And then there's my cohort, stuck in the labs slaving over our research project.
Just the other day I was hit by three types of crisis: lipids, yellow tips and ethanol; two of which are solved but the lipids are the worst (and most frustrating) of them.
Disregarding the technical terms, let's just move on to just talking about summer.
So... My facebook feed has been filled with people enjoying their summer travelling and just having fun in general.
There are some one their month-long Euro tour prior to graduation season in July while others have gone home and are enjoying the comforts of well... Home.
I have to admit to feeling a bit sad but I've had my share of fun, especially my overnight stay at Liverpool with my friends and my graduation road trip around North England and Scotland and then Amsterdam with my family.
Drawn on the beachfront of the B&B we were staying in- Roker Beach.The summer of that year really did feel like summer.
How should I say it... It was the warmest summer I've ever experienced here.
This year is pretty wet; it's been raining almost every day since last week.
That's British weather for you, I guess.
Come on, does this even look like summer to you other than looking like 4 pm in the afternoon when it's actually 7.So what does the word 'summer' bring to one's mind?
Vacation, beaches, Piña Colada... Just to name a few.
To me, summer meant that I could go home and enjoy about three month worth of days not having to think of what to cook for my next meal, what to buy for the week's grocery and having to even go out of the house.
Summer also meant having to readjust my body to the warm tropics of my home country, which surprisingly takes me only a few hours (honestly).
Moving on, the idea for this cake came to me when J had me check the expiry date of his packet of desiccated coconut last Sunday.
The last time I used it was back in February in my attempt to make the Kelantan specialty Cek Mek Molek.
友達の家で食べたら恋しくになったから自分を試す作りたい、油ではなくオーブンで焼きました。
...And I've diverged from my original subject.
So my task was to get rid of desiccated coconut by the month's end, which gave me the idea of doing a coconut-themed month of baked goodies.
The cake was planned to be on Saturday but because I finished early and the fact that I was extremely eager to try it out, the deed was done today.
All I lacked in my 'pantry' was Greek yoghurt and I neither had any yoghurt to strain to make home-made Greek yoghurt nor the patience to actually wait overnight; to Morrisons I went after packing up my bench.
The recipe I'm about to share is from Nick Malgieri's Perfect Light Desserts in collaboration with David Joachim which I have spiced up to have a crispy and crunchy top. From the illustration, the cake looked a little more dense than what I've produced, which looks like this:
I couldn't wait and cut it as soon as I could handle the spring of the cake tin.
The top was crunchy, the cake itself was soft and fluffy... All done with a hand whisk and some elbow grease.
Coconut Poppy Seed Coffee Cake
(recipe adapted from Perfect Light Desserts, HarperCollins, 2006)
made with an 8-inch (20cm) springform cake tin; serves 8-10 depending on size per piece
Ingredients:
Cake
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (40g) poppy seeds
- 3/4 cup (56g) desiccated coconut
- 1 tsp (4g) baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (170g) golden castor sugar
- 1/2 cup (100ml) neutral-flavoured oil
- 1/2 tsp (3g) salt
- 1 cup (226g) plain fat-free yoghurt (preferentially Greek yoghurt)
- cooking spray (only if not using non-stick cake pan)
Topping
- 1/2 cup (46.5g) desiccated coconut
- 1/4 cup (50g) demerara sugar
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Prepare two large bowls and a small bowl. In the first bowl, sift in the flour and baking powder and then stir in the desiccated coconut and poppy seeds. In the second bowl, add the eggs and whisk while gradually adding the golden castor sugar until the mixture appears light. Whisk in the oil and salt. In the small bowl, stir in the desiccated coconut and Demerara sugar until combined.
- With a large spatula, fold in half of the flour mixture into the egg mixture, fold in the yoghurt and then the remaining flour mixture.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and shake slightly to even it out. Sprinkle on the coconut sugar to the top of the cake.
- Bake the cake for 30-40 minutes or until a bamboo skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes and then unmold to cool completely.
The cake is best served at room temperature and is kept by double-wrapping in plastic and placed in the fridge. It can also be frozen for up to a month.
The best accompaniment would be with tea... I'm thinking Earl Grey but my knowledge of tea is only limited to Jasmine, Darjeeling, Matcha, and Puer... I can't really recommend unless I've tasted it.
As for the leftover coconut sugar, it can be used to for other cakes / muffins or even be used as a sandwich filling or even for mochi! The possibilities are endless!
Now what's my next on my coconut escapade?
また今度～！