In May earlier this year, we hosted a clean-up walk in Kralingen, Rotterdam, together with Het Onverharde Pad. In a nutshell: we got together with a large group, geared up with The New Trash Bag, explored the area of Kralingen in Rotterdam and cleaned up what we found on our way.
Afterwards, we did a prize draw where one of the participants won a Trash Rack and enjoyed some coffee/tea and cake at our store & office.
DID SOMEONE SAY CAKE?!
It was a stunning day cleaning up litter and looking after our area as much as we could, but for what it’s worth, we also very much enjoyed the cake.
We have Robin working with us (check out her Cinnamon Bun recipe), and this was another perfect opportunity to swap her marketing desk for the oven.
In her own words: ‘An ideal cake for sharing, keeping it simple and showing off simultaneously.’ She’s altered the original recipe from one of her favourite baking books The Nordic Baking Book where the cake is called ‘Sylviakaka’. The book explains that nobody really knows what Sylvia has to do with anything, but who cares when this cake entertains nearly everyone, even people who are not a big fan of coconut, according to Robin.
Coconut lover or not, this cake is worth a try. So, without further ado, happy baking!
Butterscotch coconut sponge cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 3 eggs
- 200g sugar
- 180g flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 150ml water
- Handful of breadcrumbs (Panko)
For the icing
- 75g butter
- 80g sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
- Desiccated coconut or coconut flakes to decorate.
Method
Preheat your oven to 175C. Butter a 20x30cm tray and coat evenly with breadcrumbs. Dispose of the access breadcrumbs in your sink to avoid breadcrumbs everywhere.
Take two large-ish and one small bowl, separate 3 eggs, but save 1 yolk for later. Whisk the 3 egg whites till fluffy and set aside. Add 200g sugar to the 2 egg yolks and whisk. Then add 150ml water and sift the 180g of flour, and 1 tablespoon of baking powder and whisk slowly. When all is incorporated, gently fold the egg whites into the mixture.
Scrape the batter into the baking tray and bake for 20 minutes or so. One way of knowing if your cake is done is when the sides have pulled away from the pan slightly. The edges of the cake are the first to set and become fully baked. Double-check with a toothpick, if it comes out clean, it’s done!
Leave the cake to cool. After 15 minutes you can try to take it out of the tray and continue cooling on a cooling tray till the cake is at room temperature.
Meanwhile, prepare the icing:
Melt the butter on low heat. When melted, remove from the heat and add the sugar, vanilla sugar and egg yolk. Mix well and return the pan to a low heat. Keep stirring, and when it has thickened a little, turn off the heat.
Wait for the cake to be at room temperature. By now, your icing will have set a little bit.
Spread the icing over the cake. It doesn’t have to look pretty, as you’ll be covering the cake with coconut.
Leave to cool completely before you decorate with the coconut and cut the cake into squares.
Tip
In a solid pan, on low heat, bronze your coconut of choice a little, just enough to bring out the taste. Be careful as it can burn very quickly, very unexpectedly.
The cake can be kept in an airtight container for a few days.
Enjoy!