little feijoa and coconut cakes

This delicious recipe for miniature cakes also comes from the New Zealand Listener (now behind a paywall, sorry). A note says, ‘In these little cakes, the feijoa slices caramelise during the cooking, which gives the fruit a more intense flavour that is heightened by the tangy lemon syrup.’

LITTLE FEIJOA AND COCONUT CAKES

Makes 6

Ingredients

• 100g butter, softened
• 1⁄2 cup caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1⁄2 cup fine desiccated coconut
• 3⁄4 cup plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 feijoas, peeled and sliced

Lemon Syrup

• juice of 6 lemons
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar

Method

1. Heat the oven to 160°C (fan bake). Grease and lightly dust with flour six 1-cup-capacity cake tins.
2. In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
3. Stir in the coconut, sifted flour and baking powder.
4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tins. Arrange a few feijoa slices over the top of each cake.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
6. Cool the cakes in the tins. Once cold, remove from the tins and saturate with hot lemon syrup.

To make the syrup, heat all the ingredients in a saucepan until boiling, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Simmer hard for 3 to 5 minutes or until thick and syrupy.