Coconut & Lemon Cake With Lemon Syrup {Gluten & Dairy Free}

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Hello September!

It's crazy that it's already been over a month since I got back from Cambodia. It's also crazy how it feels like just the other day I was there, but at the same time forever ago and a complete dream!

I'l still going through all the photos! I took a lot haha. So hold tight for the blog posts about the trip!

Last week I decided to do a 'let's make a recipe Michelle friendly' day. The chosen recipe, a coconut slice with lemon syrup from a Women's Weekly cookbook called 'Little Squares and Slices'. In my opinion this is more a cake type thing than a slice, but it's still pretty delicious. I'm a fan of coconut and lemon so it was a hit for me.

In my adaption of the recipe I cut down the sugar by the same amount that was required for the syrup. I figure, if you're going to pour more sweetness over something already sweet, well, it probably doesn't need to be as sweet. I think it balances well, the cake wasn't overly sweet so it added some relief from the parts which got a soaking from the syrup.

It's a pretty quick recipe, so if a friend comes a knocking and you need to whip something up to offer them, this is a winner of a recipe to have on hand for such times. Plus, if you're like me, dessicated coconut and lemons are always about.

Oh, and it says it makes 25 though you can clearly see didn't happen for me. I used a slightly smaller dish to bake it in, and I think I cut my slices a bigger than the ladies of Women's Weekly like to. To quote Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 'Bigger, is better!' 😉

Anyway, enough of my dribble, go and bake my friends!

Coconut & Lemon Cake with Lemon Syrup
Gluten and Dairy Free
Makes 25

Adapted from Women's Weekly's Little Squares & Slices Cookbook

🍋 2024 update: ADHD friendly recipe

Neurotypical time: 35 min prep + cook
ADHD time: ~1 hour for prep + cook

Items & Ingredients

You will need the following items:
- an oven
- baking tin or dish, around 20x30cm
- baking paper
- kitchen scales
- measuring cups: 1/3 and 1/4
- measuring spoons: 1 teaspoon (tsp) and 1 tablespoon (tbsp)
- some bowls to measure out ingredients
- sifter
- small grater (for grating lemon rind)
- juicer (juicing lemons)
- electric mixer or bowl and mixing spoon
- skewer or fork
- small pot and spoon

Prepare the following ingredients, unless you like to prepare as you go - ingredient amounts are shown in the method section.

For the cake:

Dairy free butter, softened  155g

Caster sugar  110g

Lemon rind, finely grated   2 teaspoons

Eggs  2

Desiccated coconut  100g

Gluten free self-raising flour, sifted  150g

Lemon juice  2 tablespoons

For the syrup:

Caster sugar  55g

Lemon rind, finely grated  1 tablespoon 

Lemon juice  1/3 cup

Water  1/4 cup

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180℃.

2. Grease and line a 20x30cm rectangular tin or dish.

With an electric mixer or by hand with bowl and mixing spoon:

3. Cream together butter (155g), caster sugar (110g) and lemon rind (2 tsp) until light, pale, and fluffy.

4. Beat in the two eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

5. On low speed, mix in coconut (100g) and flour (150g) until combined.

6. Add in the juice (2 tbsp). Mix on low until combined.

7. Pour batter into your prepared tin/dish, and bake for 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Make the syrup while the cake bakes:

8. In a small pot, add in all the syrup ingredients: caster sugar (55g), lemon rind (1 tbsp), lemon juice (1/3 cup), water (1/4 cup).

9. Place on low heat, stirring until the sugar is all dissolved.

10. Increase heat to medium and bring to the boil.

11. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, or until syrup  thickens slightly.

12. Once cake is out of the oven, pour syrup evenly over top of cake.

13. Let the cake cool in your tin/dish before slicing.

14. Store your yummy creation in an airtight container for up to a week.

Enjoy!