Retro Cake

Preparation

• 1
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, 160 degrees fan oven. You will need two baking trays, as the cakes will need some space to spread. Prepare the trays by greasing lightly or lining with baking parchment.
• 2
  2. Cut the softened butter into little pieces and place in a large bowl. Tip in the caster sugar and cream the two together until it is light and fluffy.
• 3
  3. Sift in the flour and combine it thoroughly with the butter and sugar. If you are using unsalted butter, you might want to add a small pinch of salt to the flour first.
• 4
  4. Beat the egg in a separate small bowl. Add the vanilla extract and just half of the egg to the mixture and stir in well.
• 5
  5. Pour some coconut into a shallow dish. Cut the sticky dough into 24 pieces. With lightly floured hands, make each piece into a ball and then flatten slightly. Place each piece in the coconut and turn, or sprinkle over more coconut on the top, to coat the cake. Space them apart on the baking sheets. Cut 12 cherries in half and gently push one half into the centre on top of each cake.
• 6
  6. Bake for about 15 minutes in the preheated oven. When cooked, they should be a light brown colour, with edges just beginning to crisp. Allow to cool for a minute or two, then lift with a palette knife onto a cooling rack.
• 7
  These delicious little cakes look wonderful displayed on your tea table, especially on vintage china plates or a cake stand!
• 8
  Some people prefer to use oats as a coating for the cakes instead of desiccated coconut. Or you can omit the coating and cherries altogether, and sandwich two together with buttercream and jam, preferably raspberry or strawberry.
• 9
  You could also experiment with making a red velvet version by using cocoa powder and red food colouring, simply sandwiched together with buttercream.