We had family visiting and I couldn’t resist to use the opportunity to cook and bake and feed my loved ones. The idea in my head was simple. We needed to make sure there would be an elaborate collection of desserts that we could enjoy over the week long family gathering. So I got into my pantry and scoped the loot in there. I came out with some flour some desiccated coconut, flour, sugar, oil one tin of lychees and the other usual suspects. what happened next was my favourite way to cook, buy winging it. I mix what I see fit and I make what my heart guides me to.
Let me break dow the recipe for you into the steps. You don’t need to ice the final cake, or do an ombre either. I wanted to do the flavour combination so I iced it. you can do a plain white cake and serve with a dollop of whipped cream and some shelled lychees as well. The point is to enjoy it.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Flour
- ¾ cup desiccated coconut
- 1 tsp Baking soda1
- ½ cup Milk
- 1 cup Castor sugar
- 1 tsp Vinegar
- 1 pinch salt
- 3/4th cup Vegetable / neutral flavored oil
- Coconut essence or flavouring
- Gel food coloring (I used red, blue and magenta)
- 1 Tin Lychees drained. (you can also use fresh Lychees)
For the icing
- 150 gm cream cheese
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 200 gm butter softened
- Vanilla essence
- Grated lemon rind.
Method
For the cream cheese icing
- Whip the cream cheese till fluffy. Be careful to not over beat or else it will split and leave it’s water
- cream the butter till its light fluffy and airy.
- Add the icing sugar to the butter and continue to whip till its stiff and hold shape.
- Add the whipped cream cheese and mix well.
- Add the lemon rind and a few drops of vanilla essence.
- Keep cool till you need to use it.
For the cake
- Butter an 8 inch cake tin
- Pre – heat the oven at 175 degree Celsius
- Sift together flour and baking soda
- Mix together milk, sugar, vinegar and oil
- Add the dry ingredients in the wet ingredients in 2- 3 batches
- Divide the batter equally in a few smaller bowls.( I planned to do 5 shades of purple to pale pink plus one plain white so I divided the batter into 6 bowls)
- Mix a few drops of the colour into each bowl to make the desired share card.
- Pour the bowl of the plain batter into the center of the cake tin. Straight away pour the next shade on and in center of the white batter. Continue doing this until all the mixture has been used and you have gradually added the darker shades as you went along.
- You will end up with alternate rings of batter in the tin in a clean ombre.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean
- Cool the cake on wire rack.
- When the cake is completely cooled upturn the cake slice through the middle to create two layers of cake and fill with cream cheese icing. First spread a thin amount in the center portion of the cake. Pipe a thick ring along the edge of the cake and fill the center with drained lychees. Place the other half of the cake on top.
- Crumb coat the cake and place in the fridge to cool.
- Remove the cake and cover with cream cheese frosting.
- Add some colour to your icing and decorate as you want. top with some more lychees.
- Chill and serve cold.
