Coconut Lime Loaf

I was looking through recipes on my iPad app and came across a coconut cake with lemon sour cream icing. I’m not the biggest fan of lemon cakes but I adore limes. So I decided to replace the lemons with limes and considerably increased the amount of zest and juice to give it a strong, intense flavor. It worked, and this has become a favorite amongst my friends and co-workers. The general consensus is that the loaf is not overly sweet so it’s a great recipe even for people who aren’t crazy for sugar and the coconut and lime make a perfect pairing. The lime sour cream icing gives the cake a tangy flavor, and the toasted coconut on top completes it.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup caster sugar
2 large limes, zest finely grated and juice reserved
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Lime sour cream icing:

1 & 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
Zest of one lime
1/4 cup shredded coconut for toasting

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit (175 degrees celsius). Grease a 6cm deep, 9cm x 19cm loaf pan. Line base and sides with baking paper, allowing a 2cm overhang at both ends.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating until mixture is a pale yellow color. Add one egg, beating well, then the second egg until well combined. Add lime zest and juice and mix in.

3. Gently stir sifted flour, baking powder, milk and coconut into the wet mixture, being careful not to over-mix. Spoon mixture into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

4. Make the icing: Sift confectioners sugar into a bowl. Add sour cream and lime juice. Stir until well combined. Pour icing over cake.

5. Toast coconut in a small skillet over a medium heat, being sure to continuously stir it. It will brown very quickly so make sure to remove from heat and place in a separate bowl so it doesn’t burn, as it will continue to toast if you leave in the skillet. Sprinkle toasted coconut over the cake icing and allow to set before serving.