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Turkish-style coconut kefir cake

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Print the recipe

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 170 g unsalted butter Softened, not melted; extra for greasing the tin.
  • 200 g all-purpose flour Extra for dusting the greased tin.
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 175 g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla sugar Vanilla-flavoured sugar, not pure vanillin powder.
  • 3 eggs Bring to room temperature.
  • 200 ml plain milk kefir Unsweetened and unstrained.
  • 60 g unsweetened desiccated coconut Fine dried coconut, not coconut flour. Includes 2 tbsp reserved for the top.

For the topping

  • 25 g dried coconut flakes

You will need

  • Oven
  • Loaf tin, approximately 23 × 13 cm
  • Electric hand mixer
  • Mixing bowls
  • Sieve and spatula
  • Kitchen scale, measuring jug and measuring spoons
  • Wooden skewer
  • Aluminium foil

Instructions

Prepare the oven and tin

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) with conventional top and bottom heat.
  • Grease the inside of the loaf tin with a little butter, then dust lightly with flour.
    • Choose a tin that will be only half to two-thirds full of batter. Use a larger tin if needed.

Mix the batter

  • Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together into a bowl.
  • In another bowl, beat the softened butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy.
  • Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then mix in the vanilla sugar.
  • Set aside 2 tbsp of the measured desiccated coconut for the top.
  • Fold the sifted flour mixture into the butter mixture in three additions, alternating with the kefir in two additions, starting and ending with flour.
  • Fold in the remaining desiccated coconut, stopping as soon as the batter is evenly mixed.

Bake and cool

  • Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and sprinkle the reserved 2 tbsp desiccated coconut evenly over the top.
  • Bake at 180°C (350°F) for about 60 minutes, checking from 40 minutes. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out without wet batter, and the centre should feel as set as the edges when gently pressed. Continue baking if the centre is still underdone.
  • Scatter the dried coconut flakes over the cake after it comes out of the oven.
  • Let the cake cool completely in the tin.
  • Remove the cooled cake from the tin and cut into slices.
    • Baking time varies with the oven and tin depth. If the coconut browns before the centre is baked, loosely cover the top with foil and keep baking.

Storage and safety

Allow extra time for cooling. Once completely cool, store in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within 3 days. Bring only the slices you plan to serve back to room temperature.