Lil’ lemon coconut cakes with added blueberries
Always coming up with new ways to ‘treat’ my girls with healthier versions of more traditional recipes, these lil’ lemon coconut cakes are not only adorable but delicious and a lovely light texture, especially for a grain-free cake. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. A note to always source 100% pure edible essential oils for adding to your recipes. I use Young Living Essential Oils. The lemon myrtle essential oil adds a deliciously different flavour interest to this recipe, but you could also use YL lemon, lime or citrus fresh EO in it’s place.
what you'll need:
150g blanched almonds (or almond meal) 100g raw caster sugar (darker sugars will darken the cake)
zest of 3 organic lemons (or 2 large), peeled 1/4 tsp green leaf pure stevia powder
4 drops lemon myrtle oil (I use Young Living oils which are 100% pure and edible)
4 large pastured eggs (room temp)
50g unrefined, virgin coconut oil, liquefied
100g dessicated coconut
100g tapioca flour
1 tsp baking powder (gluten-free)
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
1/4 tsp fine Himalayan salt
For the syrup:
juice of 1 lemon
30g raw honey
1-2 drops liquid stevia (opt)
How to make it:
Preheat oven to 160C and grease 12-hole muffin or cupcake pan.
Grind blanched almonds on speed 8 for 5-7 seconds into a meal (be careful not to over grind and start to make almond butter!) You can use raw almonds but this will give the cakes a more rustic appearance. Set aside (or use ready almond meal).
Add raw sugar and lemon peels to the TM bowl and grind for about 5 seconds on speed 9, until the peels are finely chopped. Scrape down sides of bowl and grind again if needed. Add tapioca flour and grind again. Then add all remaining dry ingredients (dessicated coconut, baking powder, bicarb soda, stevia powder and salt) and combine well. Scrape down sides of bowl.
Add melted coconut oil (I melt in a small oven proof jug in the oven as it is preheating), eggs, lemon myrtle essential oil and combine on speed 5 for 15 seconds. Scrape down sides and mix again if needed. Spoon mixture evenly between cupcake or muffin pan holes. Bake in preheated oven until cooked through when tested with a skewer and light golden in colour. Allow to cool slightly before turning out cakes onto a wire rack.
While the cakes are baking, to make the syrup rinse out the TM bowl and add all syrup ingredients. Melt and mix for 1-2 minutes at 60C on speed 2. Pour over still warm cakes while they rest on the wire rack (place a plate underneath to catch dripping syrup). Enjoy!
No thermomix?
Zest lemon using a grater or zesting tool. Use ready blanced almond meal. Follow two-bowl muffin method to make by hand or use a food processor or mixer.
Variation ideas:
use YL lime or citrus fresh EO in place of lemon myrtle
carefully fold fresh berries into the cake batter for lemon berry cupcakes!
