RASPBERRY COCONUT MIDI-CAKE: dairy free option, healthy fibre

Delicious and appealing butter-free cake featuring coconut and fresh juicy berries... 

Toasted and plain coconut add to the rustic texture of a summery cake

The recipe was adapted from Sky Gygnel in The Sunday Times, who serves it - fruit-free - for breakfast.

But 67 thought it would be perfect as a fruity Sunday lunch dessert.  

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To make it healthier - and offset the custard garnish -white flour was replaced with 100% Organic self-raising brown flour* and the batter was dotted with ripe fresh raspberries.  It was served with ice-cold vanilla custard (which came out of a tin!)

67 worried about the cake's texture when baked; it looked solid and as if it might be stodgy.  But Reader, nothing could be further from the truth.  This is not one of your airy, very fine-crumbed almost cloud-like cakes but a delightful get-your-teeth-stuck-into layer of rustic deliciousness.  It was delightful to eat on a broiling summer day. 

Slightly larger than 67's usual midi-cakes, it will keep well in the fridge and no one will mind a second portion a day later.  

Cost: Modest

Serves: 2-4

Ingreds

70g/2.5oz organic self raising brown flour

35g/1.2oz coconut, divided

One medium egg

75g/2.6oz castor sugar

25ml sunflower oil

100g/3.5oz plain or coconut plant or dairy yoghurt

1/4 teaspoon maple syrup

generous handful fresh raspberries

Method:

AIR FRYER MIDI-MOCHA CAKE, easy, singletons, air fryer, child-friendly, ill & infirm

Everyone knows about mug cakes, cooked in minutes in a microwave.  67goingon50 proudly introduces fast and easy Air Fryer Midi Cakes...

Air-Fried Mocha Cake , topped with Chocolate Chips 
'A quick cake, not a pudding, with a scrumptious texture' Taster

27/9/18

67goingon50 loves the idea of microwave mug cakes but has never found a recipe where reality met expectations.  Until the blogger cooked the mug cake batter in an air fryer.

I know, I know, air fryers are for low-fat but ultra-crispy chicken wings and ribs and wedges and chips and other so-called 'dirty' foods.  

But if you have an air fryer, baking cakes & cookies in them is surprisingly successful.   

Cakes cooked in an air-fryer are easy and quick, and best of all for the calorie-conscious, there are few - if any - leftovers for illicit snacking.  

Air-fried cakes produce a gently crisp outer shell and a tender buttery crumb.  No dampness; a cake, therefore, not a pudding!

Cooking it in the air fryer's 6inch/15cm pan, provided more than enough for two decent portions.  Because it's so small, the cake is low in fat/carbs, sugar - low in anything really that's not healthy.

It's as easy as a mug cake to make and perfect for singles or small households.  Mary Berry's dump-it-all-in-and-mix method is a doddle. And you can ignore the 'big' oven. 

Air-fried cakes take 15 mins to cook compared to 5 in the microwave but is worth it for the wonderful texture.   

Cost: £1.75'ish (2024)

Serves: 1-2


Ingred (in this order):
     

     4 tbsp plain white flour

     1 tbsp wholemeal flour  
     1/2 tsp baking powder
     1.5-2 tbsp sugar
     1 tbsp instant coffee   

   1 room temperature egg
   1 tbsp plant/dairy cream
   30 gm/1generous ounce very soft butter/vegan margarine
   1/2 tsp vanilla

   30 gm/1 generous ounce good chocolate, melted and cooled 

    

    Garnish: 1-2 tbsp dark chocolate chips (optional but wonderful)

Method:

1. Lightly butter a 6inch/15cm pan; cut out a circle of greaseproof paper to fit the pan and place, ink side down, in the base 
2. Melt chocolate; cool slightly; set aside
3. In the order indicated, add all ingredients except chocolate chips in a good sized bowl; beat with electric beaters until amalgamated
4. Pour into prepared tin, levelling the batter with a spoon or spatula
5. Scatter over chocolate chips, if using
6. Set air fryer to 155c/311f
7. Bake 15-18 mins or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean

Tips:

• double the recipe and double the time for a deeper celebration cake for Valentines' or birthdays; thickly ice with less-butter fluffy buttercream
• No air fryer?  Bake in a 180C/350F oven 20-25 mins or until a skewer inserted in centre comes out clean
• The book and article* which inspired the mocha mini-cake contains many other variations  
• Instructions for microwave cooking are available in the source material below
• Replace chocolate chips with chopped walnuts or flaked almonds

*Daily Telegraph 2015, mug cake cookbook by Lene Knudsen and Sandra Mahut

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This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.