I had scored 4 big punnets of organic strawberries for $4 at the markets and had been unsure what to do with them. It was my mums 50th, so I decided to make put them into a cake for her. It turned out deliciously moist and was so easy, I had to share the recipe!

Ingredients:
3 cups almond meal (I had no almond meal, so just processed my own almonds into a slightly chunky meal)
½ cup desiccated coconut
2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
Roughly 100gm melted butter (you can replace this with coconut oil for a dairy free option)
3/4 cup rapadura or coconut sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean powder
2 x 500gm punnets of strawberries – or roughly this amount
2 Tblsp rice malt syrup
Pinch of salt

For The Icing
2 cans coconut cream (left in fridge overnight)
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla bean powder

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 165 degrees
2. Add the strawberries into a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of rice malt syrup and place on low to moderate heat. Cover with the lid and leave to lightly stew for around 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Once stewed, pour into a separate bowl to cool – save some of the strawberries and the syrup for the topping. You can do this ahead of time if you wish
3. Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl and combine well
4. In a separate bowl combine the eggs, butter and strawberries (once cooled), then gently fold in with the dry ingredients
5. Line the cake tin with baking paper and pour in mixture
6. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes. If you are unsure if it is cooked all the way through, just test the middle with a skewer. If the skewer comes out clean, it is ready. Place the cake tin on a cooling rack to cool

Whipped Coconut Cream Icing:
1. Scoop out the firm cream that has risen to the top of the cans and add to a mixing bowl with the maple syrup and vanilla
2. Using electric beaters/mixer, whip the cream for roughly 5 mins or until soft and fluffy (you can use a hand whisk if you have no electric beaters)

Once the cake has totally cooled, cover it with the whipped coconut cream – don’t try to add the cream onto the cake while it is still warm – I made that mistake and it melted the topping off very quickly!! Drizzle the remainder of the strawberries and the syrup over the top. I also added dried rose petals to mine for something a little extra special.

Enjoy !