Gluten-Free Raspberry, Coconut and Almond Cake

Oh, that Arabella has me worked up!  And the fact that I received an email from the Vice Principal of her school (who is also her tutor – no coincidence there), saying she has made a great return to school and appears motivated is hardly enough to soften the blow.

Gluten-free and Dairy-free Almond, Coconut and Raspberry Cake

Arabella has it in her head that as it’s her friend’s birthday tomorrow that she should make her a birthday cake and present it to her at school where all the friends can sit around and share it.  Great idea it’s just Arabella can’t cook.  And she’s not planning a ring-tin packet cake with some frosting roughly applied with a butter knife, no, it’s going to be the toadstool from the Australian Women’s Weekly Cookbook.  I said, ‘Arabella, that’s a lovely idea but as you have never before made a cake, do you think it would be wise to start with something a little easier like buying a sponge roll from the supermarket and sticking a candle in it?’


My attempt at the Toadstool cake from many years ago

‘Oh don’t be silly mum, it can’t be that hard’.

‘I won’t be home to help you.  I’m out tonight’.

‘It’s okay mum, the recipe’s got instructions hasn’t it?’

‘When are you going to get it done?  You won’t be home from school until five, then you’re having a manicure for tomorrow night’s formal, then isn’t that friend of yours coming over to help you do some fake tanning thing?’

‘Yeah, but I’ll make it after that.’

‘It will be midnight.  And you can’t ice a cake straight out of the oven.  It has to cool down.’

‘Well I’ll ice it in the morning’.

She has no idea.  Like I said, I’m going out and no doubt I’ll come home to some sort of kitchen carnage.

And right now, Archie is home from Uni.  He got an early leave-pass.  Why?  And he gave me no warning of his early arrival.  He just marched through the door and yelled, ‘What’s for lunch?’ then announced he was heading to his room to learn two songs but ‘after a feed’.   I had to let him know the cupboards were bare as I wasn’t expecting him.  He cooked himself some eggs and made an attempt to clean up the kitchen, similar to the attempt he makes to hang up his bath towel, and is now in his room belting out Let Luck be a Lady Tonight.

And with the music it’s stop, start, rewind, start, stop, turn up the volume, turn it off, start again etc.  One perfect rendition from start to finish is all I want to hear.

Dairy-free cake served with cream!

So tonight I’m getting together with some of my family and I promised I’d bring dessert.  A few days ago I saw a recipe on Hannah’s Wayfaring Chocolate blog for a gluten-free and dairy-free Almond, Coconut and Raspberry cake.  Hannah uses Nuttelex to make this strictly dairy-free but I used butter and I served it with a quenelle of cream so I guess it’s now not dairy-free.  To keep it dairy-free, use Nuttelex and serve it with a raspberry coulis and perhaps some fresh raspberries if you can afford them.

This is a very moist cake with great texture

Gluten-Free Raspberry, Coconut and Almond Cake
Author: 
Recipe type: Cake
Cuisine: Australian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8 - 10
 
A gluten-free, dairy-free almond, coconut and raspberry cake
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups almond meal
  • 1¼ cups caster sugar
  • ¾ cup desiccated coconut
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 200g Nuttelex (dairy-free spread or butter if you don't mind if the cake isn't dairy-free), melted and cooled
  • ½ cup fresh or frozen raspberries
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F), lightly grease a 24cm springform pan and line base and sides with baking paper.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together almond meal, sugar, and coconut.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla extract until combined. Slowly whisk in the melted butter.
  4. Add butter mixture into the almond mixture, stirring until smooth.
  5. Pour batter into the prepared pan, then dot the top with the raspberries.
  6. Bake 50-55 minutes, until the cake is golden and the top springs back (or, at least, doesn’t feel uncooked) when you press it lightly.
  7. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.

You can find Hannah’s recipe on  Wayfaring Chocolate.  Hannah is a very witty and entertaining writer and has recipes you will want to add to your own collection.

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PS:  Just home from my night out.  The cake was a huge success with everyone in my family wanting a copy of the recipe.  I thought I’d overcooked my cake as it appears darker than the cake Hannah made but it didn’t taste overcooked.  The cake has a great texture, is very moist and is lovely with the raspberries.  I’ll be keeping this recipe!

 

 

 

Comments

  1. Minnesota Prairie Roots says:

    And I hope the kitchen was not in a state of carnage upon your arrival home.

  2. Sweet Posy Dreams says:

    Your cake looks scrumptious, but I’m kind of hoping to also see Arabella’s version of the toadstool cake.

  3. Oh Charlie! I’m over-the-moon and smiling all the way through to my soul. Thank you, so much, for your splendiferously kind words! Life is a bit mucky and hard at present, so you have no idea how much you’ve cheered me up. And don’t worry, I feared that my cake wasn’t quite cooked in the middle, but everyone seems to love it regardless of under/over/perfect baking 🙂 And squee for your PS! You have honestly, honestly created a light in my week of doom.

    • hotlyspiced says:

      You are truly welcome Hannah and I’m so sorry to hear you’re having a tough week and going through a less than ordinary time. But your blog is fabulous and I love your writing and you are a great cook and this recipe is amazing! There wasn’t a crumb left. I’ll have to make another one! xx

  4. niasunset says:

    HOW beautiful…. how beautiful…. Ymmmmmmm! It would be so nice with ice cream too… Thank you amazing lady, love, nia

  5. johannaGGG says:

    I think you should really share the recipe with arabella – at least once the cake is out of the oven she wouldn’t have to wait about to ice this one – looks lovely – I admired it on hannah’s blog and am glad to hear it worked for you too – I must get in queue to make it

  6. Jenny @ BAKE says:

    your cake looks delicious! you’re going to have to post a pic of the toadstool when it’s done!

    http://www.bake-online.co.uk

  7. A_Boleyn says:

    Lovely raspberry cake and I too look forward to Arabella’s toadstool cake. After all, it can’t be THAT hard. Was the … if you can do it implied? 🙂

  8. Jennifer Cullen says:

    Waiting for a picture of Arabella’s toadstool cake! I can only imagine the state of my kitchen if my daughter baked a cake. Oy!

  9. It looks very good, I;m doing something like that but you know.. just a plain cake..
    The thing is that I think that your daughter will start cooking or make attempts from now on..

  10. Your cake is really yummy! I love to see a beautifully frosted cake, but my favorites for enjoyment are a bit plainer. This looks rich and perfect! Your toadstool cake was so cute…now about your kitchen carnage! LOL! Oh my but it couldn’t possibly have ended well! oxo Debra (breathelighter.wordpress.com)

  11. What a lovely looking and sounding cake, Charlie. It looks so moist and delicious. I really like recipe without gluten for even me, and I’m not gluten intolerant…just easier to digest. I am curious about the cake Arabella made, and slightly even more curious about the state of you kitchen post cake making!
    Eva http://kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com

  12. Chica Andaluza says:

    Beautiful recipe and I love the mushroom cake too!

  13. Soooo…how did the kitchen look when you walked in the door? Did Arabella get the cake baked? 🙂

  14. I hope A got that cake baked my friend, I’m sure deep down she has your genes 😀
    Gorgeous looking cake my friend, from you! I remember seeing it on Hannah’s blog and melting a little 🙂

    Cheers
    CCU
    http://gobakeyourself.wordpress.com/

  15. Hi,
    The cake does look very nice, and I really liked your Toadstool cake , that just looks amazing. 🙂

  16. Green Dragonette says:

    Oh my goodness Charlie, it’s drama central at your place!!

    No wonder you need time out in the pool…

  17. The cake looks amazing and who knows? maybe you’ll be surprised and Arabella will turn out to be a natural!!

  18. Juliana says:

    Charlie, your cake looks delicious, I can tell from the picture that is very moist…yum! So what happened with Arabella’s cake?
    Hope you are enjoying your week 🙂

  19. Tina @ bitemeshowme says:

    How did Arabella go with the toad stool cake? Hehe. Your coconut and raspberry cake looks aaaaaaaaaaamazing. Love how it looks moist – it is the worst when a cake is dry and crumbly (unless of course it’s meant to be like that)

  20. Please share a photo of Arabella’s cake! Your cake looks so scrumptious. I love that you added the cream and butter to the dairy-free cake. What’s a cake without dairy anyway!?

  21. ChgoJohn says:

    Your “attempt at the toadstool cake”? That’s no attempt but a success in my book! I hope Arabella’s cake was well received. An almond & raspberry cake sounds delicious, Charlie, and looks the part, too. Nice choice on your part. 🙂

  22. Jo Smith says:

    I saw this on Hannah’s blog too and it’s on the to-do list for tomorrow. Love the look of the top of yours. Hope the toadstool went well.

  23. I’ve been really wanting to try one of those gluten-free recipes.. this looks like it’s perfect and not too sweet as well! Those kids… aaarrr!!! xo Smidge

  24. Winnie @ Eat.Play.Shop says:

    What a great cake, and I love Hannah’s recipes! That toadstool cake looks ace too, but I too want to see Arabella’s creation!

  25. I remember seeing this cake on Hannah’s blog and wanted to make it for a friend but then she’s also allergic to eggs ~ lol Arabella is so funny 😛 did she end up making anything? ~

  26. One Sister says:

    That really was delicious – i’m going to make it too! thanks so much and shame no leftovers this morning! xx

  27. You are impressively efficient! I bookmarked this off Hannah’s blog but it’s likely to be, oh, 3 months before I get to it 😛

  28. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says:

    Hannah has some great recipes on her blog.She’ such a delight too! I wonder, do your kids read your blog and think that maybe mum needs a bit of a rest and pampering? Because I am often exhausted for you after reading what you do! 🙂

  29. Love the look of this cake – always on the lookout for good gluten free recipes as more and more people seem to have some sort of allergy. Popped over to Wayfaring Chocolate – think I am a fan. How did A’s cake turn out?

  30. peachkins says:

    this cake loos delicious!

  31. Love the phrase “kitchen carnage” … and it seem so fitting here! When she said “It can’t be that hard” … and said that to her mom, the cook! … and that made me laugh!!!

    Sorry I haven’t been around as much this week. 🙁

  32. What a moist and and yummy looking cake that is. I can’t wait to hear about Arabella’s cake…at least I think I can’t wait! 😉

  33. Glad your cake was a hit! One thing is for sure-Arabella is a girl that knows what she wants! Can’t wait to hear about her cake.

  34. Victoria at Flavors of the Sun says:

    I must have read your last two blogs out of sequence–now I see the inspiration for the cake. I would be so daunted by this cake as a baker–am thrilled that Arabella is not. Your cake also looks great, BTW.

  35. I love finding dairy free,or gluten free recipes that are a success!! This cake looks seriously moist, and soooo delicious:-) Your toad stool cake was pretty awesome by the way, your daughter was really lucky! Hugs, Terra

  36. Juliet Batten says:

    Congratulations on a great cake. I’m gluten free so appreciate seeing something new.

  37. InTolerantChef says:

    I might have to borrow that recipe too, it sounds amazing!
    I don’t know the secret to house training teenagers, they seem to regress. I bet Alfie would take more pride in helping clean up 🙂

  38. GourmetGetaway says:

    Oh that does look delicious!!! Kids have a way of under estimating the time and energy it goes into producing what they eat, ie Archy and the feed and Arabella whipping up a toadstool:0 so funny!

  39. The recipe looks great & I can’t wait to try it … Good luck on the cake you’ll be making 🙂

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