Coconut and Freeze Dried Raspberry Loaf with Citrus Icing

Coconut and raspberries are divine together in this loaf, which keeps well at room temperature for a few days.

I prefer to use freeze dried raspberries … they are so light they will stay lodged within the mixture of the batter, as opposed to fresh raspberries which tend to drop towards the base of the loaf. They also provide a delicious “pop” in your mouth when you eat them, which is a nice surprise.

Freeze dried fruits can be purchased from health food shops or on line. Whilst I always try to buy local, freeze dried berries are expensive, so seeking to get the best value is necessary. I usually purchase mine from iHerb.com, and I order quite a bit at the time (including blueberries and strawberries) so that I order infrequently (see here for link).

Gina @ The Passionate Pantry

Coconut and Freeze Dried Raspberry Loaf

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Servings: 1 loaf

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

INGREDIENTS FOR LOAF

• 300 g golden caster sugar
• 80 g desiccated or shredded coconut
  
  
• 250 g butter room temperature, cubed
  
  
• 4 x 59g eggs room temperature
  
  
• 150 g buttermilk or thin yoghurt or 100g thick yoghurt + 50g milk combined
• 250 g self raising flour
• 50 g fresh lemon juice usually enough from 1 lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp sea salt flakes or 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  
  
• 1 x 37g packet of freeze dried raspberries some in the loaf, some on top
  
  

INGREDIENTS FOR ICING

• 1-1/2 cups icing sugar
• 3 to 4 tsp fresh citrus juice lime, lemon or orange

Method

 

METHOD FOR LOAF

1. Grease and line a large loaf tin (25cm x 9.5cm)
2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees fan forced
3. Place sugar and coconut into TM bowl and mix 10 seconds / speed 9
4. Add butter and mix 30 seconds / speed 5
5. Add eggs and mix 20 seconds / speed 4
6. Add buttermilk or yoghurt (or yoghurt and milk mixed together), flour, lemon juice, vanilla and sea salt ... stir mix around first with spatula and then mix 10 seconds / speed 5
7. Scrape around bowl and repeat 10 seconds / speed 5
8. Pour half the batter into the loaf tin and top with 1/3'rd of the raspberries
9. Pour in the remainder of the batter and another 1/3'rd of the raspberries, putting aside the rest of the package for the topping
10. Using a knife, swirl the batter lightly so that the raspberries are incorporated into the mix (you don’t need to overdo this, but it is a good way to ensure you get the raspberries throughout the mix)
11. Smooth the top of the loaf with a spatula ensuring all the raspberries are below the batter and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until golden brown and testing skewer comes out clean (it takes 60 minutes in my oven)
12. Leave loaf in tin for 10 minutes, then remove to cake rack to cool
13. When the loaf is completely cool, cover with icing and extra freeze dried raspberries
    
    

METHOD FOR ICING

1. Place icing sugar and 3 tsp citrus juice into a bowl stirring as you go, adding a little more juice to get a mix that is thick but slightly runny so that you can spread it on top of the loaf allowing a little to run over the sides (you may need to add more than 4 tsp but be careful as the icing can become runny very quickly with too much liquid ... so slow and steady is best)
2. Top with the remaining freeze dried raspberries
3. Allow to set at room temperature before storing in an airtight container (cake plate and dome is perfect)
4. Sprinkle with icing sugar over the frosting and berries before serving

Notes

Coconut and raspberries are divine together in this loaf, which keeps well at room temperature for a few days. I prefer to use freeze dried raspberries … they are so light they will stay lodged within the mixture of the batter, as opposed to fresh raspberries which tend to drop towards the base of the loaf. They also provide a delicious “pop” in your mouth when you eat them, which is a nice surprise.

Freeze dried fruits can be purchased from health food shops or on line. Whilst I always try to buy local, freeze dried berries are expensive, so seeking to get the best value is necessary. I usually purchase mine from iHerb.com, and I order quite a bit at the time (including blueberries and strawberries) so that I order infrequently.