I’m supposed to be on a bikini diet, but so far I have baked 3 sweet things in the last 24 hours. I should ban myself from baking rather than saying I’m on a diet. To be honest though, a diet for me is more about eating loads of veg and protein and just not covering it in too many sauces or sloshing gallons of wine down my throat with it. (Easier said than done when the sun is shining and the vino is cold in the fridge!)

The worst part about trying to get bikini ready is the starvation part, I just don’t function well on little food so I make sure there are carrot sticks and energy bites ready to munch on in the fridge. I will always have a lunch packed full of proteins like boiled eggs, chickpeas, chicken as it helps me get through the afternoon without hitting 3pm and wanting to eat my fingers as they suddenly look more like sausages I want to put on a BBQ.

Also, why is it that as soon as we hit the first breakfast buffet on holiday it seems perfectly normal to have 5 courses and mix items like ham and cheese with cake on the same plate?

Anyway, back to the cake I shouldn’t be making.. the other two were, well good but this was the best of the 3 so thought I would share.

• 120 g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 60 g honey
• 60 g pitted dates (finely chopped)
• 2 large eggs
• 200 ml coconut cream (the thick layer in the tin) OR 200g bar of creamed coconut
• 125 g desiccated coconut
• 50 ml pineapple juice
• 150 g pineapple chopped in chunks (I used tinned in juice)
• 2-3 rounds of pineapple for top
• 200 g self-raising flour
• ¼ tesapoon bicarbonate of soda

Grease and line a round baking tin and turn on the oven to 170 degrees.

In a large bowl use an electric whisk and mix the butter and honey till blended and smooth. Then add in the eggs and continue to whisk, then the coconut cream and pineapple juice and whisk till blended.

In a separate bowl weigh out the flour, bicarbonate of soda and coconut then add in a third at a time to the wet mixture. Add the dates (soak in some boiling water if not sticky) and and the pineapple chunks to the cake mixture and fold through till evenly distributed.

Pour into the tin and top with the extra pineapple. Place into the oven and check after 45 minutes. My cake took a further 15 minutes but best to check by sticking a skewer in and if it comes out clean, the cake is done! You may also need to turn down the oven a little if the top is browning a too fast and cook a bit longer.

Allow the cake to sit for 5-10 minutes in the tin before removing. If you want to make this more decadent, I suggest you take 1 Tbsp of butter, 2 Tbsp of honey and 2 Tbsp pineapple juice and heat up in a saucepan till butter melted and bubble for a minute. Then glaze over the hot cake while it is still in the tin when you first take it out.

(Take 2 of making this cake)

My mum has been staying and she had two hours before she was due to leave to catch a flight so we thought what cake can we make so we don’t sit and look at each other for next two hours! So we decided to make this delicious cake but as little muffins. Oh wow I tell u!! Make as above, but this time I used a bar of creamed coconut as didn’t have any coconut milk. Then in a muffin tin (makes 12), grease with butter and put a chunk of pineapple on the bottom and spoon in the mixture. Bake in the oven for 16-20 minutes, test with a skewer and make sure mixture not wet in middle. They are crumbly, buttery, sweet and perfection with a cup of tea.