Coconut-Lime Berry Cake

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Once upon a time, when I was too hip to explain on a brief blog post, I was the tanning Goddess. I would take out my coconut scented tanning oil and spray every inch of my body. Even my toes!

Yes, I would grease up and lay outside in all my coconut-scented glory and bath in the scorching rays watching the cool guys play volley-ball on the beach. I made sure my bangs still kept their poof and would adjust them every so often with my secret pocket mirror on the inside of my beach bag. A quick brace check with my best friend Michelle. We always had each other's backs. Food in braces was a definite no-no when trying to look cool.
So there we would be, Michelle and I, sitting on our pink and green towels talking about life; meaning, what was going on that weekend. We would sit there and apply more spray and poof our bangs a little more and figure out who our crush of the minute was.
You see, poofy blonde hair, braces, coconut-scented tanning spray, and conversation…that was the way to get the guys! Before the age of texting, tweeting, Skyping, Facebooking…there was old fashioned talking. Talking in person? I know, how archaic!!??
When I bake with coconut it takes me back to simpler times. The smell of the coconut reminds me of when I could lay out in the sun without a care for hours.Oh yeah…those were the good days.

Coconut-Lime Berry Cake

¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¾ plus 1 tablespoon cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup packed sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 large eggs
¾ cup buttermilk
zest and juice of two limes
3 cups mixed berries (like blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries)
3 tablespoons orange juice

In a medium-sized bowl, toss together the 1 tablespoon flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, the berries, and the juice. Reserve on the side for when the batter is ready.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a 9-by-13 inch baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk together 1 ¾ cups flour, baking powder, salt, and coconut.
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In another large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and 1 cup sugar on high, stopping the mixer to scrape the bowl as needed. Beat until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes).
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With mixer on low, add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions buttermilk, and beat until combined. Stir in the lime zest and juice.
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Pour batter into your prepared baking pan and spread it out with a spatula.
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Scatter the berry mixture over the cake batter. Bake for approximately 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.
recipe: Martha Stewart Everyday Food
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Enjoy this delicious summer cake and breath in the coconut smell while it's baking. Smile Soon I'll back home and catching you up on the rest of my days in Italy.

Thank you for stopping by! CIAO:)

42 Comments

  1. Sunbathing was never for me but I will admit the smell of coconut reminds me of the beach. 🙂

    This cake sounds devine!

  2. I tried those sunbathing days myself, sadly I went from burned to severely burned 🙁 Now it's just 100+ sun block, lol
    I do love the cent of coconut though and I really love this cake 🙂

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