This is a fantastic summer dessert recipe, it is so easy you can make everything ahead of time then serve for your guest or family. Make sure your ingredients are at room temparature because that is what makes the difference in a pound cake. In a stand mixe or a bowl with a hand mixer, place in room temparature butter and add granulated sugar then you want to beat that for at least 5 minutes and if you are doing it with a hand mixer you have to be patient because the lighter and fluffier the butter and sugar become, the lighter and fluffier your cake will be. After beating it really well the texture should look like whipped cream.

You will then add in the eggs and you have to beat them one at a time because if you put them all in there it will be really hard to incorporate the eggs with the butter. Once the eggs are added the mixture should be really fluffy then you will add some extract starting with a teaspoon of vanilla extract then the coconut extract which gives this cake a really lovely subtle coconut flavour, whip that up then move to the dry ingredients.

What makes this cake fluffier than other cakes is that you are not going to use too much flour, if you want a dense cake, you will add more flour but for those who want a lighter cake, you will need about one and three-quarters cups of flour. To the flour, add some baking powder and salt then whisk the dry ingredients and then you will start to alternate the dry ingredients with the sour cream into the butter mixture. You can do this in thirds and beat that but not overmix the add the rest until they are done.

Once the batter is well mixed, you will add unsweetened fine coconut flakes and fold it in the batter. Get your cake tin that is sprayed with baking spray or coated with butter and pour the batter into the cake tin then bake in a 350 degrees Fahrenheit preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Once baked, run a knife in the edge of the cake then flip it over and place it on a wire rack. Top with coconut flakes then cut with a bread knife and enjoy with any cream of your choice.

Ingredients;

For the Cake;

  • 1 cup (240g) butter, room temperature
  • 1 ¼ cups (250g) sugar
  • 4 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp (10ml) coconut extract
  • 1 ¾ cups (210g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 ¾ tsp (8.75ml) baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt (2.5ml)
  • 1 cup (240ml) full-fat sour cream
  • ½ cup (45g) shredded unsweetened coconut flakes

Instructions;

  1. Before you begin, make sure your butter, eggs and sour cream are at room temperature.
  2. Preheat oven to 350F (176C). Prepare a 9 (23cm) x 5 (13cm) loaf pan by spraying it with baking spray and distributing it well with a paper towel.
  3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together and set aside. Also, measure out the sour cream and set that aside.
  4. Beat together the softened butter and the sugar until pale and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes of beating. It should have the texture of whipped cream, scrape down the bowl as needed.
  5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating down the bowl in between each addition. Add the vanilla and coconut extracts. Beat for another 1-2 minutes, making sure the butter and eggs are incorporated well.
  6. If you are using a stand mixer, be sure to scrape down the bowl one last time, especially under the paddle attachment. This is where the hardened butter hides.
  7. You want to scrape that up now and make sure it’s well incorporated. Otherwise, it will reveal itself later when you go to pour your batter into your loaf pan and you don’t want clumps of butter in your batter or it will bake into your cake that way and create greasy, splotchy sections.
  8. Add the flour in thirds, alternating with the sour cream. Beat gently, just until combined, in between each addition, scraping down the bowl as needed.
  9. Transfer the batter into your loaf pan, smoothing it out with a spatula, and shaking the pan so it’s level.
  10. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
  11. Allow cooling completely before slicing it.