Regular readers of this blog may have noticed that I am fortunate to have parentals who kindly bring me ingredients from their travels, with which I can then experiment.  And so today, I’m going to tell you all about my fun with a bottle of coconut syrup, which I understand comes from this shop in Dunedin (although originally hailing from the warmer climes of Bali).

The label informs me that this product is ‘the maple syrup of the tropics’  and is made from the ‘sweet, energised water produced by living coconut trees.’  I don’t know exactly what it takes for water to be energised, but perhaps this explains the current craze for coconut water.

The label also instructs me to ‘get ready for a sensational eating experience most people can only dream of.’  This is a bold claim.

My friend the internet did not yield a great deal of recipes including coconut syrup, so I was on my own on this one.  I settled on the idea of a coconut loaf , comforting, tasty, and most importantly, probably agreeable enough to coconut syrup.

I have more or less shamelessly cribbed my recipe from this one, electing to include my syrup in place of the rum.  Not that I have anything against rum, but the only spirit currently in my house is gin, and I don’t think gin and coconut loaf would have a lot going for it.

I started off by setting the oven to 180C, greasing a loaf tin and lining its base.  Then I sifted together:

• 1 & 1/2 cups self raising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup of sugar

To this, I stirred in:

• 3/4 of a cup of desiccated coconut
• The zest of 1 lime

In another bowl, I beat together:

• 1 cup of plain yoghurt
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons of cooking oil

And now, it was time for the coconut syrup.  I wrenched off the lid and it was a tense moment – would it deliver the promised taste sensation that others can only dream of?

Well dear reader, it is intensely sweet, thick, a lovely rich dark brown colour, and not at all unpleasant.  But I think I am still waiting for a taste sensation of the promised magnitude.

Not to worry, I then added to the yoghurt, oil and eggs mixture:

• 1 tablespoon of coconut syrup.

I folded the yoghurt mixture into the dry ingredients until blended and scraped it into the greased, lined tin.  I baked the loaf until a skewer inserted into the middle came out clean, which took one hour ten minutes in my oven, and I covered the top of the loaf with foil to prevent burning for the last ten minutes.

I decided this cake would do well with some icing, mainly because I really, really love icing.  I made a lime icing by mixing together icing sugar, butter, a little hot water and the juice of the lime, which I slathered over the loaf when cool.

The verdict? This recipe makes a moist, substantial loaf which leaves you feeling satisfied that you are getting something hearty and filling.  Full credit to the original recipe for providing such a simple method yielding such a lovely loaf.  I must confess however, that I am not convinced the coconut syrup added a huge amount to the process.  The label does include the suggestion that one may like to try it on ice cream or pancakes, and I do think it would be most pleasing in this form, even if my baking with it is not about to take the world by storm.

Take care readers, and do alert me should any coconut syrup deliver you the taste sensation previously only dreamt of in coming days.