Back with the cake - Very berry courgette lime and coconut cake

I can't believe that it's been so long since my last post, I guess it only proves that time flies:) And what a cliche this is;-)
Anyway back with a cake recipe. Adding vegetables to your cake is no longer a strange idea. This one is with a courgette but also coconut berries and lime.

It is adapted from Harry Eastwood's book Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache

Very berry courgette lime and coconut cake

Ingredients:

for the base
80g caster sugar
20g unsalted butter
pinch of salt
120g desiccated coconut
30g fine semolina

for the sponge:
2 medium free range eggs
150g caster sugar
150 g peeled and finely grated courgette
zest and juice of 2 limes

120g white rice flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
200 g of frozen berries mix

Let's do it:

Preheat the oven to 180C (fan assisted) Line the base of the spring form tin with a baking paper and brush sides of the tin with a bit of sunflower or any other oil.
Base - butter, sugar and a pinch of salt put in a saucepan and dissolve until it becomes a paste on a low gas. Tip the coconut and semolina to a bowl add the paste and mix together with your hand, it will be loose and crumbly. Transfer this into the spring form and bake for up to 15minutes. Be careful as sugar and coconut burn easily so 12-13 minutes maybe enough.
Sponge - beat the eggs with sugar using a hand mixer until light and pale. Add the courgette and lime zest and beat shortly. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and lime juice. As the rice flour is very light I stir all the remained ingredients with a spoon as the batter was very spluttering when I was using the hand mixer. Pour the mixture over the base. Gently rub little flour on berries which will prevent them falling to the bottom of the cake and scatter them over the top. Bake for 30 minutes.
Take out of the oven and cool in the spring form before removing.
Taste wonderful but even better on the next day!