coconut, matcha & strawberry layer cake

What is a weed? If one cared to ask the right people with the right intonation (and maybe a single, raised brow), it could elicit a plethora of answers – do we consider intention, indigeneity, utility?

My favourite is a succinct and pragmatic definition from an expert with the local horticultural society: a weed is anything that you don’t want growing there. It’s a definition that allows for flexibility, including both intention and allowing some spur of the moment impulse. Hence the reseeded spinach crowding out other seedlings, yes, can be a weed. And, alternatively, something you didn’t intend to grow, but that you’ve become rather fond of, can stay.

For instance, bright pink, miniature peony-like poppies first began appearing in the community garden a few years ago, and each year they grow more numerous. This year they’ve gone rogue – you can find them spindling up through the canopy of potatoes, growing alongside peas, and in some plots, even an entire patch.

They’ve given our typically homogenously green and slightly drab plot a startling amount of colour. And so I can’t say that I haven’t done my part to enable the takeover – and given their ubiquitous presence in the garden, perhaps some others have been doing the same. In adolescent form, they sprout as tufts of sage-toned ruffled leaves, ones that I’ve grown familiar enough with to avoid pulling out. The buds hang their heads like streetlamps until they bloom and curve upwards; later the petals drop, and by now most of them have become woody pods which release their seeds with the slightest shake. Last year we may have also helped out by sprinkling poppy seeds all over our plot.

By some measures, and perhaps in some numbers, they are a weed, but they do seem to have “weedled” their way into our hearts (I never ever make puns so I am ever so slightly proud. But yes it’s probably best that I don’t try again…)

I’ve been wanting to try a floral layer cake (inspired by Constellation Inspiration – see this, this or this – whose sense for florals is so impressive, she wrote an entire book on it!). I realised that the storm of garden poppies was my chance to work with an abundance of flowers, and especially flowers that are not either pansies or herb flowers. While the colour of the poppies is a bit garishly sweet-sixteen/barbie-theme, as I was working with what we had in the garden I couldn’t be that picky! (Edit: in a more recent re-test and re-photograph of the recipe, we actually weeded the garden a bit much and only had a couple slightly withered – but still blinding barbie-pink – poppies. So most of the white flowers are balcony-grown begonias (which are edible!). Another advantage of balcony plants: they tend to have less bugs in them…)

Flower arrangements are pretty fun if you have access to them – I randomly piled flowers on the cake and it seemed to turn out okay! The cake itself is a fun combination: coconut cake, strawberry compote, and a matcha cooked flour frosting. The strawberry filling is cornstarch-thickened compote – the cornstarch gives it a bit of extra thickness so it isn’t too runny for a cake filling. Meanwhile the pale green matcha colour is lovely against the white and pink flowers, and I do always love matcha flavoured desserts. It’s a slightly reduced sugar frosting, but with enough sugar to balance the bitterness of the matcha for a mildly sweet and buttery frosting.

Update notes: updated July 2022.

coconut, matcha and strawberry cake

• Servings: one 16cm or 6 1/2-inch cake
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coconut layer cake

Based on the coconut cake from Sally’s Baking Addiction. I love her recipes!

• 137g cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• 60g greek yoghurt, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 127g coconut milk, at room temperature
• 85g softened butter
• 90g granulated sugar
• 75g (2 ½) egg whites, at room temperature
• 40g unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 350F. If using 16-cm diametre cake tins, line the bottom with parchment, butter the tin and the parchment, and lightly flour. If using 16-cm diametre cake rings, butter and flour the rings and then place them on a piece of buttered parchment paper.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate cup or small bowl, whisk together the yoghurt, vanilla extract and coconut milk.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light. Add the egg whites a bit at a time, whisking in each addition until smooth. Add the flour mixture and the coconut milk mixture to the bowl at the same time and stir until just combined. Lastly, mix in the shredded coconut.

Divide amongst the three tins/rings and spread evenly with a small offset spatula.

Bake until an inserted skewer is removed with a few crumbs clinging or clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool. Once cool, place the cakes in the fridge so the layers are less delicate when assembling the cake.

strawberry filling

Adapted from this Food.com recipe.

• 250g chopped strawberries
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar if your strawberries aren’t very sweet – if they are quite sweet, I find no sugar is needed
• 8g (1 tbsp + 1 tsp) cornstarch

Place the strawberries, sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan along with a tbsp of water. Heat up the mixture over medium to medium-high while stirring and crushing the strawberries with the back of a spoon. As the mixture becomes more liquidy, bring the mixture to a boil and let boil for 1 minute while stirring to cook the starch.

The filling will go from cloudy to more clear and deeper red as the starch cooks. Transfer to a dish, cover and chill completely.

matcha ermine frosting

Adapted from Stella Parks ermine frosting recipe.

• 170g milk
• 28g all-purpose flour
• 70g granulated sugar (increase to 100g for more standard sweetness)
• 1/4 tsp coarse kosher salt
• 160g butter, softened but still slightly cool (if you can’t be bothered – I’ve found straight room temperature is fine too. I find the icing still turns out fluffy!)
• 1 1/2 tbsp matcha whisked into a smooth paste with 2 tbsp boiling water

Place the milk and flour in a small saucepan and whisk until smooth and no lumps remain. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened into a pudding-like consistency, around 5 minutes.

Transfer to another bowl and whisk in the sugar and salt until dissolved. Cover and let cool to room temperature.

Beat the butter in the bowl of a standmixer with the paddle until light, around 5 minutes. Beat in the pudding, a spoonful at a time, and then the matcha paste. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Switch to the whisk attachment and whip on high speed until light and fluffy, a few more minutes.

assembly

Trim the tops of the cakes to level them if needed. Transfer about 1/4 cup of the icing to a piping bag fitted with a ~1cm round tip (I used Wilton 2A).

Place one cake layer on a turntable or plate. Pipe a ring of icing around the edge. Dollop half of the strawberry filling in the centre and spread into an even, thin layer. Top with a second cake layer and repeat the icing ring and strawberry filling. Place the final cake layer on top.

If there is any remaining icing in the piping bag, add it back to the rest of the icing. Dollop icing on top of the cake and along the sides. Use a large offset spatula to smooth the icing over the cake. Garnish with flowers and strawberries as desired.

Store in the fridge, but allow the cake to warm up to closer to room temperature before serving.