Ginger, Lime and Coconut Crunch

Yes, I do realise that I've made something similar before, but the best recipes are the ones you keep going back to. This twist to a classic ginger crunch, is my new favourite. You could even go wild and combine my other recipe with a twist, to create the ultimate hybrid. Here's the first with added stem ginger, for an extra ginger hit.

If you didn't know already I love citrus, especially limes and lemons. I also love coconut, and have coconut milk on my porridge every morning, but I especially love it in baking, like Anzac biscuits or adding it to granola. So paring, some of my two favourite things, with ginger is obviously going to be super tasty, and I won't lie, the inspiration behind the pairing of the lime and ginger, is from ginger mojito( recipe coming soon!!). 

The icing I did to taste, but this is a rough guide, it will depend on the size of your limes, and strength of your ginger will also alter, depending on the freshness. Feel free to double the base mixture, if you prefer it a bit thicker and a 1:1 ratio, I like a slightly thinner base than icing, as its a bit easier to eat. If making this in advance, leave the base in the oven for a few extra minutes, for it can really crisp up like a biscuit, as it will soften slightly when you put the icing on top. 

Ingredients
for the base:
1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup desiccated coconut 
1/2 cup sugar
125g butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

for the icing:
150g butter
90g golden syrup
2 tbsp ground ginger
1 1/2 cup icing sugar
zest of 1 lime
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp ginger syrup

1. preheat the oven to 180c
2. for the base beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy 
3. add in the rest of the ingredients, and mix until evenly combined(it's a quite dry mixture)
4. press into a large tin, bake for 20 mins or until golden and firm to touch
5. leave to cool. meanwhile make the icing
6. melt the butter, both syrups and ginger until smooth, then add in the icing sugar and zest. add in the lime juice to taste. Adjust the lime and ginger to taste
7. pour over the base, and smooth to the edges.
8. sprinkle of extra lime zest if wished, and leave to set before slicing.

Blackberry, Lime and Elderflower drizzle slice

For me the harvest of blackberries, usually signals the end of summer. As the the blue skies disappear, and the grey skies filled with rain, arrive.To be really honest, all i really feel like doing is snuggling into bed, but when there is a break in the weather i try to make the most of not being at school, or now college(man that sounds so weird!), and create something summery, to at least convince my taste buds that its still summer.

 

This was sooooo delicious, that i ate 6 slices in one day, and i never normally eat that much cake in one day. Its an interesting alternative to lemon drizzle, and doesn't dry out, due to the water content in the blackberries. Its a great edition to a picnic, as the sugar on top glistens in the sun, and is a lot easier to transport than a normal sized cake.

This recipe uses polenta, which gives it an interesting texture, that is quite crumbly, but moist at the same time,and lets the blackberries evenly disperse through the sponge. The drizzle part is the best, and marries everything together with the early spring flavours, from the elderflower, and the autumnal flavours, with the blackberries.

Ingredients
225g self-raising flour
75g polenta
250g butter
250g caster sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 limes, zest and juice
2 tbsp milk
150g blackberries
100ml elderflower cordial
6 tbsp granulated sugar

1.beat butter and sugar together 
2.beat in eggs one at a time, adding in flour if it starts to curdle
3.fold in dry ingredients alternatively with the liquids.
4.place in a pre lined tin
5.scatter with blackberries
6.place in pre-heated oven at 180°, for 30mins
7.mix together the elderflower cordial, granulated sugar,and the zest of a lime and juice of half of lime. spoon over hot cake, cool in tin before serving.

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