Growing up, Sundays traditionally meant there was always some sort of glorious cake flying around. I grew up in a household that firmly believes in dessert. During the busy week, it often was rice pudding, pineapple jammy cookies, lemon jello or a simple tray of fresh-cut, seasonal fruit after lunch or dinner. My parents still, to this day, have to wrap up a meal with a little something sweet for good measure. That little habit is (still) deeply-entrenched into how I eat.
My dad is always chasing the perfect pineapple and bananas; whereas my mom gravitates towards super refreshing cantaloupe and watermelon. This little habit of fruit after lunch or dinner is perpetually alive years later at my home and the munchkins are perfectly onboard with it. They mostly chase tart, green grapes, strawberries, watermelon and peaches. Although I must note, Miles is a banana fiend, very much like his grandfather.
But then on Sunday, dessert always looked like true-blue, good ‘ole dessert. There were warm, fudgy brownies enjoyed with old-fashioned creamery style vanilla ice cream. Mom also made a killer, gooey apple pie with the best from-scratch crispy crust. But what we ALL (truly) looked forward to was her Lemon Delight Cake. In fact; this is my third citrus-recipe inspired by that mythical cake. It was THAT good and everyone who tried said cake, still remembers it with a ton of nostalgia.
I drew inspiration from that cake to create this one- but I wanted to make it accessible to most people who have to eat grain-free or gluten-free for whatever reason. Simple ingredients like Meyer lemons, almond flour, eggs, coconut oil and honey, come together to give this cake the perfect crumb and right dose of tangy, sweet goodness.
There are eggs, but let me remind you that eggs are dairy free. Often times the audience gets this confused- while adding eggs doesn’t make it plant-based, it’s still dairy and gluten-free.
Good news is: (because, I REALLY like good news) this cake has ONLY 5 key ingredients:
almond flour, your choice of sugar or honey, lemon zest and lemon juice, eggs, and baking powder.
You want to make it an orange cake? Add orange zest and orange juice in the exact same measurements as the lemon zest and lemon juice requirements in the recipe.
Lemon Cake: 2 Tbsp of lemon zest + 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Orange Cake: 2 Tbsp of orange zest + 1 Tbsp fresh orange juice
For the topper- there is no glaze or icing.. none of that this time. This cake shines so brightly; all we need on top are some macerated berries right before serving! Read: macerated berries= berries that have been mixed and tossed with sugar (stir occasionally for 35-45 mins) and watch them transform into a gorgeously plum and juicy sauce. OR, do what I did: sprinkle some free blueberries with icing sugar and voila; you’ve got the best fruity topper without having to resort to icing.
Honey Lemon Almond Flour Cake
Ingredients
- 1 + 1/2 cups of super fine almond flour
- ~1/4 teaspoon of sea salt or less
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or almond extract
- 4 eggs (separated, yolk from whites)
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest or 2 Tbsp orange zest (if you’re going for orange cake!)
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice or orange juice
- 1/2 cup of white, brown or coconut sugar OR honey (honey will make the cake sweeter!)
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- powdered or icing sugar (for sprinkling)
- ~1/2 cup of blueberries (cake toppers)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a 7 or 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper (I like to grease the sides with cooking spray, high-heat avocado oil or a bit of coconut oil dabbed over a paper towel.)
- In a bowl, use a large fork OR mixer to beat together: sugar or honey, the 4 yolks, vanilla extract, and lemon zest until nice and well-combined.
- Whisk together dry ingredients: almond flour, sea salt, baking powder and then add to the yolk, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest mixture.
- In a separate bowl, use a mixer to beat the four egg whites until you’ve got nice, foamy peaks and a nice lift. Gently fold the egg white mixture into the cake batter (I do it in three stops, as to not to add them all at once).. This is what gives this simple cake that gorgeous lift and light + airy crumb. The egg whites are truly the secret behind the texture!
- Transfer batter to a pan and bake at 350F for ~30-35 mins.. *The first time I made it, I used a larger pan.. the cake was a little flatter. For a nice, tall, build- use a smaller springform pan.
Notes:
This recipe ONLY works with almond flour.. it behaves differently from standard flour and along with the separated eggs; does not quire oil or butter of any kind.
By: Aleyda/ The Dish On Healthy
