coconut

Lemon Coconut Creme Paleo (and Candida-diet friendly) Cake!

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As I mentioned before, a close friend of mine has been struggling under the confines of a very restrictive diet (Phase I of the Candida-diet) and the lack of variety has been very draining on her.

Her birthday was last week and I knew she was very upset that not only could she not indulge on her birthday with a drink, a birthday cake was totally out of the picture.

Or was it?

I decided I was NOT going to let her celebrate her 28th birthday without a sweet treat to make it special. Working with no grains, no sugars, and limited approved ingredients would make for a challenge, but I was ready to test my culinary prowess.

This is what I made my best friend:

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What you are looking at is:

Grain Free, Sugar Free, Dairy Free, and 100% Paleo-Approved.

And, most importantly, DELICIOUS.

How did I do it?

Well, if you recall, a few weeks ago I decided to experiment with a Candida-approved Italian bread recipe that turned out REALLY well.

Running with that variation, I decided to see if I could turn a savory bread into a sweet cake with some mild variations. After FOUR experiments (using different measures of coconut milk, eggs, and flour ratios), I came up with the following PERFECT cake mix:

PERFECT PALEO (SUGAR FREE!) LEMON CAKE:

3/4 cup unsweetened, pure coconut cream
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/3 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut fiber
1/2 cup granulated Stevia
1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
1 tbsp alcohol-free pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp coconut oil
4 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
Zest of one lemon
Juice of one lemon, with pulp

The cake would be prepared like any other cake: dry ingredients are first in the bowl, and then you’ll fold in the wet ingredients.

Place dough (it’ll be thick, but pliable) in a 9″ round cake pan that you’ve greased ahead of time. I used organic coconut oil spray, but you can go with whatever oil you prefer.

Bake for 25 minutes at 350.

But what is a CAKE without icing?

Now, I knew I’d never recreate a perfect, fluffy icing …and if I did, I realized it would be very temperature-weak, since it would have to be comprised of coconut oil which melts at pretty much any temperature over 72 degrees. So, I decided to forgo a traditional icing and aim for a lemony, zesty glaze to drizzle on top. After dabbling, I landed on the perfect recipe cited below.

ZESTY PALEO (SUGAR FREE!) LEMON ICING GLAZE:

1/3 cup unsweetened, pure coconut cream
4 tbsp coconut oil
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 egg white
1/3 cup stevia
1 tbsp alcohol-free pure vanilla extract

The icing is best prepared in a sauce pan on the stove, stirring NONSTOP until it thickens. Pour over cake while still warm. You’ll have a ton with this recipe, so think of this like a Lemon Tres Leches cake!

And there you have it! My best friend got to enjoy a slice of REAL CAKE on her birthday, and I had a real win in the kitchen!

For those of you worried about calories, the entire cake was roughly 2,100 total (with the icing included), and that worked out to about 10-12 slices, depending on how heavy-handed you are with your servings. If anyone wants a full nutritional breakdown (I have it!), let me know!

So, what are you waiting for? Time to start baking!

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

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Paleo Coconut Fried Tilapia

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My husband and I both like fish, but we find tilapia to be a rather dull-flavor and spend most of our dinners choking it down or smothering it in unhealthy sauce.

Last night, I decided to experiment and attempt to recreate coconut breading and “fake fry” some tilapia filets. The dish came out so good, we inhaled it before I could take a photo! Now I have to pass on the recipe to you.

Preset oven to 300 degrees.

Breading Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/2 cup finely ground tapioca flour
  • 2 tbsp yellow curry powder
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 tbsp flax seeds
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

(I totally made that up on the fly. I had the ingredients laying around and hoped for the best. It worked.)

“Wet Wash” Ingredients:

  • 1 cup So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk (just 45 calories!)
  • 1 tbsp raw agave syrup
  • 2 tbsp yellow curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

I rinsed and patted dry six tilapia filets, which was roughly 1.5 pounds. I then laid them in the milk bath for about 10 minutes, letting them soak up the flavors and sweetness from the wet wash.

Taking one piece at a time, I tossed them in a small dish with the flour mixture until they were LIGHTLY COATED, then shook off the excess. On a very lightly greased (I use PAM olive oil spray) cookie sheet, I spread the filets out so there was about 1/2 an inch between them.

Bake at 300 degrees for 7-8 minutes. Remove pan from oven and flip the tilapia over. (Mine were about 80% cooked; still a little soft in the center.)

Raise the temperature to 500 (BROIL) and replace the tray of fish into the oven. Allow to cook about 5-6 minutes.

They should get nice and browned, crunchy and delicious. They had a natural sweetness to them from the coconut and agave syrup, so neither my husband nor I needed a sauce. They stayed moist because of the fast cook time, but I will admit that deep-frying them would have likely made them even better!

I served them alongside Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes and steamed broccoli. A very healthy, Paleo-friendly meal to start the work week!

Bon appetit, my friends!

Tori

Related Articles:

Quick Paleo Dinner: Coconut Crusted Tilapia & Garlic Broccoli

Paleo Vegetable Side Dishes

Paleo Recipes (www.nomnompaleo.com)