coconut and cherry cake

This coconut and cherry cake is an old-fashioned classic bake. A sweet, tender coconut loaf cake studded with retro glace cherries! It’s the perfect easy cake to make for any occasion.

I’ve been making this cake since I was a teenager. I can’t believe I’m only getting around to sharing the recipe with you now, but there you are. It often takes me years to get my act together, but I always get there eventually.

There’s something so beautifully simple about this cherry and coconut loaf cake. It’s incredibly easy to make and comes together very quickly – prep time is no longer than 10 minutes.

It’s the ideal cake to make when you fancy doing a little baking, you don’t have lots of time but you need something delicious to enjoy with an afternoon cuppa.

Reader comment – “I made two of these cakes the other week. Beautiful cake and I must say it’s the BEST coconut and cherry cake I have made….very moist, was hard to stop eating just one slice….ready to make another two tomorrow. Thank you for sharing this recipe.” – Lorraine.

This coconut and raspberry jam loaf cake is one of my most popular recipes. The texture of this coconut cake is very similar, so if you’ve made the raspberry jam loaf cake, then it’s very likely you’ll also like this one – if you’re into glace cherries, of course!

I love them and would eat them straight from the tub when I was little. My Gran would hide them from me otherwise she would find an empty tub when she began to gather her ingredients together to make cherry scones or tiffin!

As much as I love fancy bakes and cakes, simple old fashioned baking is my favourite. I love retro baking – give me a slice of pineapple upside down cake, coffee and walnut cake, a jam filled swiss roll or even a good old rock bun any day of the week!

why you’ll love this recipe

• It’s a perfect store cupboard bake – if you tend to bake quite often, chances are you’ll probably have all the ingredients to make this cake in your cupboard.

• This is such an easy recipe – very little can go wrong, even if you think you can’t bake! Just for the record, I believe absolutely ANYONE can bake!

• The texture of the cake is DREAMY – it’s very soft and fluffy.

more loaf cakes to try

If you love making loaf cakes, you might also want to check out my recipes for golden syrup cake, Lemon Drizzle Cake, sticky gingerbread loaf, malt loaf and easy banana bread.

what equipment will i need?

This is quite a small loaf cake, so you will need a 1lb (450g) loaf tin. You’ll also need a large mixing bowl, a wooden spoon and a jug and fork to whisk the eggs and milk together.

TIPS FOR MAKING COCONUT AND CHERRY LOAF CAKE

• This recipe uses the “rub in” method – making for a light, crumbly textured cake. Be sure to keep a light hand when rubbing the butter into the flour and rub the butter really well in until you have a mixture that looks just like fine breadcrumbs.

• When making any cake with glace cherries, I always rinse the sticky syrup off the cherries, pat them dry with paper towels and cut them in half. This usually prevents the cherries from sinking to the bottom of the cake. Sometimes I even quarter the cherries, but I’ve never found it necessary for this recipe.

• Be careful not to overbake the cake or it could turn out quite dry – it always bakes perfectly in 45 minutes in my oven. I recommend checking the cake after 40 minutes. It should be golden and spring back immediately when lightly pressed. A skewer inserted in the middle of the cake should emerge with no wet batter clinging to it.

storing

Cherry cake will keep well in an airtight container or cake tin for up to three days. To help keep the cake fresh, wrap it in a couple of layers of cling film or a Beeswax food wrap.

can you freeze cherry and coconut cake?

Yes. Wrap the whole (cold) cake in clingfilm and tin foil and freeze for up to three months. You can also freeze individual slices.

More classic bakes to try

• Cheese Scones

• Treacle Scones

• easy carrot cake

• classic coffee and walnut cake

did you make this recipe?

I hope you loved it! Let me know what you thought by leaving a comment or if you need any help, please reach out.

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coconut and cherry cake

Yield: makes 8 slices

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

This old fashioned cherry and coconut cake is very easy to make and is perfect with a cup of tea to cheer up a grey, dull afternoon!

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Ingredients

• 150g self raising flour
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 100g caster sugar
• 75g soft butter or baking margarine
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 5 tablespoons milk
• 175g glace cherries, rinsed, patted dry with a paper towel and halved
• 50g desiccated coconut
• 1 tablespoon demerara sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160fan/350F/Gas mark 4. Grease and line a 450g (1lb) loaf tin.
2. Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the caster sugar and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Beat the egg and milk together in a small jug or bowl. Toss the cherries with the coconut. Add both to the dry ingredients and fold in gently until the batter is smooth. It will be a fairly thick batter.
4. Spoon into the prepared loaf tin, smooth out the top with the back of a spoon (so the cake rises evenly) and sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake emerges clean. Leave to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely on a wire rack.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 257Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 382mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 2gSugar: 19gProtein: 3g

Calories and nutritional information are provided by a third party application and should be viewed as indicative figures only.

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