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Guest post by Trisha of Intoxicated on Life
Going gluten-free (or grain-free) is rarely an easy transition. It’s not fun. Everyone thinks you’re a bit strange. And what are you supposed to eat without bread, pasta, and cookies?! Seriously, life is hard when you’re gluten free (alright, I may exaggerate). But there definitely are challenges!
- Some must deal with being wheat-free despite being surrounded by their gluten-loving family members.
- Others have trouble coping with wheat withdrawal (headaches, cravings, anxiety, irritability – eek!)
- Some wrestle with faith questions: is it right to cast off wheat while reading a bread-filled Bible?
- Others just run out of good ideas for meals that don’t involve troublesome grains!
After a lot of research my husband and I decided that going wheat-free was the right move for our family. While this was a slight learning curve for our taste buds, it was a big learning curve in the kitchen! I had to come up with good snack ideas for the kids and find new ways to make desserts. Then, I had to find good resources for gluten-free recipes and advice.
Recently I compiled several of my family’s favorites in a new cookbook: Grain-Free Goodies: Favorite Grain-Free and Sugar-Free Recipes from Our Kitchen to Yours. You can snag it for free on my website!
This recipe, from the cookbook, is one of my family’s favorites: coconut key-lime cake. My husband is a fan of all things involving key limes!
Key-Lime Coconut Cake Recipe
Key-Lime Coconut Cake {Grain and Sugar Free}
Ingredients
Cake
- 6 large eggs
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup xylitol
- 1/8 teaspoon stevia
- 1/2 teaspoon lime zest
- 3 Tablespoons key lime juice (approximately 3 limes)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flakes
Icing
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 3/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup powdered xylitol
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup toasted coconut flakes
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9 square pan with coconut oil.
- Melt 1/4 cup of coconut oil and let it cool while preparing your other ingredients.
- Beat eggs, coconut milk, xylitol, stevia, and key lime juice until well combined.
- Mix baking powder, salt, lime zest, coconut flour, and coconut flakes together in a separate bowl.
- Beat the two mixtures together and then add the coconut oil.
- Pour the cake batter in the 9x9 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes.
- Allow the cake to thoroughly cool before making icing.
Icing
- Melt coconut oil and xylitol over medium heat.
- When xylitol is melted into the coconut oil, remove from heat and add lime zest, vanilla, and salt.
- Let cool in the refrigerator for just a few minutes. When the mixture begins to just slightly whiten, pull it from the refrigerator and pour into your blender and whip. The goal is to whip air into the icing.
- Pour icing on your cake and top with toasted coconut flakes.
What’s your favorite grain-free dessert?
Trisha Gilkerson is wife to Luke and homeschooling mama to 4 boys. She enjoys blogging with her hubby about homeschooling, healthy living, and faith over at their blog Intoxicated on Life! They’ve put together a number of resources for families trying to navigate these areas along with some great free resources. You can also find Trisha on Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and Twitter.
Kelly @ The Nourishing Home
This looks simply delightful, Trisha! YUM! Thank you so much for sharing!
Trisha
Thanks Kelly! This is one of my fave recipes in the cookbook just because it’s something different. The savory parmesan waffles are probably my very fave recipe though 🙂
DEBBIE
What is xylitol and where could I purchase it? We are not on gluten-free diets so I’d only need a bit to bake up this yummy-sounding recipe.
The Fashionable HOusewife
xylitol is like stevia… it’s a sweetener…
DyAnne
I purchase xylitol (not from corn but only from birch trees) at www.longlifeunlimited.com They are a Christian family.
Trisha
I purchase mine on Amazon. It’s a sugar alcohol that has little to know impact on blood sugar. If you aren’t worried about that, just sub out sugar at a 1:1 ratio.
The Fashionable HOusewife
What could I use instead of xylitol?
Trisha
You can use any sweetener you’d like. Sugar can be substituted for xylitol at a 1:1 ratio. Or, if you’d like another sweetener that doesn’t impact blood sugar, I’d suggest erythritol. Hope that helps!
Jacinda
Sooooo wanted to make this! Just have no desire to use xylitol or stevia… could maybe do the stevia, but I really don’t use sweeteners… not sure how to translate it into something that I could do…
Trisha
Jacinda… I’d probably try around 1/2 cup of sugar. You might try the batter to see how it tastes. It might need a bit more than that. Hope that is helpful!
Meg @ Cracking an Egg
I used honey in the cake, and powdered Rapadura in my blender for the icing. 🙂 Worked great! (Obviously changed the color a bit!) I have a friend that just uses plain coconut cream (either skim off the top of a full-fat can of milk, or buy coconut cream) and whips it for frosting. Very tasty, and with no added sweeteners. 🙂
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com
Trisha, I have such fun in the kitchen experimenting and developing gluten-free recipes for my GF friends! Lime and coconut are such a classic combination, and this cake sounds tasty!
Kamille
Looking for gluten-free birthday cake ideas for mother’s birthday in a few weeks and she would love this! Thanks for sharing! The only catch is she’s egg-free too! 🙁 Any recommendations for an egg replacer that would still bake well in this recipe? Thanks!
Liz
Maybe use gelatin or ener-g egg replacers?
Kimberli
Do you have the nutrition information/carb count?
Moyne
It would be great to know what type/brand of stevia was used in the recipe. Every form and brand is different and measures differently. That’s a tricky item to have to do a lot of taste-testing to determine the right amount of in a baked item. Was it powder? Liquid? Was it cut with anything? Brand? Looks yummy and I have all the ingredients — assuming my SweetLeaf liquid stevia would work in this recipe. If I have to convert the amount, I’d really like to know what I’m converting FROM. Thanks!
Michelle
I was wondering the same thing.Also is the coconut milk from the carton or can?
Erin
Either should work, although the canned coconut milk is preferable b/c it’s purer and thicker. Hope that helps!
Michelle
TYVM so excited to try this cake this weekend 🙂
Erin
Hope you love it!
Janice
Coconut milk….the canned kind or the kind you drink?
Michelle
Did you ever get an answer?
Laura
Why are there two measures of coconut oil in the icing?
Vicky
I’m definitely going to try this with erythritol! Looks amazing!
Mammie
Two of my all time favorite flavors
“Put the lime in the coconut”
Can’t wait to try it!
Michelle
Did you make it? Did you use coconut milk from carton or can?
Nancy
I am confused by the icing recipe, it states 1/4 cup coconut oil and then right below it it calls for 3/4 cup coconut oil. I am assuming that is a typo since the recipe does not indicate what to do with the second listing. Would love to make this!