bibikkan (coconut cake)

Grate the jaggery and coconut, dry roast the semolina and stone and chop the dates. Roast and crush the fennel and crush the cardamom.

chop the winter melon preserve, the ginger preserve, the candied peel and the cashewnuts. Dissolve the jaggery in 375 ml water in a pan, add the coconut and cook for 2-3 minutes. cool the mixture and then stir in the semolina, dates, fennel, cardamom, winter melon preserve, ginger preserve, candied peel, cashewnuts, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Separate the egg and beat the white and yolk separately. Fold into the cake mixture and pour into a buttered baking tray. Bake in a moderate oven (160C: Gas Mark 3 ) for 1½ hours. From "A taste of Sri Lanka" by Indra Jayasekera, ISBN #962 224 010 0