Fresh Cherry and Coconut Cake

This is a lovely fluffy cake for an afternoon tea or to take on a picnic. The fresh cherries are juicy and vibrant and the coconut adds a summery feel. I usually am a bit rubbish at baking but I really loved making this cake – hope you enjoy it too.

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

280g Flour
100g Sugar
170g Butter melted
4 tsp Baking Powder
2 Eggs
120ml Milk
100g Sweetened Coconut
300g Ripe Cherries pitted
Icing Sugar for dusting

For the Topping:

20g Butter room temperature
20g Flour
20g Sugar

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Grease and line the base of a 8 inch cake tin.
2. Sift the flour and sugar into a large bowl. Add in the baking power.
3. Make a well in the middle of the flour and sugar and pour in the milk, melted butter, and eggs.
4. Mix it all together with a wooden spoon or electric mixture until you get a smooth thick batter. Pour in the coconut and mix well.
5. Pour it evenly into the cake pan and set aside.
6. Remove the stones from the cherries and place them evenly all over the cake. Press them down lightly into the batter.
7. In a separate bow, place all the ingredients for the topping. Rub the ingredients together with your fingertips to make breadcrumb like consistency. Sprinkle it over the top of the cake.
8. Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes. Remove it from the oven and poke the centre with a skewer and if it comes out clean then the cake is fully cooked.
9. Let the cake cool and then remove it from the tin. Set aside and let it cool fully.
10. When you are ready to serve dust the top of the cake with icing sugar (use a sieve to get an even covering) and enjoy.