Grease & line a 2lb loaf tin with parchment paper, and preheat your oven to 180ºc/160ºfan
Beat together the unsalted butter and caster sugar until smooth and creamy - this can take a couple of minutes.
Add in the self raising flour, eggs, and whole milk and beat again until smooth.
Once smooth, briefly mix in the coconut and pour into your tin.
Bake in the oven for 45-55 minutes, testing the cake after 45 minutes, but a skewer should come out clean - depending on your oven it can take the full amount of time, if not a tad longer!
Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool fully in the tin.
Topping and Decoration
In a bowl, mix together the icing sugar and water until smooth.
Remove the cake from the tin and pour the icing over the top - sprinkle with the dessicated coconut and leave the icing to dry. Enjoy!
Notes
You can turn this cake into a normal round cake if you like, but the baking time will be less - about 35-40 minutes - be careful when baking if you use a different tin!
I use desiccated coconut because it is readily available in my local supermarket - and it tastes utterly delicious when toasted - I matched this with the simple water icing, but if you would prefer a buttercream recipe there are plenty available on my recipes page - or just search 'buttercream' on my blog!
This cake will last 3 days, at room temperature, in an airtight container, or you can freeze it for up to 3 months.