I decided to revisit this old recipe to use up the coconut sitting in my pantry and the new limes that I had bought on a whim. More importantly my friend had come round for lunch and I wanted us to bake something together that she could eat that day.
It seems that the last time I baked anything with this combination was two years ago.
Lime and coconut cupcakes
And as far as my social media accounts and memory tells me, this particular recipe first appeared in my life in 2014.
In the days when we where a little more social !
I feel like I must have made it multiple times before but I simply have no memory of it! Maybe there is a post on one of the other many blogs that I was running years ago.
It’s doesn’t really matter, we are in the here and now. The here and now looked like two friends baking on a lovely Sunday afternoon. The here and now was watching a terrible, predictable but vaguely entertaining film on Amazon Prime. The here and now ended abruptly. I cannot and won’t get into it here and now but suffice to say that after a period of reflection I have come to understand myself a bit better. I’ve not necessarily liked what all of what I’ve seen but we live and we learn.
And as for the loaf – it was perfect 👌🏾. Sticky, sweet and coconutty with the lime adding complimentary zesty kick.
Ingredients
- 175g (6oz) plain flour
- 50g (2oz) desiccated coconut
- 1 tsp baking powder
- tiny pinch of salt
- 1 medium egg
- 200g (7oz) no-fat Greek yogurt
- 75g (3oz) soft light brown sugar
- zest and juice of 1 lime (wash in hot soapy water to get rid of the wax before using)
- seeds from 1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract
LIME SUGAR SYRUP
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- zest and juice of 1 lime (washed and dried)
Instructions
● Preheat the oven to 180C (fan 160C), 350F, gas mark 4 and line a 22cm x 10cm (81⁄2 in x 4in) loaf tin with baking parchment. I make sure that the paper overlaps a little bit, which makes it
much easier to remove the loaf from the tin once it is cooked.
● Toss the flour, coconut, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Beat the egg lightly in a medium bowl, and then whisk in the yogurt, sugar, lime juice and zest and the vanilla seeds or extract. Mix the wet mixture into the dry ingredients to give a wet dropping consistency. It is important to do this with as few stirs as possible so the flour doesn’t get overworked, which would result in quite a tough loaf. Pour the mixture into the tin and spread and smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Bake in the oven for 35–40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
● Make the lime sugar syrup about 5 minutes before the loaf is baked. Put the sugar and lime juice in a small pan over a low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Then turn up the heat and let it bubble away for 30 seconds to 1 minute until syrupy. Remove from the heat, stir the lime zest in and set aside to infuse and thicken up a little more.
● Once the loaf is cooked, remove from the oven and brush with the lime sugar syrup. Leave the loaf to stand in the tin for a few minutes before lifting out and allowing to cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy warm or cold.
Reference: A lighter way to bake, Lorraine Pascale, page
