Golden Cake with a Coconut Meringue

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Take note of the lower oven temperature for the sake of the meringue. Line and grease the base of a 20-22 cm loose-bottom cake tin well.
2. Place the oil, half of the castor sugar, vanilla and egg yolks in a mixing bowl, and beat together with an electric beater until light and creamy.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder together in another bowl. Beat the flour mixture into the egg mixture, alternating with the milk to form a smooth batter. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and spread evenly on top.
4. Place the egg whites in a clean bowl and beat with an electric beater until stiff peaks form (see tip). Lift the beaters from the mixture – the egg whites should form a sturdy peak that will stand upright and not fall flat.
5. Gradually add the remaining castor sugar to the egg whites and continue beating until it forms stiff peaks again and becomes a firm glossy mixture. Carefully fold the coconut into the meringue using a large metal spoon.
6. Spoon the meringue onto the batter in the tin and fluff into peaks with the back of the spoon.
7. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a cake tester or skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes and then carefully remove the ring of the tin from the base. Place the cake on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
8. Serving suggestions: Serve as a teatime treat. A dollop of the berry sauce from the Amasi panna cotta recipe will be delicious with this cake.

Tip

1. Make sure your bowl and eggbeaters are clean and dry when you want to beat egg whites.
2. The best way to separate eggs is to pour the yolks back and forth between the two shell halves, allowing the white to run into a bowl. The sharp edge of the shell helps to ‘cut off’ the white.