Mint, Coconut and Honey Syrup Cake

Syrup cakes are sweet and indulgent and need to be shared fresh. They are very moist and lovely served warm with cream. Recipe based on one provided by Jasmine Anderson.

Pictured: Mint, Coconut and Honey Syrup Cake

160g butter, softened
310g sugar
1 ½ tsp dried or fresh mint
6 eggs
60g desiccated coconut
260g self raising flour
165ml tin coconut cream – can substitute with lite or milk
Icing sugar for dusting
Optional – shredded coconut

Mint Syrup –
200mls water
180g sugar
1 ½ cups fresh mint, coarsely chopped
Honey Nut Topping –
80g butter
180g honey
100g flaked almonds

Preheat a slow oven 150°C. Lightly grease a 20cm spring form round cake tin and line with baking paper.

Beat the butter, sugar and mint – til it is well combined, but do not beat til fluffy as the cake is dense.
Slowly add the egg, coconut, coconut cream and flour, beaten well after each addition so mixture does not separate – if it does you can add a little more flour to bind it together. Pour this batter into the prepared cake tin and bake 1 - 1 ½ hours – test cake is ready with a skewer inserted into the centre, making sure it comes out clean with no uncooked batter. When it is ready, allow the cake to cool a few minutes in the tin before pouring syrup over - see below.
 
While cake is cooking, make the syrup and have topping ingredients ready.
Once cake is ready and cooling heat the topping, and increase oven temperature to 170°C.

Mint Syrup – place all ingredients into a heavy-based saucepan – stir over medium heat til sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil. This method is to ensure the sugar is fully dissolved and not grainy, and the mint flavour is infused into the syrup. Take off the heat and let cool 30 minutes. Strain and remove mint leaves for a smooth syrup. Prick the slightly cooled cake at least 50 times and pour the syrup over to soak into the cake.

Honey Nut Topping – place all ingredients into a heavy-based saucepan to melt over a low – med heat, stirring to combine, do not boil as the butter will change flavour. As soon as topping is ready and still warm, spread evenly over cake that has cooled slightly in the tin and already soaking in syrup.

Place cake back into the now 170C oven, and bake around 15 minutes, til topping is dark golden, be careful not to burn. Remove from oven and allow to cool in tin 20 minutes before carefully removing from tin and baking paper, while cake is still warm.

Dust with icing sugar and sprinkle with shredded coconut if using.
Serve with cream to balance the sweetness.

Serves 8 - 10