serves
8
prep
20 minutes
cook
2:30 hours
difficulty
Easy
serves
8
people
preparation
20
minutes
cooking
2:30
hours
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 3 (about 350 g) limes
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 295 g (1⅓ cups) caster sugar
- 6 eggs
- 300 g almond meal
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp shredded coconut
White chocolate icing
- 150 g white chocolate, chopped
- 200 g unsalted butter, softened
- 200 g (1¼ cups) pure icing sugar, sifted
- 125 ml (½ cup) thickened cream
Caramelised limes
- 110 g (½ cup) caster sugar
- 2 limes, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
Cooling time 1 hour
Instructions
Place limes in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, drain, and cover with cold water again. Repeat process 3 more times; this will help to remove bitterness. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 40 minutes or until limes are very soft. Remove from pan and cool completely.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line the base and side of a 20 cm cake pan. Roughly chop limes and place in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Add butter and sugar and process until almost smooth. Add eggs and process to combine. Add almond meal, baking powder and coconut and process until mixture is just smooth. Pour into prepared pan, smooth top, and bake for 55 minutes; cover with foil for the last 10 minutes if browning too quickly. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, to make icing, fill a small saucepan one-third full with water and bring to a gentle simmer. Place chocolate in a small heatproof bowl over pan and stir until melted (don’t let the bowl touch the water). Set aside to cool completely.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter and icing sugar until thick and pale. Beat in cream and chocolate until thick and combined.
To make caramelised limes, place sugar in a saucepan with 60 ml (¼ cup) water over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Add limes and simmer for 10 minutes, then using tongs, remove from pan. Drain on a wire rack set over a tray for 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has drained and limes have cooled slightly. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add limes and cook for 8 minutes or until charred and caramelised. Return to rack to cool completely. Spread cake with icing and top with caramelised limes.
Photography Brett Stevens
As seen in Feast magazine, June 2014, Issue 32.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
