Chocoholic: Flourless coconut lime cake with white chocolate whipped cream
By Yvonne Ruperti From Serious Eats
Last year I baked a Flourless Orange Saffron Almond Cake which incorporated whole cooked oranges. It’s become one of my favorite cakes to make when I want a cake that’s extremely moist. The puree from the softened, cooked fruit (rind and all) contributes body and a superb, deep orange-y flavor. I wondered, would limes work just as well?
Sort of. Compared to sweet and slightly tangy orange juice, limes are obviously heaps more acidic, but I forged ahead anyway. Just like for the orange cake, I placed the limes in a microwave safe bowl, covered it, and cooked the limes until they became soft. When cooled, I pureed them in a food processor and folded all of it into a cake batter of eggs, sugar, and ground almonds (no flour here—the eggs hold it together).
The first cake was a disaster. The lime pith (the spongey white layer just beneath the green skin) made the cake so bitter it was almost inedible. Unlike an orange, or even lemon, where bitter (think of shaker lemon pie or bitter lemon cordial) can be good up to a point, too much “lime” bitterness isn’t that pleasant. I also realized that the flesh to pith to skin ratio in a lime is much smaller than an orange.
For round two, I zested a few of the limes first (lime zest is a good thing), then peeled away as much of the remaining pitch as I could before setting them in the microwave. Success! While there was still a small amount of bitterness, it was more of a really deep, intense lime flavor. If I had to describe this cake I’d say it’s exactly like eating a key lime pie flavored macaroon. And you won’t believe how moist you’ll find the crumb.
To top it off, I knew a billowy dollop of white chocolate whipped cream would perfectly complement everything that I had going on here—the lime, coconut, and crunchy almonds. If you like limes, this citrus-blast cake can’t be beat.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream, divided
- 3 large seedless limes (10 to 12 ounces)
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cup (8 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
- 1 cup blanched sliced almonds
- 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
Procedures
1Heat white chocolate and 1/4 cup cream in microwave safe bowl on reduced power until melted and smooth. Whisk into remaining cream and chill until completely cold.
2 Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350°F. Line bottom of 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease sides. Cover bottom of pan with foil (see note). Zest 1 or 2 limes to get 2 tablespoons lightly packed zest; set zest aside. Using peeler, remove rind and as much of the white pith as possible from all of the limes; discard pith.
3 Using a fork, carefully poke a few holes in limes. Place in microwave safe bowl. Cover and microwave on high until limes are soft and juice is beginning to pool at the bottom of bowl, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove cover and let cool.
4 Whisk eggs, 1 cup sugar, reserved lime zest, vanilla, and salt in large bowl until well combined. Place remaining 1/4 cup sugar, coconut, and almonds in food processor and pulse until mixture is fine. Whisk into egg mixture.
5 When limes are cool enough to handle, process in food processor to a puree (about 2 minutes) and whisk into egg mixture along with any lime juice from the bowl. Whisk in melted butter. Pour into prepared pan and bake until cake is golden and set, about 55 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool completely.
6When ready to serve, whip white chocolate mixture using mixer fitted with whip attachment until medium peaks form. Serve a dollop of cream on top of slices of cake.
About the Author: Yvonne Ruperti is a food writer, recipe developer, former bakery owner, and author of the new cookbook One Bowl Baking: Simple From Scratch Recipes for Delicious Desserts (Running Press, October 2013), and available at Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Powell’s, The Book Depository. Watch her culinary stylings on the America’s Test Kitchen television show. Follow her Chocoholic, Chicken Dinners, Singapore Stories and One Bowl Baking columns on Serious Eats.
[Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti]
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