This Almond Flour Lemon Zucchini Cake is simple and easy to make, and it’s also a healthy treat that’s paleo, gluten-free, and dairy-free.
We could all use a bright spot, mid-March, couldn’t we? Maybe it’s a nicer month where you are, but here in Montana, March is generally rather dreary. The snow starts to melt, yet we usually get a few more snowstorms that make you think spring may never come.
Also, everything is at its brownest/soggiest state each time the snow melts. And really, at this point in winter, you’re just longing to see anything green. This year, however, I think I’d even be excited to see some soggy mud because it’s still a white frozen tundra around here, much less anything approaching green!
So I have some sunshine for you as well as a hint of green with this Lemon Zucchini Cake, if you’re like us and still patiently waiting for any hint of spring. Being lemon, it’s predictably bright and zesty, and the zucchini makes it fantastically moist. Instead of using the usual cinnamon I love in baked goods with lemon, I branched out with cardamom and nutmeg in this cake.
This turned out to be an incredible combination. And if you don’t already have cardamom in your spice collection, I’d definitely encourage you to put it on your next shopping list.
Cardamom, as well as nutmeg, is always best freshly ground. For nutmeg, I have a little grater that I freshly grate it with because I don’t use it very often. But with cardamom, I’ve been using it so much, I bought a jar of it already ground.
Let’s jump in and make my Almond Flour Lemon Zucchini Cake
After you stir together the dry ingredients, you add the zucchini and stir just to coat the shreds.
Then you add the wet ingredients and stir just to combine.
Then you can pour it into a springform pan with a parchment-lined bottom. Or if you don’t need to take the cake out of the pan, you can use a glass baking dish.
And now let’s talk about the glaze for a minute. Coconut butter is a bit unreliable for making a glaze, but it’s the best thing I’ve found to avoid powdered sugar.
Glaze Tip: If you find your glaze is ‘seizing’ up like the above photo, don’t panic, you just need to keep adding a bit of liquid until it looks like the photo below.
You can use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake. But if you really like the way the lines look on this cake, I would suggest getting a squeeze bottle.
Squeeze bottles are generally cheap (I got mine at our local restaurant supply for around $1), and they are awesome for decorating with glazes and melted chocolate. Also, I love putting any kind of homemade flavored mayo in squeeze bottles, not only for the nice presentation but also because it’s really convenient.
INGREDIENTS1x2x3x
- 2 1/2 cups fine almond flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour/starch
- 2 tsp baking powder - see notes
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp lemon zest - grated with a microplane
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup honey - see notes
- 1/3 cup avocado oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tbsp almond extract
Frosting:
- 1/4 cup coconut butter - at room temperature
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tbsp honey
- Pinch sea salt
- 2-4 tbsp water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line the bottom of a 9" springform pan with parchment paper. Lightly oil the pan and the paper at the bottom, then set the pan aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix the almond flour, tapioca, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, lemon zest , cardamom, and nutmeg until completely combined. Add the grated zucchini and mix just until the zucchini is coated with the flour mixture.
- Add the eggs, honey, avocado oil , vanilla, and almond extracts. Mix just to combine, and pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then cover the cake with a small piece of foil to create a tent. Continue cooking for another 35-40 minutes (for a total of 55-60 minutes) or until the cake is puffed in the middle and a toothpick inserted comes out with just moist crumbs.
- Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then carefully loosen the sides of the cake with a butter knife and remove the springform pan side.
- For the frosting, melt the coconut butter in a small saucepan over low heat. When the coconut butter is melted, whisk in the lemon juice, honey, sea salt, and 2 tablespoons of the water.
- Don’t worry if the frosting breaks or seizes up, just whisk in a bit more water until it’s smooth again (refer to the photo in the post). Drizzle the frosting over the cake using a spoon, or place it in a squeeze bottle if you’d like nice ,clean lines across the cake.
- From here, you can serve it off the bottom of the springform pan, or using 2 or more spatulas, carefully slide them under the parchment paper of the cooled cake, and transfer it to a cake stand.
- It’s best not to move the cake before it’s completely cooled unless you have 2 people and several spatulas (I’ve used 4) under every single part of the cake, as it’s not sturdy enough to transfer when hot or warm. This cake keeps well at room temperature for 3 days.
NOTES
nutrition facts
Almond Flour Lemon Zucchini Cake
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups fine almond flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour/starch
- 2 tsp baking powder see notes
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp lemon zest grated with a microplane
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup honey see notes
- 1/3 cup avocado oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tbsp almond extract
Frosting:
- 1/4 cup coconut butter at room temperature
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tbsp honey
- Pinch sea salt
- 2-4 tbsp water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line the bottom of a 9" springform pan with parchment paper. Lightly oil the pan and the paper at the bottom, then set the pan aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix the almond flour, tapioca, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, lemon zest, cardamom, and nutmeg until completely combined. Add the grated zucchini and mix just until the zucchini is coated with the flour mixture.
- Add the eggs, honey, avocado oil, vanilla, and almond extracts. Mix just to combine, and pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then cover the cake with a small piece of foil to create a tent. Continue cooking for another 35-40 minutes (for a total of 55-60 minutes) or until the cake is puffed in the middle and a toothpick inserted comes out with just moist crumbs.
- Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then carefully loosen the sides of the cake with a butter knife and remove the springform pan side.
- For the frosting, melt the coconut butter in a small saucepan over low heat. When the coconut butter is melted, whisk in the lemon juice, honey, sea salt, and 2 tablespoons of the water.
- Don’t worry if the frosting breaks or seizes up, just whisk in a bit more water until it’s smooth again (refer to the photo in the post). Drizzle the frosting over the cake using a spoon, or place it in a squeeze bottle if you’d like nice ,clean lines across the cake.
- From here, you can serve it off the bottom of the springform pan, or using 2 or more spatulas, carefully slide them under the parchment paper of the cooled cake, and transfer it to a cake stand.
- It’s best not to move the cake before it’s completely cooled unless you have 2 people and several spatulas (I’ve used 4) under every single part of the cake, as it’s not sturdy enough to transfer when hot or warm. This cake keeps well at room temperature for 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
The recipe Almond Flour Lemon Zucchini Cake appeared first on Get Inspired Everyday! on March 18, 2019
https://getinspiredeveryday.com/food/grain-free-lemon-zucchini-cake/
