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!
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.
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.
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.
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View Comments
Does the GF flour need to contain xanthan gum? If not, should it be added? What flour do you use?
Hi Susan,
Thanks so much for your question!
As there is only a small amount of flour in this recipe, I have used a plain gluten free flour that is just a blend of rice,potato, tapioca and other flours. I have tried this recipe with just plain rice flour too and it has worked well as most of the structure comes from the potato and ground almonds.
The brand I use is "Dove Freee" and it is made in the UK. They do also offer a self raising version which does contain xanthan gum for bakes that need a bit more structure.
Thanks,
Rosie