Coconut Cardamom Lime Cake
You will be happy to know that today’s coconut cardamom lime tea cake is not only (incredibly) edible, but pretty damn delicious if I do say so myself!
It is the kind of cake that you’ll feel like munching on all day long. I may or may not have done that after I made it myself.
The basic recipe for today’s coconut tea cake comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours.
Instead of using milk as the primary liquid, this cake uses full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk. Unsweetened shredded coconut is folded into the batter for good measure.
In the book, Dorie suggests a few optional flavor variations to this cake. I chose to go in slightly different direction by adding both ground cardamom, fresh lime zest, and topping the cake with a simple lime glaze and coconut flakes for added texture and flavor.
Coconut and lime are a classic pairing. But the lime and the slightly floral, warm undertones of cardamom go equally as well together, something I discovered last year after making a lime and cardamom frozen yogurt.
The resulting cake is light, subtly sweet, but addicting.
Cardamom seems to be one of those spices that evokes very different emotions. People either love it or hate it. It happens to be one of my personal favorites, but if you are not a fan, just leave it out. The cake will be different, but just as good without it.
Coconut Cardamom Lime Tea Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (240 mL) full-fat coconut milk stirred well
- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- finely grated zest of 2 limes
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons dark or light rum
- ¾ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Lime Glaze:
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- ¾ cup powdered sugar sifted
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) heavy cream
Decoration:
- toasted coconut flakes as desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack in the center position. Generously butter or grease a 9 to 10-inch bundt or Kugelhopf pan.
- In a bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt. Set aside.
- Combine the coconut milk and butter in a small saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Whisk until the butter melts completely. Remove from heat, but keep mixture warm.
- Combine the sugar and lime zest in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using your fingers, rub the zest and sugar together until very fragrant. Add the eggs to the bowl and using the whisk attachment, beat the mixture together until pale and thick, roughly 3 to 4 minutes. Add the vanilla and rum and mix until combined.
- Over low speed, slowly add the flour mixture until it is just absorbed. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula to ensure that all of the ingredients are incorporated.
- Over low speed, add the shredded coconut until incorporated. Slowly pour in the warm coconut milk and butter mixture, and mix until the batter is smooth.
- Scrape down the bowl and transfer the batter to the greased pan. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes before removing from the pan, then allow the cake to cool completely before glazing.
- Prepare Glaze: In a bowl, whisk together the lime juice, powder, and cream until smooth. If it is too thin, add a touch more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add a touch of cream as needed. Pour the glaze evenly over the top of the cooled cake. Garnish with coconut flakes as desired.
How to Store This Cake:
- Cake can be wrapped in plastic wrap and held at room temperature for up to four days.
34 Comments on “Coconut Cardamom Lime Cake”
Very late to the party but this cake was fabulous! So delicious and the flavours were amazing together!
I don’t normally do a glaze / icing but this one really complimented the cake. Made it with left over coconut milk instead of cream. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
This is our go-to cake for a couple of years now, we all love it.
Excellent cake. I took it to a dinner party last night and it was a big hit. I toasted the coconut before adding and putting on the top. This cake came out of the bundt pan looking perfect. I would probably make a double batch of the glaze next time and serve some on the side if folks want it.