inch) and preheat the oven to 175 degrees celcius.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
- Add egg yolks and 100ml milk and beat only long enough until all are well mixed
- Sift in the flour and fold in with a metal spoon
- Spoon the mixture into the greased cake tin and smooth out until evenly spread
- In a clean and dry bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are beginning to form soft peaks
- Add the caster sugar and continue to whisk until stiff peaks form and the mixture can be held upside down - it should be a glossy consistency
- Fold in the coconut until mixed - try and avoid having to stir for very long
- Spoon the meringue mix onto the cake mixture and again spread until even across the cake
- Bake for 35 minutes in the pre-heated oven - cake is ready when a cocktail stick comes out clean

I found a recipe on allrecipes.com for a coconut meringue cake which seemed similar, so that became my guide for the quantities, although I didn't exactly follow that one either.  

In the end, this is undoubtedly my favourite recipe to date, the resulting cake was delicious and interesting, and very moist and sweet (once the consistencies are correct!)

The original instructions:

Beat butter and sugar, add beaten yolks
Add flour and B.P.
Beat whites stiffly, add sugar and coconut
Put mixture in greased tin with meringue on top
Cook till set 1/2 - 3/4 hour

Chocolate Coconut Slices

Action Shot mid prep

Well today has taken another baking turn as we tested out yet another of Auntie Chrissie's recipes, today 'Chocolate Coconut Slices'.  Not one that I recall, but the chocolate/coconut combo reminds me of the fridge cakes that we'd often buy as a treat on the walk home from school in Edinburgh.  This recipe is a baked slice, and little guidance is given once more in respect to size of tin and temperature of oven.  This may be because Auntie Chrissie had an old Aga in the house in Milltimber.  Today I'm also baking in an Aga at my parent's house in Edinburgh.  Here's the recipe as transcribed from Chrissie's notebook:


1 cup self raising flour
1 cup coconut
2oz caster sugar
2 teaspoons powdered chocolate
4oz margarine

Melt margarine and pour over mixed dry ingredients
Make into a paste and spread in a shallow baking tin
Bake 20-30 mins in mod oven
Cover with chocolate icing while still warm
Cut in slices


We used cocoa as the powdered chocolate and substituted marg for butter as we were low on marg.  The 'paste' did not quite materialise as there was not enough wet ingredients, it was more of a malleable mush, however easy enough to press into the tin in readiness for baking.   

Paste?

We used a long rectangular tin about 9" x 16" which was indeed too large, but all that we had. So we simply moulded the mush into one end around 3/4" thickness and it didn't shift in baking which worked out fine.  We baked it for around 25 minutes, in the Aga baking oven, around 175 degrees celsius.  Like the sponge, it was slightly over baked, but tasted very good nonetheless, particularly with one of Chrissie's chocolate icing recipes. We cut it into small squares rather than slices when it was iced but still slightly warm, and dusted with coconut for effect.  It was a hit with the family, so a recipe I'd recommend.  Thanks Auntie Chrissie!

The finished product