Butter Cake (with Coconut)

1 1/3 cup good quality unsalted butter, softened (300 gr)
7/8 cup of castor sugar* (200 gr)
pinch of salt
2 cups shredded coconut
3 cups all purpose flour (300 gr)

1 egg, slightly beaten

Mix the butter with the sugar and salt until smooth.  Mix in coconut then mix in the flour 1 cup at a time until you have a dough that sticks together to form a ball.  Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.  Press the dough into a deep pie pan.  Brush dough top with egg and let rest for 1/2 hour.  Preheat oven to 390 degrees (200 C).  Brush again with egg and use a fork to create a grid.  Bake 20 minutes or until golden.  Let cool before taking out of pie pan. 

Comment:  This recipe came from the Netherlands and it called for *castor sugar.  I had no idea what that might be so I did the usual and googled it.  Castor sugar is a very fine sugar but it isn't powdered nor confection sugar, which contains corn starch (I didn't know that.)  It can be made by putting sugar into a blender and pulsing a few times to make it the consistency of the powdered sugar.  I did this using 2 cups of regular sugar and then measured out the 7/8 cup of what was then castor sugar.  It worked perfectly but did leave me with a little left over which I'll use in place of powder sugar when needed.  The recipe called for a butter cake mould which I assumed was a lot like a deep pie pan.  I have a deep glass pie pan and it worked perfectly.  The one thing not called for in the recipe was the coconut.  When reading the original I couldn't help but Think With My Taste Buds and I could taste the butter and coconut together in this recipe.  It was a great addition.  All of my food testers loved it!  Especially while still warm.  For the grid I simply ran a fork across it in one direction, turned it and ran it across the other way making a crisscross grid.  This recipe is wonderful.  For the original recipe plus, visit Eva in the Kitchen.

Food Tester Carol's Comments:  Like so many traditional dishes, this Butter Cake is a very simple recipe - butter, flour, sugar, yet Martha has brought new life to it by adding coconut.  You can't just break off a corn to nibble on.  This dessert does not allow one nibble.  The flavors are so appealing, they call yo to cut another sliver, and another sliver and yet another.  We love the coconut addition to this cake that is just a step away from a shortbread, but I must admit that it was so good I was busy thinking of lots of new additions to give it a new taste sensation!