We are on a run of family birthdays at the moment - Sister in Law's (40th) on Friday 13th April, so chocolate cake and cupcakes, my hubby's on Saturday 21st April so Lime and Coconut Cake with White Chocolate and this coming weekend our son's 17th birthday......so another cake...... yet to come!!

I have also made the apple and caramel cake which I posted a few weeks back, two weekends in a row for the birthday's dessert!   I used half of the mixture to make a lower cake which we served with cream the first week and with a home-made whisky sauce the second week (as the kids had already eaten).  I would definitely recommend the apple cake, served warm with the whisky sauce!!

Coconut and Lime cake with White Chocolate

7 inch round cake tin, greased and lined (I have three so can cook my 3 layers at one go)

Oven temperature 180 degrees C

Cake

8 oz self raising flour

8 oz soften butter or margarine

8 oz caster sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp baking powder

1 large lime 

1 oz dessicated coconut

Topping

1 oz  dessicated coconut

Chocolate band

300g white chocolate melted

Frosting - I used lime flavoured cooked flour buttercream (recipe found lower down on my blog)

Whisk together the eggs, butter and caster sugar until pale and creamy.  Stir in the flour and baking powder (so it doesn't splash up in your face) then whisk until the flour is fully incorporated.  Stir in the coconut and the rind and juice of the lime.

Divide the mixture between the pans or if just using one pan, divide the mixture so there is enough to make three layers.  

Bake for approximate 20 minutes until golden and when a cake tester is inserted in the middle of the cake it comes out clean.  Remove from the oven.  Allow the cakes to cool for a few minutes in the tin, before removing them from the tin to cool completely. 

While the cakes are in the oven, toast the remaining coconut by placing in a small saucepan over a heat source, and stirring until just coloured.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.

Layer the cake with the frosting.  Also frost the sides and the top of the cake.  Sprinkle over the cooled toasted coconut.

For the White Chocolate band.  Measure the circumference of  the cake and the height of the sides (I use a strip of baking paper).  Cut a piece of baking paper just over the length and height of the cake measurements.  Spread the melted chocolate over the baking paper, covering all of the paper.  When the chocolate is just set (too hard it will crack, too soft it will pour of the paper when you lift it up), lift up the paper and wrap the chocolate band around the cake.  You may need to used a bit of melted chocolate to hold the edges together.  

Allow the chocolate to fully harden before removing the band of baking paper.  

Yesterday I had a sort out.....on Easter Sunday (I most certainly did)!!!  I reduced all my visible craft stuff  (on a shelf which is on daily view) to about 25 % (still need to sort the stuff in cupboards/drawers etc), and ditched all those weeny pieces of card and paper that I was keeping to do something with, along with lots of patterned paper that I have never used......not ever!!  (I will be taking a lot to Preschool for the kiddies to do collage with......I couldn't just bin it all!!!)   I bagged up a life times worth of pieces of card stock for stamping on and organised all my remaining bits neatly and told myself that if I was going to make any more cards they would be clean and simple!  (Let's see how long that lasts for!)

Anyway my first card on my new clean and simple plan is a Wedding one (off to a wedding in 5 weeks and many inches to loose/dress etc. still to sort)  which fits in with Dream Valley Challenges which is Wedding/Love.   

The image is from The Greeting Farm, sentiment done on the computer, ribbon from my stash, and Promarkers for colour.  

ahh Blogger has a new look - so a bit confused over the whole posting set up (pray it comes out right)!  Anyway in the house of PapersandCakes.....there has been lots of cakes....but no paper!!  I intend to get the paper out over these holidays and do a bit of crafting but I am also thinking of getting rid of a lot of my craft stuff that I just simply don't use.....decisions!  

Anyway we are still on the Pumpkin goodies.  I love pumpkin and so does my family so this week its Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins with Coconut Streusel.  These were soft, moist and so delicious.  I was trying to persuade my guys to wait for them to cool so the cheesecake would set, but the smell was just circulating through the house and I found myself on repeat saying "wait for them to cool."  In the end....guy number 1 took a cake outside in the garden and held it until it kind of cooled!!!!!!

A little work is required ahead, to freeze the filling for and hour before baking - but worth the effort!

Recipe:

Makes 24  

Oven temperature 180 degrees Celcius

Muffin tin lined with paper cases

Muffins

3 cups plain flour

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground mixed spice

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups sunflower oil

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups pumpkin purée (1 lb cooked weight pumpkin mashed)

Filling

4 oz cream cheese

4 oz mascarpone cheese   (or use 8 oz cheese cheese instead of 4oz of each)

3 tablespoons icing sugar

Coconut Streusel

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup plain flour

4 tablespoons cold butter

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup coconut

Prepare the filling by mixing together the cream cheese and the icing sugar until smooth.  Spread into a long roll onto clingwrap or baking paper, roll up and freeze for about and hour.  It should be hard enough to cut into pieces to fit into the muffin tin.

To make the muffin batter - Mix the flour, spices, salt and baking soda together.  Whisk the eggs, oil, sugar and pumpkin together until light and creamy.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until the flour is just moistened.  The mixture will be quite lumpy.

To make the Streusel - rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.  Then stir in the coconut and the sugar.  

Half fill each muffin case with the batter.  Remove the cheesecake roll from the freezer and divide into 24 pieces.  Place a piece in each muffin case on top of the batter.  Divide the remaining batter among the 24 muffin cases to cover the cheesecake pieces.  Sprinkle the coconut streusel over each one and bake for 20 - 25 minutes until golden or until a cake tester  comes out clean.  (insert the cake tester just of the middle of the cake as the cheesecake will be in the middle).

Cool completely before serving so the cheesecake can set.