Coconut Coconut Cake

I walked to the grocery store with the full intention of buying almond flour for Nigella's Damp Lemon and Almond Cake - a buttery eggy yellow cake with a base of almonds moistened with lemon juice and lemon zest. When I arrived at the grocery store and surveyed their flours - semolina, amaranth, and numerous others I would have no idea what to do with - it became clear that they had no almond flour to speak of.

But they did have coconut flour. It was so fluffy and white and appealing. I thought, I'm sure I can replace the almond flour with coconut, and then, not being sure that coconut and lemon would be a perfect combination, I decided to replace the lemon juice and zest with coconut milk. And so we have a perfectly coconutty adaptation of one of Nigella's nicest tea cakes:

Coconut Coconut Cake.

1 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar (a little less actually - coconut seems a sweeter base than almond)

4 eggs

1/3 cup flour

1 1/3 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 can of coconut milk (half thick stuff, half watery)

8 inch springform pan

350 degree oven

Cream butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs, adding a bit of flour after each egg. When all flour, eggs, and butter have been incorporated, stir in the coconut, vanilla, and coconut juice. Pour into the pan, and bake on a baking sheet for about an hour (until the edges go brown - a gorgeous caramelized rust). Moisture will leak out of the springform, so be sure to have a baking sheet to capture this or else you'll make a big mess in the oven.

Enjoy.