Once again, it was time for Uku-Robin’s mini birthday, and I decided to challenge myself by creating a new cake recipe for every one of his birthdays. Three cakes down, only nine more recipes to go. This time strawberries became the star of the show, because summer is slowly making itself known and the first local berries are already appearing here and there.
The cake turned out wonderfully fresh, juicy, and packed with berries. There are truly mountains of strawberries in it, because I firmly believe that when it comes to berry cakes, the best principle is: the more, the merrier. You can never have too many good berries!
Instead of whipped cream, I use a healthier coconut cream topping made from the thick cream layer skimmed from canned coconut milk. (Good-quality coconut milk naturally separates into layers of thick cream and thinner coconut water.) There are several ways to whip coconut cream — some easy, some unnecessarily complicated. I prefer the simplest method, which only requires a little planning ahead. The day before, place the coconut milk cans into the refrigerator and chill them thoroughly — at least overnight, but ideally for 24 hours. Once properly chilled, the cream whips beautifully without any need for water baths or other complicated tricks. Of course, everyone can use whichever method they prefer.
A 26 cm round cake tin works perfectly for this recipe. Depending on slice size, it serves about 12 people, 8 generous slices, or — for truly enthusiastic cake lovers — perhaps only four.
Strawberry Coconut Cake
Ingredients
Topping:
Preparation
-
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
-
In a food processor, grind the oats into a fine flour. Add the flours and 80 g cold butter pieces, then pulse into a crumbly mixture. Add the egg and agave syrup and mix thoroughly. If needed, transfer the dough into a bowl and knead by hand.
-
The dough consistency is correct when it no longer sticks to your hands but still holds together nicely as a ball — neither too wet nor too dry.
-
Press the dough onto a baking tray and pre-bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
-
Break the baked biscuit dough into pieces and pulse them again in the food processor. Mix in the melted butter (40 g) and combine thoroughly. Press the crumb mixture firmly into the bottom of a springform cake tin lined with baking paper. Place into the refrigerator to firm up.
Note
* You’ll get the right amount by skimming the cream from two cans of coconut milk. To prepare coconut cream, refrigerate the cans overnight or for 24 hours. Once chilled, the cream separates from the liquid. Scoop out the thick cream layer into a bowl and whip with a mixer.
** You can also make the purée in a blender, food processor, or even simply mash it with a fork.
