HAWAIIAN WEDDING CAKE

In my head there’s a station where my thoughts depart to far-away places; and they go find a sun that shines fair and bright and a light breeze, and the clearest water, and if your dusty hands washed one another you would know what it feels like to be new; and I don’t know if it’s a quiet port town, or a land of pine forests and deserts, or a thousand mountains, or familiar foothills, or yet another Hawaiian dream with eyes open wide; but they may discover a place where they belong more than here; and if it’s a sweet fruity cake that takes them there then I hope it takes me too.

HAWAIIAN WEDDING CAKE

5 tablespoons ground flaxseed

6 tablespoons water

250g (2 cups) plain flour

225g (1 cup) sugar

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

80ml (1/3 cup) sunflower oil or other flavourless oil

60ml (1/4 cup) coconut milk

60ml (1/4 cup) tinned pineapple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

150g (5.3oz) tinned pineapple, chopped

40g (1/2 cup) desiccated coconut

90g (3/4 cup) pecan nuts, chopped

Icing:

120g (1 cup) icing sugar

3 tablespoons coconut milk

Preheat the oven to 175°C (340°F) and lightly grease a 20cm/8” cake tin. In a bowl mix together ground flaxseed and water until well combined and gloopy. In a separate bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add oil, coconut milk, pineapple syrup and vanilla extract to the flaxseed mixture, then pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in chopped pineapple, coconut and pecans. Pour the batter into the prepared tin, then bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave on a rack to cool whilst you prepare the icing.

Mix icing sugar and coconut milk until smooth, then pour over the completely cooled cake and leave to set.