Go Back
Delia Smith Cherry and Coconut Cake Recipe

Delia Smith Cherry and Coconut Cake Recipe

Delia Smith's cherry and coconut cake recipe is moist, tropical and beautifully different from an everyday sponge.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Chilling Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes
Servings: 10 Slices
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: British
Calories: 300
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 175 g unsalted butter softened
  • 175 g caster sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 175 g self-raising flour
  • 50 g desiccated coconut
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 150 g glacé cherries halved, plus 1 tbsp flour for tossing
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp milk if needed

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 170°C (150°C fan / Gas 3). Grease and line a loaf tin.
  2. Toss halved cherries in flour.
  3. Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
  4. Beat in eggs one at a time, with a spoonful of flour with the last egg.
  5. Beat in vanilla.
  6. Fold in remaining flour, coconut and baking powder.
  7. Fold in the floured cherries, loosening with milk if needed.
  8. Pour into the tin and bake for 55–65 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
  9. Cool in the tin 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Notes

Always toss the cherries in flour to stop them sinking.
Rinse very syrupy cherries before flouring, if needed.
Don't overmix once the flour and coconut are added.
Cover loosely with foil if the top browns before the centre is cooked.
Freezes well, whole or sliced, for up to 3 months.