Many people have tried this now and no one thinks of it as a gluten free cake. It’s just a delicious cake! Love the coconut + lemon + almond meal combination, and the springy, moist crumb. BONUS: Just about the fastest, easiest cake recipe I know.
Lemon coconut almond cake
This is a cake that is as delightfully easy to make as it is delicious to eat. Just put everything in a bowl and mix! There’s no need to whip softened butter or pull out your electric beater.
It’s been likened to the fan favourite orange cake in texture – springy yet with an appealing moistness about it. And the flavour! Adore, adore, adore the coconut lemon combination. Idea swiped from my local coffee shop where I’ve been eyeing lemon coconut cake bars for years. This is my copycat.
I don’t actually know if theirs is gluten-free. Mine is, because I’ve never come across a flour-based cake recipe with a crumb as moist as you can make using almond meal.
What you need for this lemon coconut almond cake
Here’s what you need to make this lovely cake:
Almond meal (aka ground almonds) – This is raw almonds that are blitzed into a fine powder. Easily found nowadays, sold in the dried fruit & nut section and health food section of grocery stores. Or make your own by blitzing raw, unpeeled, unsalted almonds in a powerful blender (I use a Vitamix) until it becomes a fine powder.
Almond flour can also be used (not as common here in Australia). It’s finer so gives the cake a slightly fluffier texture and less almond flavour. Hazelnut meal can also be substituted though you’ll have lovely hazelnut flavour instead of almond.
Butter – The fat in this recipe, gives it a beautiful buttery flavour.
Baking powder – This is what makes the cake rise.
Eggs – Make sure they are at room temperature so they incorporate more easily into the batter.
Coconut – Desiccated coconut which is finely shredded, unsweetened coconut. Standard shredded coconut (which is like fine strands) will work but you’ll get more coconut texture in the cake. I don’t think coconut flakes (shavings) will work in this cake, it’s not absorbent enough.
Sugar – Use caster / superfine sugar if you can because it is finer so it will dissolve easier. Otherwise, regular / granulated sugar can be used.
Vanilla extract – For flavour. Not to be confused with artificial vanilla essence which is…well, artificial. So not as nice!
Lemon – We are only using the zest in this cake, for beautiful lemon flavour. Because the zest is where all the lemon flavour is – the juice is mostly just sour.
Flaked almonds – for sprinkling on the surface. Adds lovely texture to the cake, looks good and protects the surface from browning too much. But you can skip it you don’t have it!
Salt – Standard inclusion in most of my sweet recipes these days. Just a touch, to bring out the flavours in this cake. Doesn’t make it salty!
How to make lemon coconut cake
Put everything in a bowl and MIX! How good would life be if all baking recipes were this easy??? (Though, my waistline begs to differ).
Melt the butter in a bowl using your microwave.
Wet ingredients – Whisk in all the other wet ingredients (eggs, vanilla, sugar – yes, sugar is considered a wet ingredient in baking because it liquifies when mixed with other wet ingredients).
Dry ingredients – Whisk in the almond meal, coconut, baking powder, salt and zest.
Pour it into a 20cm/8″ lined round cake pan. DO NOT skip lining the pan! Even greasing very generously is not enough to stop it from sticking to the pan, no matter how non-stick you think your pan is. (As you might have guessed, I’m speaking from first hand experience here).
Bake 40 minutes – Sprinkle the surface with almonds then bake for 40 minutes at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Cool for 1 hour before cutting to serve. I was a bit impatient in early versions and found that because the cake is quite moist, it can appear undercooked if you cut it while still warm. (But it’s not undercooked, it just looks that way if you cut while still hot!).
Serve it plain!
While some cakes I recommend serving with a dollop of cream, ice cream or other such accompaniment, this is a cake that definitely stands on its own two feet. Great flavour (lemon + coconut with a hint of almond) with a very moist crumb which is virtually impossible to replicate with flour-based cakes.
So it’s a great cake for taking places – such as for a work morning tea, book club, school bake sale. Just cut and serve. And those who are gluten-intolerant can enjoy it too. Though honestly, don’t just make this because you need a gluten-free cake. Make it because it’s just a really great cake that happens to be just about one of the easiest, quickest cake recipes I know. – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Easy Lemon Coconut Almond Cake
Ingredients
- 150g / 10 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 large eggs (55-60g/2oz each), at room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar, Note 2)
- 1 1/2 cups almond meal (ground almond, Note 1)
- 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 cup desiccated coconut (US: finely shredded unsweetened coconut)
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest (1 large lemon)
- 1/4 cup flaked almonds , optional (Note 3)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan). Grease a 20cm/8” round cake pan (or springform pan) with butter then line with paper.
- Melt butter – Place the butter in a large microwavable bowl and melt in the microwave. Let cool for a couple of minutes.
- Wet ingredients – Add egg, vanilla and sugar and whisk until combined.
- Dry ingredients – Add almond meal, salt, baking powder, coconut and lemon zest. Whisk until combined.
- Bake 40 minutes – Pour into pan. Sprinkle over almonds. Bake 40 minutes. Cool 15 minutes in pan then carefully turn out onto cooling rack.
- Cool at least 1 hour before cutting slices to serve. Moist enough to serve plain – doesn't need cream or anything!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Eyeing end of day remnants in a glass cabinet like it’s a big juicy steak.
Nut allergy and gluten-free. What other flour, and maybe topping, can be used? And granddaughter is lactose sensitive. We are all such a mess. Love your recipes and Dozer, too. Thanks so much.
Is this cake good to make ahead and freeze for up to a week?
Love cooking your recipe looks really nice i will try and make it thanks for your recipe and ideas have a great day
Thank you so much, Nagi!! I’ve had no choice but to avoid gluten since 2019, and it’s been such a bummer! But this cake, like all of your recipes, has brightened my day. Looking so forward to the scrumptiousness (my fave word lately) of this lemon delight!!
What could we substitute for the almond meal that is not nut based?
My friend whose husband has celiac disease doesn’t like coconut. Can this be made without the coconut or with a substitute?
Hi. Looks scummy! Could you clarify metric wts of castor sugar and ground almonds please?
Hello Catherine,
“Looks scummy”?
Do you mean that it has a scum on the top, like dirty soap suds, or “scrummy” as in an abbreviation of “scrumptious”?
The latter I hope! ;-))
Scrummy as in scrumptious 🤣
Made this on a whim this morning as I had all the ingredients (well, I only had limes so technically I made Easy Lime Coconut Almond Cake) and oh my gosh, this is amazing. Thank you so much for this recipe!
I love your weekly emails.
I love your recipes.
For sure I love Dozer.
In my next life I want to come back as a dog in your house.
i am in UK what is the actual weight i need to use for the ground almonds ?
thanks wayne
I want to make this today but as someone else pointed out, three quarters of a cup of sugar surely can’t be more than one and a half cups of almonds when converted to grammes? Could it? I know different ingredients are converted from cups to grammes differently but could you clarify please? Thanks
Sugar weighs more than almond meal – a cup of sugar has more grams than a cup of almond meal.
Thanks for yrying to help. I understand that but it still doesn’t answer my question – does the recipe require twice as much sugar as almond meal? I’m getting vastly different conversions for both depending on what site I use. Many others on here are similarly confused…
Hi Paula! By volume the recipe uses the same amount of almond meal as it does sugar but by weight there is more sugar. Hope the response above helps! Be careful using random websites to find the weight of things. I personally weigh all ingredients myself – I take a cup of sugar and then I weigh it on my own scales – so I know all my conversions are right and consistent across my website! N x
Could you pls give metric measurements for both the almond meal and the sugar? Cup measurements tend to be approx., depending on how packed the cup is, whether is it full/levelled etc. Many thanks!
Hi Marietta, there’s a toggle just under the word Ingredient that you can use to convert from cups to grams 🙂
Delicious cake! But i think you left out adding the butter in the recipe instructions
Hello Bonnie,
Please see the instructions:
2. Melt butter
3. Add wet ingredients …
Hi Nagi,
I can’t wait to try this! But I’m confused that 1.5c of almond meal, metric conversion is only 135g, and 3/4c sugar is 150g. According to your metric conversion, more sugar is needed than almond meal vs when using cups, more almond meal is used than sugar. Can you clarify this please? Thank-you.
Hi Thao! It’s because sugar is heavier than almond meal 🙂 Almond meal is actually very light and fluffy! So a cup of sugar weighs more than a cup of almond meal! N x
This is exactly what I’m confused about too! We are not the only ones 😆
Hi Paula!! I know, it looks a little odd right? 🙂 The reason is because sugar is heavier than almond meal 🙂 Almond meal is actually very light and fluffy! So a cup of sugar weighs more than a cup of almond meal! I personally check the weight conversion of all recipes. I have a giant chart we maintain and that is my reference point. 🙂 N x
Ah OK, thanks so much, Nagi. Can’t wait to make this.
As an aside, my partner made your Beef & Guiness Stew for dinner this evening and it was THE. BEST. I’VE. EVER. HAD. (And we’re Irish 🤣🤣🤣)
Thanks again!
What size tin would I use if I wanted to make bars instead of a round cake?
A have a gathering tomorrow and already baked a brownie and blondie, was about to cook my usual lemon drizzle cake however I’d lent my loaf tin to my neighbour and bam you’re in my inbox with this wonder! It’s in the oven and can’t wait to give it a try for something different!
Very simple and no mess recipe so far. Thank you as always 🙂
Thank you so much. I have tried the recipe and its awesome.
Can I replace butter with olive oil or vegetable oil?
Hello Bee. I made this cake on Saturday and replaced butter with olive oil. It was very good.
I used coconut oil and it was fine
Hi Nagy, reat recepie – i will try soon!
But seems a mistake in metrical mesuare – 70 g beking powder!!! Maybs schould be 7 g?
It’s 70g of the coconut No the baking powder.
THANK YOU!! The 70g is for the coconut! baking powder is 1 tsp 🙂 N x
Would it work with Lime Fruits? Apart from the yellow/green colour
Can you use normal cake flour in this recipe if you don’t have gluten allergy pro