Dessert

Helen Goh’s Anzac cake

Name: Helen Goh’s Anzac cake recipe
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 100g rolled oats; 200ml coconut milk (see recipe notes); 170g plain flour; 1 1/4 tsp baking powder; 1/4 tsp bicarb soda; 120g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra, to grease; 100g soft light or dark brown sugar; 100g golden syrup; 2 large eggs, at room temperature; Icing sugar, to dust; Whipped cream, to serve; 75g unsalted butter; 95g soft light brown sugar; 95g dried shredded coconut; 60ml thickened cream

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by Helen Goh

Sep 23, 2026

“The Anzac biscuit originated as a treat sent by wives and women’s groups to soldiers serving in the Australian and New Zealand Auxiliary Corps (ANZAC) in World War I. Baked from ingredients that are resistant to spoiling, they kept well during the many weeks it took to transport them to the front. There are just about as many recipes for Anzac biscuits as there are households in Australia, but I thought that the simple ingredients of butter, golden syrup, oats and coconut would translate deliciously into a cake recipe for my Australian newspaper column in the Good Weekend. It worked a treat! I thought I would include it here for everyone – transporting the recipe from Australia to the other side of the world, in the spirit of the original Anzac biscuit itself.” – Helen Goh.

You’ll need a 20cm x 10cm loaf pan for this recipe.

This is an edited extract from Baking and the Meaning of Life by Helen Goh (Murdoch Books RRP $55.00). Photography by Laura Edwards.

100g rolled oats
200ml coconut milk (see recipe notes)
170g plain flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarb soda
120g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra, to grease
100g soft light or dark brown sugar
100g golden syrup
2 large eggs, at room temperature
Icing sugar, to dust
Whipped cream, to serve

Topping

75g unsalted butter
95g soft light brown sugar
95g dried shredded coconut
1/4 cup (60ml) thickened cream

Method

1.

Preheat oven to 195°C/175°C fan-forced. Grease a 20cm x 10cm loaf pan, then line with baking paper, leaving some overhanging to help you lift the cake out once baked.
2.

Place the oats in a food processor and pulse a few times. Transfer to a bowl with the coconut milk, stir to combine, then set aside to soak.
3.

Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarb and ¾ tsp fine salt into a bowl and set aside.
4.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the soaked oats and liquid. Beat on low speed until just combined, then add the sifted dry ingredients. Mix for a few seconds, then fold them in by hand using a flexible spatula until combined and scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
5.

Bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
6.

Meanwhile, place all the topping ingredients in a saucepan with ¼ tsp fine salt and stir over low heat until the butter is melted. Spoon the topping mixture evenly over the surface of the cake when it comes out of the oven, then pop back into the oven for 15 minutes until golden brown.
7.

Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before lifting the loaf out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
8.

Sift some icing sugar over and serve with whipped cream.