Middle Eastern Sweet Coconut cake

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

6 eggs at room temperature

2 cups corn oil or canola

1 cup milk

2.5 tsp baking powder

1.5 tsp cardamom pdr

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 cups flour

3 cups of shredded unsweetened coconut..can use fresh or dried

1/3 cup roasted pistachios crushed coarsely as garnish.

For the Syrup

2 cups water

2 cups sugar powdered

2 tsp rose water or 1 tsp rose essence

Prepare the syrup ahead.

First dissolve the sugar and water.

Then bring it to a rolling boil for 10 minutes.

Take off the heat.

Add the essence and let it cool till your ready to add to the cake.

Now for the cake.

Preheat your oven to 350 deg F.

Blend together with a wire whisk the eggs, sugar, milk, oil, lemon juice, cardamom pdr.

Combine your flour and baking powder together in a bowl.

Add this gradually to the wet mixture and incorporate well.

Now add the coconut and stir well into the cake batter.

Grease a 13" by 9" baking tray or an oblong baking tray. I used a deeper oval digs that yielded a thicker cake by size and I had to bake it a further 4o minutes so the center got done evenly.

Add the cake batter to the pan.

Spread evenly with a spatula.

Tap the edge of the pan so the batter sits well in the cake pan.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Once it bakes remove from the oven.

Use a fork to score little holes all over the cake.

Now with a ladle slowly pour the syrup on to the hot cake.

Make sure you evenly distribute the syrup throughout the cake and that it's absorbed all over.

Cool and serve topped with crushed pistachios.

This cake can be eaten with whipped cream on top or just plain with a drizzle of honey!