Buttery Almond and Coconut Cake

1st baking post for 2010.

This is a gluten-free cake suitable for people who suffer from coeliac. The recipe is sourced from Belinda Jeffrey's Mix and Bake book. I like it because it is easy to whip up especially for a last minute dessert esp. when deserved with ice cream or a dollop of rich/double cream.

180gm almond meal
60gm dessicated coconut
1/4 teaspoon salt
250gm caster sugar (I reduce amount to about 235gm)
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond essence
200gm unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons flaked almonds
icing sugar (optional) for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Butter a 23 or 24 cm shallow springform cake tin and line the base and sides with buttered baking paper. Dust the tin slightly with flour (or rice flour if you're avoiding wheat) and set aside.
2. Put the almond meal, desiccated coconut, salt and sugar into a medium sized bowl and whisk them briskly together with a balloon whisk for 1 minute. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla extract, almond essence until they're thoroughly mixed, then add in the cooled melted butter until its incorporated.
3. Tip the butter mixture into the almond mixture and stir together (the batter will be loose). Scrape this into the prepared tin and spread it out evenly, then scatter the flaked almonds over the top.
4. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back slowly when you press it gently. Cool the cake in the tin on a wire rack.
5. Once the cake is cool, invert onto the rack, remove the tin and paper. Then invert it again onto a serving plate. Dust the top with icing sugar if you like, and serve.
   
6. Keep this cake in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 3 weeks.