If you like nut meal based cakes that are not overly sweet then you must try this. This cake is very easy to make; the only step that requires a little effort is the beating of the egg whites.
I adore this cake as it’s zesty and delicate (and particularly good when served with fresh berries or a berry coulis plus double cream or Greek style yoghurt).
You need:
- 4 eggs
- 2 Tbsp. lemon rind
- The juice of half a lemon
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup sugar (white, raw, brown) – I suggest using 1/3 cup if you’re not a big sweet tooth
- 1 1/2 cups almond meal (or a mix of almond and hazelnut/cashew) – alternatively, you can also use coconut flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
To decorate:
- Icing sugar
- Fresh berries
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 175 degrees Celsius fan forced and grease a round 20cm cake tin.
- Separate your eggs – place the yolks in a large mixing bowl and the whites in a medium bowl (for beating).
- Then, add sugar, lemon rind and juice to your 4 egg yolks and using a spoon mix until combined. Then add the almond meal and baking powder and once again mix until combined.
- Beat your egg whites until soft peaks form. Then add the egg whites to your large bowl and using a spatula carefully fold through until all is combined.
- Pour the cake batter into your prepared tin and bake for 30mins. I suggest checking your cake at 25mins (when ready it will be ever so slightly golden on top (and a skewer, when inserted into the middle of the cake, should come out clean yet moist).
- Allow to cool before removing from tin. Dust with icing sugar and top with berries, and you’ll have a pretty impressive and delicious cake!
A few other additions I recommend:
- Berries e.g. raspberries or blackberries. I suggest pouring the cake batter into your tin then dropping berries into the cake (rather than stirring berries in prior to filling tin, just to prevent over-mixing of the batter). Frozen berries work really well.
- Try using orange rind/juice or a mix of lemon and orange rind/juice.
- Stir in a little desiccated coconut for a ‘lemony coconut’ style cake.
Gestational Diabetes –
Cake can certainly be safe to enjoy if you have GDM, however the sugar content and type of sugar does make a difference. This cake is a great choice with a few adjustments and also as long as you enjoy one piece in between main meals (or at least 2 hours after dinner, if your dinner is a balanced meal that contains some carbohydrate food). I would suggest using 1/2 cup or less of raw sugar (unpacked) or coconut sugar (unpacked). If using this, divide your cake into 12 pieces or more to create suitable sized pieces. Enjoy a piece on it’s own, with a cup of tea (with a little milk) and/or a dollop of Greek yoghurt (1-2 Tablespoons). I would suggest not adding icing sugar, but adding some berries is absolutely fine.
Also, if wanting some more personalised guidance, I’d suggest speaking with your Dietitian or reaching out to me via email or social media
Lara x
