Raspberry & coconut trifle cake

This towering beauty will make the perfect sweet centrepiece for a buffet,
or a lighter option if you’re not into Christmas pudding

  • Prep:30 mins
    Cook:45 mins
    Ready in 1 hour 15 mins plus soaking and chilling
  • Serves 12
  • More effort

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 554
  • fat 29g
  • saturates 18g
  • carbs 69g
  • sugars 53g
  • fibre 2g
  • protein 7g
  • salt 0.72g

Ingredients

  • 200g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
  • 50g unsweetened desiccated coconut, soaked in water for 1 hr then squeezed dry
  • 200g golden caster sugar
  • 200g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • 2 tbsp from a 200 ml/7 fl oz pack coconut cream (keep the rest for the filling)
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • 4 tbsp icing sugar
  • 600ml good-quality ready-made custard from the chiller
  • 4 tbsp Malibu (or you could use white rum)
  • zest and juice 1 lime
  • 300g pack frozen raspberries, defrosted, or use fresh
  • 370g jar raspberries jam
  • 142ml pot double cream
  • fresh coconut, shredded, for decoration (optional)

Method

  1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line a deep 20cm loose-bottom cake tin. Beat all the cake ingredients together until smooth, pour into the tin, then smooth the top. Bake for 40-45 mins until golden and risen. Cool completely on a rack; once cold, put into the fridge. Meanwhile, prepare the custard – whisk the cornflour and 1 tbsp icing sugar into the remaining coconut cream until smooth. Bring the custard to the boil, then whisk in the coconut mix. Keep whisking until it’s boiling and fairly thick. Tip into a bowl, cover with cling film straight away, then cool.

  2. Mix the Malibu, lime zest and juice and 2 tbsp icing sugar. Trim off the top of the cake if it’s domed, then cut into three horizontally using a bread knife or serrated knife.

  3. Line the cleaned cake tin with plenty of cling film (a little oil helps it to stick), then put a circle of cake back in the bottom. Sprinkle with some of the Malibu mix. Crush 100g of the raspberries and mix well into the jam, then fold in 100g whole raspberries. Spoon onto the sponge in the tin but don’t go right to the edges.

  4. Top with the second piece of cake, sprinkle with more of the Malibu mix, then spoon the custard over and spread it out. Top with the final layer of cake, sprinkle with remaining Malibu, then chill for at least 4 hrs, covered with cling film, to let the layers firm up and the flavours mingle.

  5. Once set, remove the cake from the tin, then slide it onto a serving plate. Softly whip the cream with the final 1 tbsp icing sugar, then spread over top of the cake. Scatter with the remaining whole raspberries and decorate with fresh shredded coconut, if you like.

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