Coconut Cake

Preparation

• 1
  Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4 and grease and line two 17cm deep-sided cake tins.
• 2
  Gently heat the coconut cream and oil together in a small saucepan until liquid then set aside to cool slightly.
• 3
  Put the butter and caster sugar into a kitchen mixer or large bowl and beat until lightened and fluffy. Add the eggs, one by one. Add the vanilla extract then sift in the flour and baking power and fold together. Add the desiccated coconut, cooled coconut cream and oil and mix well, then divide between the prepared cake tins. Smooth the tops over and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and risen. A skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes should come out clean — if it doesn’t, return to the oven for a further 5 minutes and repeat.
• 4
  Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before turning out of the tins and cooling completely.
• 5
  Meanwhile, make the buttercream. Beat the softened butter, coconut cream and icing sugar together in a food mixer or a bowl with an electric whisk until really light, fluffy and almost white in colour.
• 6
  Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a 13mm plain nozzle. Pipe swirls of coconut cream all over one sponge, then scatter some coconut shavings over the top, sticking out around the edge of the cake. Gently lay the second cake on top. Pipe small peaks of cream all over the top of the cake and finish with some more coconut shavings and small sprigs of lemon verbena.