Nectarine coconut pound cake

The original cookbook tells of pound cakes relying on a thorough creaming or beating of the butter and sugar in order to get them to rise.  When I read this I had instant appreciation for my electric beater.  Due to the lack of raising agent, this cake’s consistency is dense and ballsy though the coconut and fruit make the flavour delicate.  You can adapt this cake to any season by swapping out the nectarines for plums, peaches, berries, pears etc.

Ingredients

makes 1 cake, serves 12

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• 230g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 2/3 cups caster sugar
• 1 tsp coconut extract (optional)
• 5 eggs
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 4 nectarines, sliced into 8 pieces each

Method

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• 1. Preheat oven to 175ºC on Bake.
• 2. Line a 23cm (9 inch) square or round cake tin with baking paper.
• 3. Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then add the coconut extract.
• 4. Add the eggs, one at a time, each followed by a spoonful of the flour and beating well after each addition.
• 5. Gently mix in the remainder of the flour and the desiccated coconut.
• 6. Pour the batter into the pan.
• 7. Arrange the nectarine slices over the top of the cake and bake until firm and golden and a skewer inserted into the top comes out clean.
• 8. Leave in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a rack to cool.