Jam and Coconut Sponge Cake Recipe Review

As my cake-making confidence is growing, I thought I’d have another stab at making my own cake (well, I say my own, I mean following someone else’s recipe!) And when the latest newsletter from the Happy Foodie popped into my inbox, one particular recipe caught my eye straight away!

Jam and coconut sponge seems to be making a comeback recently. I’ve heard a lot of people talking about it which made me really want some! You can see the recipe here which is from Miranda Gore Browne (one of the GBBO finalists!) As usual, anything written in italics, is something I’ve added 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 350g unsalted butter
  • 350g caster sugar
  • 6 large eggs
  • 2tsp vanilla extract
  • 400g self-raising flour
  • 2tsp baking powder
  • 170g desiccated coconut
  • pinch of salt
  • 8tbsp raspberry jam (I already had an unopened jar of strawberry jam in the cupboard, so I just used that instead!)

For the topping:

  • 200g icing sugar
  • 2tbsp boiling water
  • 75g desiccated coconut

Method:

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4) and line a 20 x 30-cm tray bake tin with non-stick baking paper.
  • Cream together the butter and sugar in an electric mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat or whisk well until pale and fluffy.
  • Gently mix in all the dry ingredients. Spoon half of the mixture into the prepared tin and spread out with a palette knife. (This stage did NOT go well … I think the mixture was too thick so I had to peg the baking paper onto the tray so I could actually spread it at all!!)
  • Dollop the jam on top and spread to evenly cover the mixture. (Which also didn’t go well, it wouldn’t spread properly either!!)
  • Spoon the remaining mixture on top and spread carefully with a palette knife to cover the jam and create a smooth top. (AHAHAHAHAHAHA, okay then!! Every time I tried to spread this out, it kept mixing with the jam and made it look so horrific lol)
  • Bake in the preheated oven for about 35–40 minutes or until golden and springy to the touch. Remove the cake from the oven and leave in the tin to cool.
  • Make the topping: Mix together the icing sugar and water, adding the water a little at a time, until you have a smooth, spreadable icing. Roughly spread the icing over the top of the cooled cake then use a spoon to spread the desiccated coconut on top. (This stage at least was easy!!)
  • Leave to set then cut into squares to serve.

  • Time: 10 mins prep time + 35-40 minutes cooking time + 10 mins swearing time that the mixture wasn’t spreading properly.
  • Difficulty rating: I mean mixing the damned thing was easy enough, but trying to spread it out in the tray was nearly impossible, especially considering once I’d done that, I not only had to spread jam on top, but then another layer of mixture!! I’m actually surprised it didn’t end up in the fucking bin!!
  • Taste: OMG, you know what? It actually tasted really damned good!! It was also really spongy which I didn’t think it would be as I thought the mixture was too heavy! I’m seriously pleasantly surprised 🙂
  • Would I make it again?: I would but not until I can find an easier way to spread the mixture. Anyone got any ideas?
  • Verdict: 3/5.

Are you a fan of jam and coconut sponge cake? Do you have any tips for expert mixture spreading? Let me know in the comments below 🙂 x

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12 Comments

  1. This looks amazing! It’s been so long since I had coconut and jam cake but it something that is so simple but so delicious! Think I’ll give this recipe a go sometime!

    Jasmine | kkochsongi.co.uk

  2. Wow, that cake looks amazing, thanks for sharing the recipe, I’ll have to try this out.

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