Coconut Jam Sponge

Is it a cake, is it a pudding?  It has had various incarnations - a school dinner staple certainly, and then dressed up for afternoon tea.  The combination of jam and coconut is an unusual one, and, when coupled with a light lemony sponge, absolutely delicious!  It has to be home made jam, of course... I made the first batch of this in response to a request from a friend, who proceeded to eat most of it.  Alli - how I managed to photograph this before you got your mitts onto it, I have no idea!   I did not try this in a gluten free format, but it could easily be dairy-free if you used a dairy-free spread.

Coconut and Jam Sponge 

Coconut and Jam Sponge

8oz/250g buttery spread

8oz/250g caster sugar

4 large eggs

1 dessert spoon grated lemon zest

1 tsp baking powder

8oz/250g self raising flour, less 2 tablespoons

2 tablespoons desiccated coconut

Topping:

Half a jar of home made raspberry jam (easiest, as it is the most uniform in consistency!)

4oz/110g desiccated coconut (approx)

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C, and line a large oblong tin (at least 9 x 12” or so but not the size of a large baking tray) with foil, and grease the base and sides of the tin as well.   In a mixer, beat together the main ingredients until smooth, but don’t beat too hard or it will lose its air.  If the buttery spread is quite hard, beat it with the sugar first before adding the other ingredients. 

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin, and bake for approx 25 minutes, or until a warm skewer comes out clean.  Slow is best, so don't be afraid to cook it longer.  If it starts to brown on the top, cover loosely with a sheet of  foil.

Leave the cake in the tin to cool, then gently remove the tin by lifting the cake out by its foil case.  You now have a choice.  If the cake has risen a lot, cut it horizontally and put a layer of jam in the middle. If not, just put a generous layer of jam on the top.  Then sprinkle on the coconut until the jam has pretty much disappeared.  Cut into squares.   Watch it go!