It may not be the most good looking and certainly not the healthiest, but this coconut and vanilla cake is one of my old time favourites. The recipe comes from my dear friend Carolina and I find it a perfect tea time cake. Prepare to have your whole house filled with the most delicious coconut and vanilla aroma!

Coconut and Vanilla cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
150g butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup milk at room temperature
1 1/2 cups unsweetened desiccated coconut

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a springform round cake pan and line bottom with baking paper. Grease paper. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until creamy. Add vanilla, then beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Alternately beat in flour mixture and milk in 3 batches on low speed. Increase speed to medium and beat batter 1 1/2 minutes, or until smooth. Fold in coconut. Spoon batter into cake pan and spread evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden brown and a tester comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 1 hour, remove from tine and let it cool completely. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Serves 8.