Coconut Lemon Drizzle Cake – Gluten Free Recipe
This Coconut Lemon Drizzle Loaf Recipe is the perfect combination of sweet and sour, dense yet moist and syrupy. The texture is almost pudding like or like a soaked polenta cake. Absolutely packed full of flavour, this gluten free recipe also has a secret special ingredient… mashed potato! Yes, you read that right, Gluten Free Coconut Lemon Drizzle Cake… made with mashed potato!
Mashed… potato… what??
I know, I know, you’re probably wondering what the heck this Irish girl has been smoking because her potato obsession is getting out of hand. But, I promise I’m not insane! Not only does it help keep the cake insanely moist, the starches in the potato also help to create structure in the loaf and helps the cake to really soak up all the lemony syrupy goodness. I actually adapted this recipe from BBC Good Food, I just added in gluten free flour and changed the measurements to fit a loaf tin.
A few notes on your mashed potato. It should be plain, cold mashed potato, no added butter, milk, salt etc. added. If possible, use a ricer to mash the potato as opposed to a traditional masher. If you don’t own a ricer, make sure you mix the cake batter for an additional minute or two after adding the potato to make sure there are no lumps. You also want to keep your mash as dry as possible. There are a couple different ways to cook your potatoes to result in a drier mash. You can bake the potatoes whole and scoop out the inside and mash while still hot. Another option is you could steam them with the skin on and scoop out the inside and mash while still hot. You can also boil peeled potatoes cut up into chunks in water until just about cooked. Drain off the water and put the lid back on to allow the remaining heat to finish off cooking the potatoes by the steam it produces inside the pot. As with the other methods, mash while hot.
Hmmm okay, so how do I make this Coconut Lemon Drizzle Loaf Potato Abomination Creation?
Surprisingly, despite the unusual ingredient, this cake recipe is made using a simple “creaming” method. This means that to begin making this loaf, you will beat together the butter and sugar (and lemon zest) until pale and creamy. Next, you will add in the eggs one by one and beat well between each addition. In next step, you will add the mashed potato and beat again until combined. The batter will start to look curdled – this is okay. Add the dry ingredients next, (gluten free flour, ground almonds, toasted coconut and gluten free baking powder) and fold in with a rubber spatula. Pour this into a lined and greased loaf tin and bake for 45-50 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
While the loaf is cooking, you will prepare the lemon syrup. To do this, you will add the lemon juice and sugar to a small saucepan. Heat this on a medium heat for a couple minutes until it starts to boil. Take off the heat and leave to the side until the loaf is baked. Once the loaf is fully baked through, create small holes in the loaf all over with a toothpick, skewer or a very thin knife. Pour the syrup onto the hot loaf and leave the cake in the loaf tin until cooled.
Once cooled, remove from the loaf tin. Make the glaze by combining the icing sugar, gin and lemon juice in a small bowl. Spoon generously over the loaf and spread all over.
Any tips for making this Coconut Lemon Drizzle Cake?
For sure!
-Make sure your butter is soft and at room temperature. This ensures you can fully cream it together with the sugar and lemon zest. If your butter is too hard or cold, you may end up with lumps of butter in the resulting cake.
-Don’t worry when it starts to look curdled after adding the mashed potatoes. This is totally normal and the batter will come back together once you add the dry ingredients.
-If you want to ensure this is a gluten free recipe, make sure you select a gluten free baking powder. Not all brands are gluten free, pay attention to the labels! I use Dr Oetker in my recipes.
-If you prefer to make this nut free, replace the ground almonds with fine polenta.
Want more Gluten Free Recipes? Check out my Gluten Free Category, here.
How about Cake Recipes? Check out my Cake Category, here.
Coconut Lemon Drizzle Loaf – Gluten Free Recipe
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Electric whisk or stand mixer with paddle attachment
- Loaf tin
- Small palette knife or spoon
- Rubber spatula
- Small saucepan
Ingredients
Cake
- 150 grams butter room temperature
- 150 grams caster sugar
- 3 lemons zest of
- 3 whole eggs
- 180 grams mashed potato
- 60 grams gluten free flour
- 60 grams ground almonds
- 2 tsp gluten free baking powder
Syrup
- 100 grams lemon juice
- 100 grams sugar
Gin Glaze
- 50 grams icing sugar
- 1 tsp gin
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160°c (320°f).
- In a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter, sugar and lemon zest. Beat well for 2-3 minutes until pale.
- Add the eggs one by one and mix well between each addition.
- Add the mashed potato and mix again. It will look a little curdled, that's okay.
- Add in the gluten free flour, baking powder and ground almonds. Mix in with a rubber spatula.
- Pour into a greased and lined loaf tin and spread evenly.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes until cooked through or a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- To prepare the syrup, add lemon juice and sugar to a small saucepan. Heat on medium for 2-3 minutes until the syrup starts to boil and the sugar has dissolved fully.
- Take off the heat and leave to the side while the loaf is baking.
- When the loaf has fully cooked, remove from the oven and using a small skewer or toothpick or thin knife, poke holes into the loaf. Pour the syrup over the hot loaf. Leave the loaf in the loaf tin until it has cooled fully.
- Remove from the loaf tin. Mix together the glaze ingredients and pour over. Spread evenly.
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