Lemongrass and Coconut cake!

This cake is a riot of flavours with a lovely texture and a soothing aroma. It is a perfect dessert after any meal !  

Ingredients: 

• 4 lemongrass, base and tops trimmed, outer leaves removed but reserved for the syrup
• 250 g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 200 g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
• 125 g desiccated coconut
• 125 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 tsp baking powder
• Freshly whipped cream, to serve

For the syrup

• Reserved trimmings and outer leaves of the lemongrass
• 75 g caster sugar
• 75ml water

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Butter the sides of a cake tin and dust with flour, then line the base with a parchment paper. 
2. Thinly slice the lemongrass stalks into thin rounds , in a grinder put in the sliced stalks with the caster sugar and grind for a couple of minutes until the lemongrass is finely pureed
3. Add the eggs, butter and coconut and grind again until combined
4. Sift the flour and baking powder together and add to the jar, run the grinder again but very briefly just until the ingredients come together
5. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean

For the syrup

1. Chop the lemongrass trimmings, place them in a saucepan with the sugar and water and set over a high heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar is dissolved, then bring to the boil and boil for just 2 minutes before removing from the heat and leaving to infuse
2. Reheat the syrup when the cake is ready
3. Pierce holes all over the cake with a skewer and pour the hot syrup through a sieve all around the cake 
4. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream

P.S Recipe inspired by Rachel Allen

A Swedish Almond cake!

Tosca Tarte

This is one cake I fell in love with by just the look of it. I started to bake this as soon as I finished watching Rachel Allen's recipe on my t.v set. The crunch, the taste, the look....just perfect!

Ingredients: 

The cake-

• 3 eggs
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g plain flour + for dusting
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2tsp Vanilla extract
• 3tbsp milk
• 75g butter(melted) + for greasing

The toppings-

• 50g butter
• 100g almond flakes
• 50g caster sugar
• 2tsp plain flour
• 4tbsp cream
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 3tbsp milk

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease the can tin and dust it with flour. 
2. Whisk together the eggs and the sugar for 5-7 minutes or until mousse like with an electric stand mixer or a hand held mixer. Sift in the flour and baking powder and pour in the vanilla extract, milk and melted butter, then fold everything in until combined. 
3. Pour the mixture into the baking tin and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out moist and not completely clean. (The mixture needs another 10 minutes of cooking) 
4. Increase the heat to 200C
5. Before the 30-35 minutes are up, make the topping. Place the butter in a pan over medium heat, as the butter begins to melt ass the remaining ingredients except for the milk and bring to boil allowing the mixture to bubble for a minute and remove from the flame and add the milk and mix well. 
6. After the cake is baked for 30-35 minutes, remove from the oven and spoon the almond topping evenly and place it back for another 10-15 minutes or until the topping is golden
7. Let the cake cool in the tin for about 10-15 minutes
8. With a sharp knife loosen around the edges and slide the cake out of the tin on to a plate and slice it! Ready to taste.