Coconut caramel cake

August 2, 2025

   

My chocolate-avoiding mum stopped in for a visit, and I had time to bake us a cocoa-free treat in the couple of hours before she arrived. Even better, Michael and I had time to feast at Tofu Shoten around our grocery shopping. We were hoping to find frozen grated coconut at an Indian grocer that Michael recalled being nearby but they were long gone. Woolies didn't have the coconut either, though they did have something called "moist flakes coconut" that I was hoping would do the job. We were home before I noticed that the flakes were already sweetened and I regretted my choices.

To be honest, this coconut caramel-topped cake went just fine even if I wasn't thrilled with it. The cake was warm and fluffy on the day of baking, firmed up a lot on day two, and I couldn't really taste the cardamom either way. The thick layer of coconut caramel on top was perfectly browned, very sweet and verrry chewy. The recommended dollop of plain yoghurt offered a welcome tangy contrast. I wonder if frozen coconut would be more tender - probably so, but not enough to rescue this recipe from my ambivalence. This was a good cake, but not a great cake, happily shared during a fine family time.

   

Coconut caramel cake

(slightly adapted from a recipe in The Guardian)

coconut caramel

120g caster sugar

250ml coconut milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

300g fresh or frozen coconut, coarsely grated (not 225g sweetened moist coconut flakes)

30g butter

cake batter

3 eggs

220g caster sugar

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon salt

220g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

80g butter, melted

150mL coconut milk

to serve

yoghurt

Start by making the caramel. Place the sugar in a saucepan and set it over medium heat. Swish it around intermittently for about 5 minutes, until the sugar is melted and golden brown. Gently add the coconut milk and salt - it'll sputter. Carefully stir it all together until it's well combined (the sugar may solidify and need to re-melt). Stir in the coconut and cook for a couple more minutes. Stir in the butter until melted and well combined. Turn off the heat and allow the caramel to cool.

Preheat an oven to 190°C. Line a springform cake tin with paper and spray with oil.

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, cardamom and salt. Keep beating for several minutes until very fluffy. Sift over the flour and baking powder and fold them into the egg mixture. Gently stir in the melted butter and the coconut milk.

Pour the cake batter into the cake tin and bake for 40 minutes, until golden. Spread the coconut caramel over the top of the cake and bake for a further 15-20 minutes, until the topping is golden and a little crisp at the edges. Allow the cake to cool before releasing it from the tin and serving, with a generous dollop of yoghurt.