This is a recipe for gluten free cardamon coconut layer cake. Of all the food we’ve made, this is one of our favourites. The cake is moist and goes deliciously with the crunchy coconut topping.

Ingredients

For the cake:
• 320 g Well and Good Self-Raising flour
• 15 cardamon pods shells discarded and seeds, roughly crushed with a mortar and pestle
• 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 300 g caster sugar
• 170 g unsalted butter at room temperature, then cut into 3 cm cubes
• 5 egg whites at room temperature
• 120 g Greek yoghurt at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste
• 240 ml coconut milk full fat

For the coconut icing:

• 200 g unsalted butter at room temperature, then cut into 3 cm cubes
• 150 g icing sugar. sifted
• 150 g cream cheese full fat

For the coconut topping:

• 100 g coconut flakes
• 3 tablespoons of maple syrup
• 10 cardamon pods shells discarded and seeds, roughly crushed with a mortar and pestle
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 165°C with the fan setting.
2. For a two-layer cake, prepare two 20 cm round springform cake tins by greasing and lining both base and sides. If you only have one tin, it’s fine – you’ll bake them sequentially. If you prefer a single layer, prepare a 33 cm x 23 cm rectangular baking tin that’s 4 cm deep.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the Well and Good Self Raising flour, cardamom, bicarbonate of soda, and salt. Give it a good whisk.
4. In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the caster sugar and butter using the paddle attachment on medium-high speed. Aim for a light and airy texture, about 4 minutes. Make sure to scrape the bowl’s sides occasionally with a spatula.
5. Reduce the mixer’s speed to medium. Gradually add in the egg whites, then the yoghurt, and finally the vanilla bean paste. Mix until they are just incorporated.
6. Starting and ending with the flour mixture, alternately add the flour mix and coconut milk to the wet ingredients. Ensure everything is well-combined and the batter is smooth.
7. For a two-layer cake: Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared tins (or sequentially if using one tin). Each tin should get around 630g of batter. Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until a tester inserted comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely.
8. For a single-layer cake: Pour the entire batter into the rectangular tin and bake for around 35 minutes. Test with a skewer, and once done, allow the cake to cool completely.
9. For the coconut topping, blend the coconut flakes, maple syrup, cardamom, and salt on a lined tray. Spread evenly. Bake at 165°C on the fan setting for 8 minutes. Stir and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until it’s golden brown. As it cools, it’ll get crispier.
10. Prepare the icing: In your stand mixer, whisk the butter and icing sugar on medium-high until it’s creamy. Add in the cream cheese and mix until smooth.
11. For a two-layer cake: Use slightly less than half of the icing to cover the top of the bottom cake layer. Place the second cake layer on top and use the rest of the icing to frost the top and sides. Decorate with the coconut topping, focusing mostly on the top.
12. For a single-layer cake: Frost the entire surface of the cake with the icing, using your spatula to create interesting patterns. Just before serving, sprinkle the coconut topping generously over the top.

Credit: Coconut dream cake by Yotam Ottolengh. We took his cake recipe and made it into accessible to gluten free bakers.