Mango and coconut cake

Coconut mango cake is quite a showstopper. The German buttercream makes the most luxurious filling, and the coconut and mango flavours are irresistible.

Ingredients

For the cake

• butter, for greasing
• 50g/1¾oz desiccated coconut
• 1 mango, peeled and thinly sliced lengthways
• 400g/14oz Greek-style yoghurt, plus extra to serve
• 300g/10½oz caster sugar
• 7 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
• 400g/14oz self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt

For the German buttercream

• 150ml/5fl oz full-fat milk
• 100g/3½oz caster sugar
• 3 free-range egg yolks
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 350g/12oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

For the decoration

• 25g/1oz coconut chips or desiccated coconut, toasted
• 150g/5½oz mango pulp, plus extra to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Line the bases and grease two 20cm/8in deep round cake tins.

2. To make the cake, toast the coconut in a small pan until it is golden and sprinkle evenly into the bases of the cake tins. Add the mango in some sort of orderly fashion, straight on top of the coconut.

3. Mix the yoghurt, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and salt together in a large mixing bowl until you have a smooth, shiny cake batter. Pour the mixture into the tins and tap the tins on the work surface to level off the tops.

4. Bake for 40–45 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Take the cakes out of the oven and leave to cool in the tins for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

5. Meanwhile, to make the buttercream, add the milk to a saucepan with the sugar and vanilla over a medium–high heat. As soon as it comes to the boil, remove from the heat and stir to make sure the sugar has melted.

6. Whisk the egg yolks with the cornflour in a large bowl. Pour in the hot milk mixture in a steady stream, stirring constantly. Pour the mixture back into the pan and heat gently, stirring constantly, until it thickens into a really thick custard that coats the back of the spoon. Transfer to a large bowl, cover with cling film and leave to cool, then place in the fridge for about an hour.

7. When chilled, whisk the custard mix, then add a tablespoon of butter at a time, whisking after each addition. Keep whisking until you have a really stiff, pipe-able buttercream. Transfer to a piping bag.

8. Place the first cake fruit side up on a serving dish. Pipe swirls of the buttercream all around the edge and then in the centre, covering the top of the cake. Place the other cake on top and make the same swirls around the edge, avoiding the middle and leaving gaps between the swirls.

9. Pour the mango pulp into the centre, allowing it to drip down the sides. Sprinkle it with the toasted coconut and serve the cake with Greek yoghurt.

Mango and coconut cake