Donal Skehan recipe: Coconut, mango and passion fruit slice cake

Coconut, mango and passion fruit slice cake
Coconut, mango and passion fruit slice cake
Serves: 0
Course: Dessert
Cooking Time: 0 hr 50 mins

Ingredients

  • FOR THE COCONUT CAKE
  • 3 large eggs
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 100g dairy-free sunflower spread, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
  • 100g desiccated coconut
  • Juice of 1 orange
  • 50g gluten-free flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1tbs gluten-free baking powder
  •  
  • FOR THE PASSION FRUIT FROSTING
  • 100g dairy-free sunflower spread
  • 200g icing sugar, sifted
  • Generous pinch of sea salt flakes
  • ½tsp vanilla extract
  • 2-3 passion fruits, halved, pulp scooped out and sieved to remove the seeds
  •  
  • TO DECORATE
  • 1 large firm ripe mango, peeled, and cut into thin slices
  • 1 passion fruit, halved
  • 1 heaped tbs lightly toasted coconut curls (optional)

This can be made as a dairy-free cake, but feel free to use real butter in place of the dairy-free spread. When I can’t find passion fruit in the shops, I often zest up a lime and toss the mango slices with the fine strands and a good squeeze of the juice.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Lightly grease a 20cm square non-stick baking tin and then lightly dust with flour or lime with parchment paper.

Beat the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl with a hand-held electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the sunflower spread, desiccated coconut and orange juice and beat again until well-mixed.

Sift the flour and baking powder into another bowl and then fold into the egg mixture, using a large metal spoon. Transfer to the prepared baking tin and bake for about 20 minutes, or until well-risen and golden brown and a thin metal skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the passion fruit frosting. Place the sunflower spread in a free-standing mixer. Add half the icing sugar and mix for one to two minutes to combine. Switch off the machine, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and add the salt and vanilla extract. Switch back on again, add the rest of the icing sugar and mix until combined. Drizzle in enough of the sieved passion fruit purée to make a nice smooth frosting, scraping down the sides again with the spatula if necessary. Cover with clingfilm and chill until needed.

To serve, spread the passion fruit frosting over the cake with a spatula and then arrange the mango slices on top. Spoon over the passion fruit pulp and scatter with the lightly toasted coconut curls, if using.