EMILY DICKINSON'S COCONUT CAKE

Emily Dickinson by Nicole DeClerck

I have a poem coming out in the spring in the American journal Prairie Schooner. It's called 'Miss Emily Dickinson's Coconut Cake' and is based on Dickinson's recipe and a little on her life. I've been a fan since I was very young. When I workshopped the poem at my writing group, I made the cake for our tea break. I've made it again today, so here is the recipe.

Emily Dickinson's Coconut Cake

This makes a lovely, simple, light cake. The recipe was adapted by some ED fans to suit modern weights/measures etc. I decided to use the American measurements as I own a set of measuring cups and am leaving them that way here. If you don't have measuring cups, be careful with the weights/volume. There's a conversion chart here.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup dessicated coconut

2 cups flour (I used half self-raising, half wholemeal spelt)

1 cup sugar (I used light brown muscovado)

½ cup butter (I used Pure marg)

½ cup milk

2 eggs

½ tsp bread soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180C

Line an 8" square cake tin on the bottom, grease the sides

Mix butter and sugar

Add beaten eggs and milk

Sieve the flour, bread soda and cream of tartar and mix

Add the coconut and mix

Bake for 30 minutes

Cool in tin for 10 minutes before turning out

OPTIONAL

I have also made this cake with raspberries. If you want to do this add in 150g of frozen raspberries with the coconut.

Coconut Cake with Raspberries