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Browsing the many beautiful holiday posts this weekend has turned me into a bit of a sweet-toothed little monster.  The pies, the cakes, the cookies, the crumbles – I’ve been salivating since Thursday.  Being in Spain and far removed from all things Thanksgiving has helped to curb overindulgence a bit –  there are no turkeys; there are no pumpkins; there are plenty of pecans but without the pie.

I stayed good up until this afternoon.

The train of events went something like this: read a great post on coconut macaroons, linked to another baking blog explaining coconut flour, and the last glorious stop – Elena’s Pantry recipe for gluten-free strawberry cupcakes.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have any strawberries on hand; nor did I have cupcake liners; the coconut required a bit of work (I only had shredded coconut in my pantry); and I’m not a big cream nor heavy icing fan.  After some minor tweaking, I ended up with these delicious and incredibly moist coconut-lime mini-cakes!

Using a food processor, pulse shredded coconut until it obtains a finer grain

Coconut-Lime Mini Cakes (adapted from Elena’s Pantry Strawberry Cupcakes)

Ingredients: (makes 1 dozen small cakes)

Dry ingredients:

  • 1/4 pint (1/2 cup) coconut flour or 1/2 pint (1 cup) shredded coconut, processed
  • 1 tablespoon kuzu root or arrowroot powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Wet ingredients:

  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup agave nectar or honey
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

And the rest….

  • juice from 1/2 lime
  • zest from 1 lime

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (375 degrees F) and grease or line muffin tins.  If using shredded coconut, place in food processor and pulse for a few minutes to obtain a finer grain.  The shredded coconut will be less dense than a pure coconut flour that is finely milled.  Thus, double the amount used to 1/2 pint (1 cup).

Combine dry ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly.  In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients until combined.  I happened to run out of agave syrup mid recipe and thus, compensated the rest with honey.

Finally, fold wet ingredients into the dry ingredient mix; add lime zest/juice and combine.  Divide the mixture evenly between the muffin tins and bake for 18-20 minutes.  Once finished, check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cakes.  The toothpick should come out cleanly.

Let the mini (cup) cakes cool for 1 hour and enjoy!

cakes with coconut whip cream

I first attempted to top the little cakes with a bit of coconut “whip cream”.  But on my second helping, I found that the cakes were much better enjoyed cleanly and simply with a few slices of sweet banana to perfectly complement the freshness of the lime and warmth of the coconut.

Little sweet-toothed monster soothed and happy!