Coconut and Lime Syrup Cake

Hands up who misses Real Cakes?









Anyone? I know I sure do. Buying one pre-made is always a bit hit and miss, the best answer is always to make your own if you have time, but it's always great if you find a gem of shop that sell the Real Deal.


Our fantastic farmers markets in Canberra have a great array of local produce and producers. I love to wander the stalls on a Saturday, picking a choosing from such bounty.

I always check out the cake stalls even though there's not usually anything for me there. I glean ideas, flavours and combinations and just inspiration from the people there making stuff they're proud of. Amore Cakes is one of these. They even have a few gluten free items for me to try and they taste great.
Amore Cakes has a bustling stand with a selection of cakes available by the slice. Now these are Real Cakes. The flavours are really there, the slices are really moist and they taste really good! Honest cakes, that contain butter and sugar and all the other 'bad' stuff.

I was really excited the other day to find out they had produced a small recipe book with some of the best loved cakes in it. I knew how good they were already, so just had to find a way to convert them to gluten and dairy InTolerant, and I was set. My friend Pony is a huge fan of the Coconut and Lime cake, and with a MasterChef Winner Dinner at her place, I volunteered to bring dessert.

I never, ever take along something I can't eat- what's the point? When I serve up a cake or other gluten-filled looking substance and people tell me how great it tastes, I smile and help myself to a serving too. When I explain there's no gluten or (usually) lactose involved the first instinct of most is to spit it out, but then they remember how yummy it is and just keep eating. Sometimes it even changes an attitude or too as well. See, changing the world, one gluten at a time.

Lime and Coconut Syrup Cake,
adapted from Sam Walkers Amore Secrets Cookbook




125 gr Butter
1 cup Castor Sugar
4 Eggs
2 cups Dessicated Coconut
1 cup GFree SR Flour
150 grms Sour Cream
1 large Kaffir Lime Leaf, chopped finely
1/2 cup Shredded Coconut

Lime Syrup

100 ml Lime Juice
100 gr castor sugar
1 finely shredded Kaffir Lime Leaf

Now this cake isn't lactose free today. I decided to make it with the same sour cream recommended so I could get a feel for the recipe before I switch it up a bit. I think I'd like to play up the coconut a bit more and use dense coconut cream next time.

Cream the butter and sugar together with the kaffir lime leaf, until light and fluffy.

Add in the eggs and sour cream and beat well.

Stir through the flour and coconut.

Put the mixture into a lined 20 cm pan. I used this one, as that's the only 'normal size' one I've got, the others are all huge catering sized, but this one turned out juuuust right.

Sprinkle the shredded coconut on top and press lightly onto the mixture.

Put in the oven at 150*C and think happy thoughts for 2 hours while the house fills with smells that will be the envy of all who pass by.


Pull out the oven and let it cool in the pan for 5 mins. Pour the lime syrup over the cake and let it cool completely in the pan.

The cake turned out beautifully- smooth, moist, rich and delicious with a nice dense crumb, especially good for a gluten free cake. Cooling it the tin helps keep it from drying out and if you wanted you could even cover it to cool it slower.
The next day the cake was even better with the flavour of the lime less 'raw'. Sam recomends not storing the cake in the fridge and it certainly tastes a lot nicer at room temperature too.


I really love this cake, like I said- it's Real. And Really Good too!

So Dear Readers, what type of cake do you like the most?