My recipe for this moist and zesty coconut lime loaf cake is so easy to make (let’s face it, I only take on simple bakes). It’s a great alternative to the ever popular lemon drizzle. The coconut and lime flavours impart a tropical vibe, bringing the sun into your kitchen. We can all use a dose of metaphorical sunshine these days!

There’s a trick to bringing out the full taste and aroma of the lime, which is to rub the zest and sugar together to release the lime’s essential oils and infuse the sugar. A microplane / fine grater works well to remove the outer layer of the zest (make sure you don’t grate the white pith – it’s very bitter and you definitely don’t want that in your cake).

I use the coconut milk left over from my coconut rice recipe (you can use a bit less in the rice recipe, so you have 250ml for the cake). Coconut milk doesn’t have a long fridge life after the tin has been opened, so keep it tightly closed and use it in two or three days.

Ingredients:
190g caster sugar
Zest of 1 lime
225g self-raising flour
40g desiccated coconut
125g unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
250ml coconut milk

For the icing:
50g icing sugar
Juice of half a lime (use the zested lime)

Preheat the oven to 190ºC (170ºC fan).

Grease and line a loaf tin. Use butter or olive oil to grease.

Place the sugar in a large bowl and mix in the grated lime zest with your fingertips. Rubbing the sugar and zest between your fingers for a few minutes will release the citrus oils into the sugar and intensify the lime fragrance.

Add the flour and desiccated coconut to the large bowl and combine the ingredients.

In a small bowl, whisk the melted butter, eggs and coconut milk. Add the mixture to the large bowl of dry ingredients and mix well.

Pour the batter evenly into the loaf tin.

Bake for 55 minutes, or until a small knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then place the cake on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Prepare the icing once the loaf cake has cooled completely. Cut the zested lime in half. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and squeeze in enough lime juice to make a slightly thin icing. Don’t thin it too much as the mixture will thin further after 2-3 minutes. Brush the icing over the top and the sides of the cake.

The loaf cake will keep for a few days in an airtight container.

Let the sunshine in and enjoy!

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