On the weekend I baked a banana bread that didn't quite achieve lift off, carrot baby cakes that marched to the beat of their own drummer in an unfortunately uncoordinated fashion, and these naughty little Lemon Baby Cakes that succeeded against all odds. Maybe I haven't completely lost my baking mojo.
We had the pleasure of tea with our neighbours Marla and Oliver, and my mother-in-law Kathryn and her charming husband Hendrik.
Now, this was not without complications, and I'll tell you why. Marla and Oliver don't like their tea snacks terribly sweet, and Kathryn cannot eat dairy. So, the banana bread and carrot baby cakes were to fit that bill. And while my son is very much enjoying both the banana bread and the carrot cakes, I didn't feel they were good enough to offer guests with tea.
Well, I got lucky, because in this case third try was indeed the charm.
The lemon cakes are light and delicate while being moist. The flavour is both sweet and tart, with the lemon enhanced with some orange zest (from organic oranges, of course). And they were a resounding success, enjoyed very much by all in attendance, especially when they were revealed to be free of dairy for Kathryn, and free of sugar for Marla and Oliver.
Now, I will state that these baby cakes did require a little more sweetner than others that I've made, because not only is lemon not sweet, it is the anti-sweet. And in order to make a cake that tasted like a cake instead of like a punishment, I used about 50% more sweetner than I usually add to my baked confections. However, they are often sweetened additionally by sweet things like dates, raisins, and apples. And the sweeteners in this cake are all quite low on the glycemic index, won't spike your blood sugar, and seem to be tolerated well by most people who have difficulty with sugar. And are much more nutritionally rich than sugar is.
ingredients:
2 eggs
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup clear agave
1/4 cup coconut nectar
1/4 cup coconut sugar
zest of an organic orange (or lemon)
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon (I used ceylon cinnamon)
1 tsp ground vanilla bean
black pepper (a touch)
1 tsp sea salt
2 cups almond flour (I used JK Gourmet)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup kamut flour (whole grain and finely ground pasty flour)
directions:
preheat the oven to 345
1. warm the water a little, and add it to the coconut oil to melt it. Add the sweeteners, the lemon juice, and the zest
2. add the eggs, and mix well
3. add the ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, sea salt, and pepper
4. add the almond flour
5. add the baking soda
6. add the kamut flour
7. scoop batter into prepared muffin cups
8. sprinkle the top of each muffin with a tiny bit of coconut sugar
9. bake at 345 for 30 minutes
10. remove from the oven, and allow to sit for a couple of minutes before removing from muffin cups
11. serve with a big smile and some yummy tea
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