Chocolate Macaroon and Lemon Cake

One of my souvenirs from New Zealand was a cookbook.  Books are extremely expensive over there and I had the good fortune to find this book (A Second Helping....More from Ladies a Plate) on sale which brought the price down to a level that was a little more easy for me to swallow.  I will admit to a bit of a cookbook addition.  I sit and read through them over and over again, cup of tea in hand, just staring at the pictures and considering the ingredient combinations.  Regional cookbooks are especially interesting to me.  It is curious how years of regional isolation created and maintained pockets of cultural uniqueness and in turn their regional menus.   So when I found this compilation of New Zealand favourites......I just had to have it.  Here is a recipe that I gave a try.  It turned out quite nice and moist......and I will at some point, make it again.  The yellow layer is noticeably lemon and the dark layer is macaroonish.  Yum!

Chocaroon Cake
(slightly adapted from A Second Helping...More from Ladies a Plate)

Cake Layer
85 grams (1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp) butter (room temperature)
115g (1/2 cup) sugar
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 egg yolks (room temperature)
170 grams (1 1/4 cup) flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk (room temperature)
2 tbsp syrup

Macaroon Layer
2 egg whites
2tbsp sugar
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1 tbsp cocoa powder
icing sugar for dusting top of loaf
Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a 8 1/2" by 4 1/2" loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment.  Start by making the macaroon mixture first.  Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then gradually beat in the sugar.  Fold in the coconut and sifted cocoa and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar til soft, then beat in the lemon zest and vanilla.  Add the egg yolks one at a time beating between additions.  Fold in the dry ingredients (flour and baking powder) and milk alternately to make a soft batter.  Spoon half of the cake batter into the pan followed by half of the macaroon mixture spreading as evenly as possible. Top with the remaining cake batter.  Brush the top of the last cake layer with melted jelly, fruit syrup or corn syrup (any syrup) to help the last macaroon layer stick.  Top with remaining macaroon layer.  Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan.  Cool in tin, then turn out carefully so as not to lose the top macaroon layer.  Sift the top with icing sugar, cut into slices and serve.