Carmen of the eponymous Carmen Cooks selected this one for us and I found it very easy to make. I love it when a recipe doesn't call for room temperature butter because that means I can make it on a whim. Yes, I know I can soften the butter in the microwave, but more often than not I end up with a buttery puddle rather than softened butter.
One of Dorie's playing around suggestions was the addition of lime zest and lime juice, and I went with that one. I doubled up on the zest, and it still wasn't enough--the lime was a faint background flavor rather than the tart foil to the sweetness of the coconut that I was looking for.
Beating the eggs with the sugar for several minutes gave the cake a nice light structure. This one was a little sweet for me, yet I think it would be lovely with a tart lime curd to balance the sweetness.
If you'd like the recipe, you can find it on Carmen's blog. Or better yet, buy the book we're baking from, Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. It's a wonderful collection of creative recipes that will impress your family and friends without stressing you out.
A slice of your tea cake with my coffee would complete my morning! Delicious!
ReplyDeleteI used cardamom and that cut down the sweetness. To me, this cake cried out for an accompaniment - lime curd would be great.
ReplyDeleteLime curd sounds delicious! Yours looks great.
ReplyDeleteLime curd--great idea! I used cardamom and unsweetened coconut to counter all the sugar. Mine's all gone, but now I want to make another...
ReplyDeleteYou cake looks perfect !:) I am with Mary, Lime curd sounds delicious with this!
ReplyDeleteIt looks delicious Leslie! The hubby isn't a big coconut fan, so I am sitting this one out. :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful cake. A tart lime curd sounds perfect to accompany this cake.
ReplyDeletelooks good! nice job this week. yum lime curd...
ReplyDeleteLime curd would be delicious. I thought it was delicious, but I do have a sweet tooth!
ReplyDeleteHa - so true about the room temperature butter! I actually brought the butter to room temp for this one before realizing it just got melted - bummer! Your cake looks beautiful! I agree that the lime was pretty subtle - might need to amp that up next time!!
ReplyDeleteYum I love the idea of adding lime curd..I should have used some of my lemon curd! Your bread looks great. I enjoyed it, but wasn't head over heels in love1
ReplyDeleteI went with lemon for these (I made mini bundts) and thought it was great, but love lime, too. I thought the lemon flavor was pretty strong, maybe it was having them smaller and I doused them with a lemon glaze!
ReplyDeleteI am with you - I like being able to make thongs on a whim without having to soften butter. Inour climtae, it's either a gooey mess or hard as a rock from the fridge - no in-betweens. Your cake turned out wonderfully - a shame that it wasn't your thing, but I am sure you could find plenty of people to help you eat it.
ReplyDeleteNext time, I'm definitely trying the lime! Looks great.
ReplyDeleteInteresting the lime wasn't enough... I suppose there must be such a thing as lime extract which one could use?? Looks tasty though!
ReplyDeleteYour cake looks lovely! I can't believe the lime didn't come through after doubling the zest! I totally forgot the zest so I figured that's why the taste didn't shine through. Lime curd sounds fantastic to me! =)
ReplyDeleteOooh, lime curd would be wonderful with this cake! I was very happy too when I saw that the butter didn't need to be softened.
ReplyDeleteThis cake sounds wonderful. Your cake came out beautifully!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful cake, I bet the flavor was lovely, I could use a slice right about now!
ReplyDeleteYES! to lime curd. You just articulated the problem I had with the cake--you can taste the lime, but it doesn't give the "tang" I think I was looking for...maybe some more juice? And it would be so good with some curd slathered on...maybe I'll make some tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteHa, it is so hard to remember to leave butter out! Your cake looks perfect and I love the idea of lime curd.
ReplyDeletei wanted to make the lime variation, but only had lemons...still tasty!
ReplyDeleteLime? yum! Curd would be even better. Texture is beautiful on your cake.
ReplyDeleteI'm so with you on cakes that don't require room temperature butter! I have found that the microwave can be useful though if you use really low power. I do spurts on 20% power and rarely end up with the butter puddles anymore :)
ReplyDeleteYour cake looks fantastic! I enjoyed this one, especially as the texture improved on the second and third days.
Great job on the cake! I like the idea of a lime curd, sounds scrumptious.
ReplyDeletethis would be great with lime curd for balance. looks lovely
ReplyDeleteYour cake is beautiful! I'm going to try it with lime this time, I left it plain this time around. Thanks for baking with me this week!
ReplyDeleteyour photo looks great! i can't wait to try this. most likely going with lime and lemon. maybe i'll add lemon oil or something! making it for Easter sunday.
ReplyDeleteLime curd, what an excellent idea!
ReplyDeleteLime curd sounds so tasty! Your cake looks great. I made the mocha bundt this week because I was out of coconut milk. I love reading the posts for this cake because I'm getting some wonderful ideas.
ReplyDeleteI'm making this for Easter, so I appreciate all of the comments this week. Lime curd seem like the way to go.
ReplyDeleteMimi
I liked this recipe a lot, combining the cake with a tart lime curd sounds like a great idea!!
ReplyDeletegreat job making yours with lime....I used lemon in mine and it was fabulous! I thought this cake was really amazing!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love the inside texture of yours, it looks so light and delicate...mine was a bit dense...yours looks so pretty. YUM, I want to make this again for Mother's Day...will try to make it like you did as that really looks wonderful to me.
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