Limes seem to be everywhere this season. Strangely, they have become more prolific and cheaper than lemons. My garden lime trees are thriving, with fruit and further flowers in abundance. This glut calls for a lime syrup cake.
Although a Neil Perry recipe, chef extraordinaire, this cake is delightfully easy to make. No fancy procedure, you can mix it in a bowl by hand or with a stand mixer. All you need is an abundant lime supply and a few other pantry staples.
This cake was made for the ‘export market’ and so it was ‘tarted up’ on the board with a few winter flowers and a liberal dusting of icing sugar. It is dense, moist cake with a sweet/sour/tropical flavour.
Ingredients.
- 350 g caster sugar
- 300 g self- raising flour
- 90 g desiccated coconut
- zest of 1 lime
- 250 g unsalted butter, melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk.
For the syrup
- 225 g castor sugar
- zest of 1 lime
- juice of 5 limes.
Method
Preheat oven to 180c. Lightly grease a 19 cm square cake tin. Line the base and sides with baking paper that extends 2 cm above the sides. Sift together the sugar and flour and mix with the coconut and lime zest in a bowl. Stir in the butter. Combine the eggs and milk and add to the bowl. Mix until smooth. ( by hand or briefly in the mixer)Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake on a tray for 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out completely dry. If the top of the cake starts to brown before it is baked through, cover with some foil and continue cooking.
Meanwhile make the syrup. Put the sugar and 185 ml of water in a heavy based saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Add the lime zest and juice, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered for 8 minutes. Strain.
Remove the cake from the oven and use a skewer to poke a few holes evenly over the cake. Â Slowly pour the hot syrup over the cake. Let it stand for about 20 minutes or until the syrup has soaked into the cake, then turn it onto a wire rack lined with baking paper and allow to cool.
To serve, simply slice or serve with cream or fresh fruit salad.
Leah from The Cookbook Guru is taking a look at Neil Perry’s cookbook, ‘The Food I love‘ this month. This recipe may be found on p 404 of that book.
ALMOST ITALIAN 
Yummo, I love this cake 🙂
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Reblogged this on The Cookbook Guru and commented:
One of my favourites from Perry’s book, beautifully zingy lime syrup cake thanks to Francesca at Almost Italian.
Enjoy, Leah
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My copy of the book is about to go back to the library, so blogging it keeps the recipe in a place. Zingy- thats the word!
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Nice! Just found this on Leah’s blog. I had to smile because I used to own those little geese measuring spoons. Love this cake.
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Maybe I have yours? I found them on eBay!
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Wouldn’t that be something! 🙂
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I’m really enjoying that limes have become so readily available. This cakes looks excellent, almost too simple to be true. A slice would go down well with my morning cuppa!
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I would send you a slice if I has some- the cake stayed at Di’s house! I never cook cakes for home: they all go somewhere!
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I love lemon flavour in cakes, absolutely one of my favourite. The syrup on top is such touch of class!
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Syrup cakes are the best. The quantity of butter, with coconut and lime makes this one a little different.
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Great timing! I just bought a whole lot of limes and yes they were great value 😀
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Shame the price goes up in summer when you want them for Thai salads.
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Wonderful cake. Am envious of your limes. They are very expensive here. Also, they are small and look like green golf balls. Yours remind me of ones we had in Portugal – a hybrid cross between lemon and lime. They made the most fabulous curd and marmalade.
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They are Tahitian limes. If left on the trees, they get a yellow glow but the insides are green and lime tasting. They seem to do quite well here. Lime is the new black!
In Indonesia, the limes are tiny but prolific- there are no lemons. Lime teas with syrup and ice are refreshing.
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Francesca, I can just imagine how divine this is!
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This sounds like a perfect cake for summer. You’re lucky to have your own trees!
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Beautiful! We have the first three limes off our tree right now, can’t wait until we get a proper crop! 🙂
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Its odd- we get more limes here in winter, and when you really like them in Thai salads and drinks in summer, they are gone!
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I think I can taste that from here 🙂 It reminds me of a lemon syrup loaf my mum used to make for our after school snack. I must ask her about the recipe.
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Yes, get her recipe. It would be nice to see the similarities and differneces. Are you still in Shanghai?
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I’m still the UK visiting the rellies. Berlin next week to see my Mother-in-law then back home to Shanghai – which I’m missing strangely enough. It’s very quiet here 🙂
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I’m sure you would. I am feeling very nostalgic for Sechuan province and my friends there and am playing some stunning Chinese music to wallow in.
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That cake looks really good. Lime is one of my favourite flavours – although it’s never in season here in Yorkshire…
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Yes, I am sure it would be a bit inclement in Yorkshire.
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That cake does sound special. All I need is some limes.
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