I always feel a bit like a magician when I manage to produce a Gluten Free cake, that has risen, has a nice texture and tastes great – NOT THAT EASY, I find they are often  a bit stodgy cardboard-ish and just a bit ‘I know it’s better for me that the other kind, but it doesn’t taste like cake’….
This one is different, delicious, with the texture of a Victoria sponge and best, full of flavour.

Coconut Rum Cake with Preserved lemon Syrup

150ml tinned coconut milk
50gr desiccated coconut
50ml rum plus extra to drizzle over the cake
2tsp vanilla extract
200g coconut palm sugar
100g lucuma  (or just make it 300g coconut palm sugar)
250gr butter
1 tbsp preserved lemon syrup plus 1 tbsp to drizzle over the cake
3 medium eggs
200gr coconut flour
75gr gluten free plain flour
1 tsp xantham gum
2 tsp baking powder

2 round sponge tins greased and lined with parchment paper

Oven at 180C
Heat the coconut milk until just at the boil
Add the desiccated coconut, vanilla, rum and lemon syrup
Stir to combine and leave to soften the coconut and cool
Beat the butter, sugar and lucuma together until smooth and fluffy
Beat the eggs in one at a time until combined
Sift the flour, baking powder and xantham gum
Fold in the flour mix and coconut mix alternately until you have it all combined
Do not over mix
Pour into prepared tins, smooth the top and bake for about 30 minutes until a skewed comes out clean

Leave to cool in the tins and then turn out onto wire rick
Mix together 1 tbsp rum and preserved lemon syrup and pour over the cake halves

Make the icing below and decorate and ENJOY – Happy Mothers Day

Buttercream Icing
2 egg whites approx 60ml
110 coconut palm sugar
150gr unsalted butter
2 tsps vanilla extract

Add egg whites and sugar to a pot, place over a medium heat, stir to dissolve and then heat until mixture is hot and sugar has completely dissolved
Scrape into a mixing bowl and beat until it is very thick and cooled
Beat the butter bit by bit into the mixture and finish with the vanilla extract
Use 1/3 to sandwich the cake together, using the remaining to top the cake and finish with some more desiccated coconut and walnuts if you wish