These scrumptious small Australian cakes are made with a whisked light and buttery sponge which is coated in a quick chocolate icing and desiccated coconut. They may be a little fiddly to make but it’s well worth the effort!
Makes 9 Cakes. Ready in 1 hour, plus cooling and setting.
Ingredients:
Sponge:
- 4 large eggs
- 115g caster sugar
- 115g plain flour, sifted
- 40g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Icing and Coating:
- 450g icing sugar
- 50g cocoa powder
- 70g unsalted butter, melted
- 225g desiccated coconut
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Grease a 23cm square cake tin and line the base with baking paper.
2. To make the sponge, place the eggs and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk together with a hand-held electric whisk until the mixture is very thick and pale and leaves a trail on the surface when the whisk is lifted. Remove the bowl from the saucepan.
3. Sift over the flour and fold in gently then pour over the melted butter and fold in until just incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until risen, golden and springy to the touch. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes then turn the cake out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Cut the cold cake into 9 squares.
4. To make the icing, sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder into a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter and 75ml boiling water and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.
5. Spread the coconut on a large flat plate. Take each sponge square and dip in the chocolate icing to coat completely, using two forks to gently turn the sponge square. Lift the coated square out of the icing and shake to allow any excess icing to fall back into the bowl.
6. Roll the iced square in the coconut to coat all over. Place on a board lined with baking paper and leave to set. Repeat with the rest of the sponge squares.
Top Tip: Pop the sponge squares in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before coating in the icing – they will be a little firmer to handle and the icing will set more quickly.
