My only regret with this Orange and Coconut Cake is that I wished I’d made it sooner and then I could have personally thanked my Nanny. The recipe below is in my Nanny’s handwriting and initially I literally changed the flour to Doves Farm Gluten Free flour and because I had it in the cupboard I used Cointreau® instead of Sherry.
I can honestly say this is the best orange cake I’ve ever tasted…you know that cake you had, the one that keeps popping into your mind from time-to-time, you can almost taste it and your mouth prickles as you salivate?…this is THAT cake!
This isn’t the only desiccated coconut cake recipe I have on my website, I also have this Tropical Chocolate Banana Bread: free from and vegan. There’s something about the coconut that makes these cakes so luxurious.
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I actually had two recipes in Nanny’s handwriting, but sadly misplaced the other, I was upset for ages but Grandad kindly wrote out the recipe for me instead and so now I have a handwritten recipe close to my heart from both my paternal grandparents, the other recipe can be found here in this Traditional Bread Pudding | gluten free and dairy free post
Love you Nanny….
Since the original post, I’ve found out I am intolerant to dairy, eggs and a few other things that I won’t bore you with. Therefore this recipe (originally written in 2016) is now an eggless coconut cake and gluten free and dairy free too.
How to make a flax egg
to make 1 flax egg you need the following ingredients:
– 1tbsp ground flax seed
– 3tbsp water
– 1tsp psyllium husk (optional but does add elasticity to baking)
simply add all ingredients to a glass and stir before measuring out the other recipe ingredients, by the time you come to use your ‘egg’ mixture it will have thickened to a frog-spawn consistency (thicker if you added psyllium husk)
Then just add to your baking as you would an egg. For 2 eggs double the ingredients but note that recipes that require more than two eggs may fail due to lack of support in the structure.
What can I use if I want an alcohol-free cake?
To make this delicious gluten free fruit cake without the addition of alhocol you simply omit the boozy bit and add extra orange juice. If you do plan to do this make sure you get yourself a lovely big orange otherwise you may find it difficult to squeeze the juice needed to make this cake.
an alternative could be to make it up in water or milk, or dairy free alternative, just enough to loosen the cake mixture to a stiff cake batter.
Can I make this Orange and Coconut Cake without coconut!
Not everyone likes coconut, in fact the more I develop and write gluten free recipes, the more I realise that coconut can really be a love or hate relationship. Or as we say in the UK ‘it’s a bit like Marmite, you love it, or hate it’.
Therefore with the coconut haters out there I have tested and this recipe can be make with ground almonds instead as a straight swap. Still go ahead with the soaking stage.
The end result is a super moist and very rich orange cake. So instead of an ultimate coconut cake recipe, you have a delicious almond and orange cake recipe!
Can I make this cake with eggs instead of vegan?
As with all of my recipes I appreciate that many will not need an egg free version so this recipe works just as well with 2 eggs. I know Nanny had three eggs in her original recipe but 2 is plenty as long as you use medium to large eggs.
What’s the best way to store this cake?
This orange fruit cake is super eaten just once it almost cooled to room temperature (it will be a bit difficult to slice if you do eat it still a teeny bit warm). If you plan to make in advance then store it in a Tupperware container for up to 2 days.
After that it makes the most delicious hot fruit cake with custard. Just zap a portion in the microwave for 30 seconds and add lashings of your favourite custard or cream.
If you enjoyed this cake recipe, you’ll love these fruity cake ideas
Nanny’s Orange and Coconut Cake Recipe
My darling Nanny used to bake for the family a lot, I remember her cinnamon freezer cookies (also on the website) and this cake was always one of my favourites. Now I've developed it to be gluten free for my Coeliac daughter and dairy and egg free so I can eat it. Can be made using eggs and dairy if fine with these.
- 75 g desiccated coconut if you hate coconut, switch this out for ground almonds
- 1 orange squeeze juice and remove zest
- 3 tbsp sherry or you can use a orange liqueur (for alcohol free add extra orange juice instead
- 100g g caster sugar
- 150 g butter I use a vegan block of Flora, Pure would also work.
- 170 g self raising gluten free flour or all purpose with 1tsp baking powder and ½tsp bicarb
- 75 g glace cherries
- 75 g mixed peel
- 230 g sultanas
- 2 eggs I make 2x flaxseed eggs [see notes]
- 1 tbsp caster sugar to dust over the warm cake
In a bowl measure out the desiccated coconut and pour in 5tbsp of orange juice from your freshly squeezed orange and 3tbsp of an alcohol of your choice. I used a orange infused gin in the recipe pictured but in the past I've used Cointreau or sherry. If you want an alcohol-free cake add 3 extra spoons of the orange juice (assuming you managed to squeeze enough)
Leave this mixture soaking for about 2hrs (1 if you're in a hurry) to allow the coconut to soak up all the flavour.
Preheat your oven to 170°C | 150°C fan | 325°F | Gas 3
Cream the 'butter' and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.
Add your 2 eggs or flaxseed eggs [see notes] and beat again until incorporated
Add the gluten free self raising flour and beat well, this will be a stiff cake mixture at this point.
To this add the sultanas, mixed peel, glace cherries (I cut mine in half) and orange zest and give it a good stir with a spatula.
Finally spoon in the infused desiccated coconut and give a final mix to fully combine all ingredients.
I prepare a 20cm round cake tin with a loose bottom. I use a silicone cake liner (affiliate link in the post) so no need to oil or flour the tin.
Spoon the stiff cake mixture into the tin and smooth to the edges with the back of spoon or spatula.
Pop into the oven for 1hr 20mins minutes or until until the cake is a beautiful golden colour and a skewer comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5mins before removing from the cake tin. I sprinkle the cake top with caster sugar at this stage so the sugar sticks to the top as the cake cools.
Slice and enjoy once just cool enough or enjoy later, this cake will last three days easily if stored in an airtight container.
How to make a flax egg
to make 1 flax egg you need the following ingredients:
– 1tbsp ground flax seed
– 3tbsp water
– 1tsp psyllium husk (optional but does add elasticity to baking)
simply add all ingredients to a glass and stir before measuring out the other recipe ingredients, by the time you come to use your ‘egg’ mixture it will have thickened to a frog-spawn consistency (thicker if you added psyllium husk)
Then just add to your baking as you would an egg. For 2 eggs double the ingredients but note that recipes that require more than two eggs may fail due to lack of support in the structure.
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A post packed with 20 delicious Autumn/Winter inspired comfort foods made gluten free, dairy free and in most cases egg free too
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The best recipes are always the most simple and the ones that have great memories attached to them! Such a lovely thing to have to remind you of your nanny xxx Thanks for sharing with #CookBlogShare :)
My Nana wasn’t much of a baker, but I have her chilli recipe written out by her and I treasure it too. Your Nanny’s cake looks delicious!
That made me giggle Kat, I’m sure Nana’s chilli was and still is the very best chilli ever xxx
I love seeing the handwritten recipe – such a lovely thing to treasure! The cake has a festive feel to and I love the idea of orange liqueur as an ingredient. Do you think it would work with a freshly grated coconut too?
What a wonderful idea to use fresh grated coconut, I’m certain this would work well and cut down on time too because you’ll bypass the need to soak the desiccated coconut. Let me know if you give it a go xx
Your cake is awesome, so moist, and packed with flavour. I totally get the handwritten recipes, I have handwritten recipes from my grandmother and my husband’s grandmother and they are very precious.
I think it’s the nest way to keep old recipes alive, okay you could type them up, but the handwritten version is a true part of that person xxx
The old family recipes are always the best! Our Nanna’s knew how to bake xxx
Yes they certainly did God bless them. xxx
Forgot to rate again 🙈…. Done! x
Hi, is there something missing to the end of the recipe at stage 8? Thanks.
Oh my goodness me, where did that go! I didn’t mean to lead people to a brick wall! I shall add the final instruction now!
What can you use as a replacement for the eggs? Aside from flax and Chia. Both aren’t options for my household.
If you cannot have either seed eggs then I would recommend an egg replacer such as Orgran Egg Replacer or Free & Easy Egg Replacer which can be found in Waitrose or online. Another option is a new product called Crak’d that’s available on the Vegan Supermarket website. This does have pea in it though if that’s a problem too. I’d love to know how you get on. Happy baking