Jessica brings us a yummy recipe for lemon pound cake that uses coconut, quinoa and brown rice flour. Enjoy! -Kimi
There is nothing more classic than pound cake. It is probably one of the first things people are taught to make when they are learning how to cook. Well, in the old days, it was! Traditionally, pound cake was just that – a cake made with a pound each of eggs,butter, flour, and sugar. A simple 1:1:1:1 ratio is said to produce the best tasting pound cake. Now, that would yield one massive cake, so over time pound cake recipes have changed quite a bit. Some are still simple and classic, while others can get rather exotic!
Did you know that there is a wide variation as to what constitutes a pound cake, depending on what part of the world you live in? Here in the United States, pound cake originated in the southern region and was a staple at potlucks and picnics. In the United Kingdom, pound cake is known as ‘Sponge Cake’ or ‘Madeira Cake’. Vanilla is added to give the cake a richer flavor. Traveling down to France, the customary 1:1:1:1 ratio is observed, but occasionally recipes will include chocolate or lemon. Close to the equator, in Columbia, pound cake is often†drenched†in wine and topped with a sugar or cream coating1.
This gluten free lemon coconut pound cake uses fresh lemon juice and lemon zest to give it that bright, summertime flavor that everyone will love. The recipe deviates from the traditional 1:1:1:1 ratios, but the result is a dense, rich, flavorful cake that is perfect as is, or topped it with lemon curd, fresh fruit (blueberries are exceptionally delicious), and/or whipped cream! The cake is not very sweet, lending itself nicely to sweeter toppings to balance out the flavor.
Gluten Free Lemon Coconut Pound Cake
yields†8-10 slices
Ingredients
5 eggs
1 cup whole milk plain yogurt
1/2 cup granulated sugar of your choice (coconut palm or maple sugar work best)
1/2 tsp. granulated or liquid vanilla
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. high-quality vanilla extract
1 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour, sprouted flour preferable
1/2 cup brown rice flour, sprouted flour preferable
1 rounded tsp. gluten-free baking powder
1/4 tsp. sea salt
zest of one large organic lemon
juice of one large organic lemon
1 tbsp. butter or coconut oil (for loaf pan)
1 tbsp. flour of your choice (for loaf pan)
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 325. Grease a†8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan with coconut oil or butter. Then, flour the pan and set aside.
2. In a bowl, combine the coconut flour, quinoa flour, brown rice flour, baking powder, and sea salt. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the eggs, sugar, lemon juice, and yogurt. Mix until creamy.
4. With the mixer running on low, pour in the melted coconut oil and melted butter into the egg mixture.
5. Add the vanilla and lemon zest.
6. With the mixer still running on low, add the dry ingredients slowly. You may need to take a spatula and scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure the dry ingredients are completely incorporated.
7. Pour the batter into the greased and floured loaf pan and smooth the top with the spatula. Gently tap the bottom of the pan on your counter (use a towel or pot holder to pad the counter) to release any air bubbles that might be trapped.
8. Bake for 60-75 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. If the top is browning too quickly, you can cover the pan with a piece of foil.
9. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before removing from†the†pan and slicing. Serve at room temperature with toppings of your choice.
Citations:
1“Pound Cake“. Wkipedia. Accessed 6/28/12.
Jessica Espinoza is the founder and publisher of Delicious Obsessions, a real food blog focused on cooking, baking, nutrition, and natural living. Jessica is passionate about food and she was drawn to the kitchen at an early age. She began helping her mother cook and bake around the age of three. She has been in the kitchen ever since, even working as the lead chef in a restaurant in her hometown. Jessica’s main goal is to provide real food recipes that are simple, yet delicious, as well as show that eating healthy doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. She has a strong desire to show people how making even small changes in their diet and food selections can make a huge difference in their lives. She is a founding member and contributor of the Nourished Living Network. You can find Jessica on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest.
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Thank you so much for featuring my post Kimi! I hope you have a fantastic rest of your week! 🙂
I know you probably hate it when people start changing things…but my daughter has a severe dairy allergy. You think I could get by with about a half cup of full fat coconut milk and some lemon juice instead of the yogurt?
Hi Jessica – I don’t think there would be a problem switching out the dairy for coconut yogurt. I’ve never tried it, but I think it would work fine! If you do end up making it, I’d love to hear how it goes! 🙂
Stevia is listed in the instructions but not on the ingredient list. How much stevia should be used and would it be in place of the 1/2 sugar? Sounds delicious!
Hi Polly – That is my fault! My old original recipe called for stevia, but the last time I made it, I left it out and I liked it better! I read and re-read that post so many times and must have glossed over that! I’m sorry for the confusion — totally my fault! 🙁
I don’t see where Stevia is listed in the ingredients. So how much should be used? Also, could I use just coconut and brown rice flours without the quinoa flour and have it turn out okay?
Hi Cher – My fault! My original recipe called for stevia, but when I made this the last time, I left it out and liked it better without it. I am so sorry for the confusion! I can’t believe I missed that in all the times I re-read the post!
I have never made it without the quinoa flour, but if I were going to make it without it, I would just use 1 full cup of brown rice flour and 1 cup of coconut flour. I think it would turn out fine! I hope that helps!
This looks lovely! I bet it you didn’t have sprouted quinoa and brown rice flour, you could soak those two flours it in the yogurt overnight to reduce the phytic acid. Have you tried that? I look forward to checking out Delicious Obsessions!
Hi Lauren – Thank you! I don’t see why you could soak the flours overnight, though I’ve personally never done that before. I have been buying my quinoa and brown rice flour already soaked, sprouted, and ground (boy … makes me sound lazy!), but I think it would be fine if you did it at home yourself! 🙂
We’re big fans of the traditional pound cake though now that my dh and I are looking for ways to reduce our family’s wheat intake, we’re struggling a bit with finding substitutes for our favorites.
I’m curious about the sponge cake reference. It’s my understanding that the traditional sponge cake requires the egg whites to be whipped separately from the egg yolks to give it that spongey texture, not the dense texture of the pound cake.
Hi Barb – I thought it was strange too, but that was a little bit of the research that I came across via Wikipedia when looking into the history of pound cakes. That’s just what it is sometimes referred to in England. I didn’t know that there could be such differences regarding pound cakes, depending on the culture or region! (I hope Kimi doesn’t mind me answering these comments!)
Jessica, Please do! 🙂
This recipe looks great, thanks for sharing it! I’m keen to try making muffins from this recipe – any suggestions about cooking time and temperature using a standard 12 muffin tray? Many thanks!
Hi Michelle,
Muffins would be tasty! I think I would still bake them at 325, but they would probably be done in a bout 20-25 minutes. I’ve never made muffins with this recipe, but I think I’m going to do that this weekend! I needed to make something for a friend, and if they turn out, this would be perfect! 🙂
Thanks Jessica – will give them a try!
Wow – this looks great!
I just made this and it turned out fabulous! I didn’t have the various flours, so i used shredded coconut instead of flour, and substituted bob red mill GF flour for the other flours. I also used all coconut oil, and i think i could have used less bc at the end there was some oil sitting on top, which i poured out. Lastly, i used a bit less sugar and it was plenty sweet.
Thank you so much!!!!
Lisa – Sounds like great substitutions! So glad it turned out great and you enjoyed! 🙂
Hi Jessica and Kimi!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, Jessica. Kimi’s blog is one of only two food blogs I follow (due to trying not to spend too much time on the computer–I have four babies five and under–and I’m rather…ahem…obsessed with cooking/real food), but I’m afraid I’m going to have to start haunting your blog as well if this is a sample of your recipes!
I made this for our breakfast yesterday with fresh blackberries, and judging by the fact that there was one lonely piece left, I’d say it was a fantastic success. I didn’t have sprouted quinoa or rice, so I ground my quinoa and rice the night before and soaked it in the cup of kefir (didn’t have yogurt). I also had lemon stevia that I used. It was delicious. The texture was perfect–the quintessential pound cake. I’ve made gluten-free pound cake before, and though it tasted like pound cake, the texture was never dense like a pound cake should be. I’m not a fan of quinoa flour, as I think the flavor is strong. I tend to use home sprouted millet or sorghum because of their mild taste, but mixed with the other flours, it was quite tasty. I’m going to sprout some quinoa next time, as I’ve been told that it makes it quite sweet.
Thanks so much for this recipe. Although I love to cook, I just don’t have time to do a lot of experimenting these days, and it’s great to have real-food recipes that have been tested already for me.
Lisa – Thank you for your kind words! 🙂
Your substitutions sound great and I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I always view recipes as guidelines — I can’t seem to follow any recipe to a “T”, so I am always tweaking things, depending on what I have on hand, or who I’m cooking for. The sprouted quinoa flour is my favorite flour (as of right now at least). I’ve never tried millet or sorghum, so I will add those to my list to try soon!
Thank you again for your nice words. 🙂
My grandson can’t have wheat. I am going to try some of these recipes for him. I have been looking for recipes and these sound great.
thanks
annettee
I recently went gluten/dairy free. What can I substitute for the yogurt?
Thanks!
Looks so yummy I would love to try it. Have not made a gluten free cake yet.
My daughter has many allergies including wheat, dairy and eggs, however seems to be able to tolerate egg if baked at 350 for at least 30 minutes. Do you think that would ruin this recipe? Thanks so much for all you do! Love your posts!