This moist and fluffy raspberry coconut cake is paleo and gluten-free friendly. It’s a great refined sugar-free alternative to the classic version of this dessert and is perfect for tea, birthdays, Thanksgiving and other celebrations.
About This Raspberry Coconut Cake
This weekend we went to check out a local coffee shop, and as I was paying for our coffee, I caught a glimpse of a gluten-free raspberry coconut cake in the display cabinet. My first impulse was to buy a slice, but then I decided to go home and make my own version as I was eating strict paleo at the time.
This is by no means an original recipe. Almond and raspberry or coconut raspberry cakes are popular combinations and there are lots of different recipes to be found on the internet. However, they often have white sugar or some dairy or something else I was trying to avoid; or, I simply think that I can make my own version better. So, this is my own adapted recipe, which turned out just the way I like it.
This raspberry coconut cake is grain, gluten, dairy and processed sugar-free. That’s a mouthful and sounds like it would be boring but it so wasn’t!
I used rice malt syrup, which makes this cake suitable for those following a low-fructose diet. However, raw honey, maple syrup, stevia or coconut sugar can all be used instead. Also, please note that it’s not as sweet as some of the classic raspberry coconut/almond cakes, but it’s by no means less tasty.
The cake will last for up to a week in the fridge in an airtight container; and, I recommend slightly reheating it in the oven so it’s not too cold when you eat it. Out of the fridge, it will stay fresh for up to 3 days, after which it will still be okay for a day or so but it won’t be as nice and will start to dry out.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup almond meal or ground almonds
- 1/2 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut shredded is fine
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
- 4 medium eggs
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup coconut oil melted
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons rice malt syrup or raw honey
- 1/2 cup fresh raspberries plus extra to have on the side
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175-180° C / 350° F (conventional). Grease an 8-inch springform cake tin with coconut oil and place a round piece of baking/parchment paper on the bottom.
- Combine almond meal, desiccated coconut, coconut flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl, making sure there are no clumps.
- Whisk the eggs in a another bowl until frothy. Add the orange zest, vanilla, melted coconut oil (I warmed it up in a small saucepan), orange and lemon juice, and rice malt syrup or other sweetener of your choice. Whisk well, for about a minute.
- Pour and whisk the egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Combine and fold together until thick and well incorporated. Transfer the mixture into the prepared cake tin, scrapping every last bit from the sides.
- In a snail pattern, insert raspberries almost all the way through with just the tops sticking out. Place the cake in the oven for 45-50 minutes (middle shelf, I cooked for 45 in my oven).
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try this recipe out!
Thanks Katie 🙂 And thank you for sharing my recipes on Twitter x
Oh my goodness, that looks amazing! Was looking for something special for morning tea this weekend – this fits the bill perfectly. Yum!
I hope you like it 🙂 You can use different berries by the way.
I don’t have coconut oil. Will something else work. I have sunflower oil and olive oil or butter or soft plant based margarine?
Butter would be perfect here 🙂
Thankyou for sharing! We’ve got your book and can’t wait to make this for Mother’s Day!! One question, how do you think frozen raspberries would work? Hard to find fresh at the moment.
They should work fine, just defrost them first. Might looks a little messier but it’s all about the little zing with the sweetness of coconut.
This looks so beautiful! Going to make for mothers day for sure. Just one question, will frozen raspberries work ok as hard to find fresh at the moment. Thanks for a great book as well!
Made this today was delicious!! Thanks for the recipe!
Yumm!! Waiting for it to cook now. I might have eaten the batter!
I was tasting the batter too 😉
How on earth do I unsubscribe from this site? I do not want to get any e-mails from you ever!
I’m sorry to hear that Edie, I hope I didn’t somehow personally offend you. I can’t unsubscribe you myself but you can follow instructions on this post. http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2012/11/03/unfollowing-and-unsubscribing-wordpress-com-blogs/
Have a nice day!
These are Australian measurements, yes? If so, no worries, I will convert, as I’m an expat in the US.
Yes, UK & AUS.
Are your recipes fan forced or conventional oven?
Conventional!
I made this recipe today, it got the big thumbs up from all 4 boys in my house. I baked it at 160 degrees celcius fan forced for 44 mins. It seemed a bit overcooked on top so next time I will check it at 40 mins. Will definitely be making again.
Great stuff! Yes, it really varies from oven to oven so I should recommend that people check at 40 mins mark.
Incredible! I made this for gluten free, dairy free guests. I topped it with whipped coconut cream. They were amazed! I am at high altitude and did not have to make any adjustments. I did not have coconut flour so I subbed sweet rice flour. It was perfect! Beautiful presentation!
Good use of 3 types of coconut products desiccated/dried flakes, oil and flour in this recipe.
Thank you for this lovely recipe. Our family has always loved my almond raspberry cake, but since my partner has become Gluten free he has been missing out. I’ve just made your recipe this morning and can’t wait for the family to taste test this afternoon.
Thanks again.
I hope they liked it! Irena
I wonder if I could substitute frozen raspberries?
Yes, just thaw them out first.
Hi Irena – this looks amazing! Do you think it could be made ahead and frozen?
Second time making this, I did 24 mini muffins this time for a picnic. They look super cute 😉
Thanks for this just made them in my Friand tray for a Xmas treat at work look and tastes amazing
Can it be made with almond flour instead of almond meal?
Yes, it’s pretty much the same thing, one is a little finer in texture but absolutely suitable.
Looks delicious! Can I freeze it?
I’ve been having a bit of a problem with some of the wording. What is desiccated coconut,can you explain?
This is my first ever gluten free cake with those flours ! Quite a nice cake but a little OTT with the desicated coconut. Is there anything else I can use instead of that? Other than that, a nice texture and very light. Have you any other recipes ???
You can reduce the coconut and add more almond meal and maybe even some tapioca/arrowroot flour.
Wow, this cake is now my go to cake for EVERY occasion. It is super easy, delicious, moist and did I say mind blowing yum! When I first assembled it I thought it was going to be dry as the batter was really thick however it was perfect. I didn’t have any orange so I just used the juice of 1 lemon.
Thank you for a clean recipe for a cake that I can eat and love ❤️ that loves me back.
Thank you Kym for making it and sharing you experience. It’s a good one!
Thans for sharing this!!! looks so good
Thank you 🙂
Hi, looks perfect. What is the size of the tin? Thanks 🙂
I am not 100% but there are two most common sizes for round tins 20cm/8 inches and 23cm/9 inches, I would say mine is 20cm/8cm.
thank you 🙂
Not bad, but miss something in flavor.
If using stevia (granulated) how much would you add? I can use the liquid stevia but it is much sweeter. If I reduced it by half the honey quantity would it make a difference to the cook time/texture?
Hey Layla, the quantity of stevia to honey wouldn’t make any difference to the texture or cooking time. I don’t use stevia often but I would go for the same ratio as you would use stevia instead of sugar. Hope that helps
Was questioning the ‘ 1 tablespoon vanilla ‘ (seemed like a lot!) but since no one has mentioned it as a problem, I going w it. I’ve been using your recipes for years, never a problem! Thanks for your hard work..
That’s what I used but I think there are different strengths of vanilla extracts and essences. If yours is highly concentrated (and expensive) then use 1 teaspoon. Mine wasnt’s super vanilla-ish so I added more.
I made these they’re really nice. I put them in for the time required on the timer on the oven temperature it says, but I could smell after 25mins-30 mins and they were done but slightly dark on the outside! Not burnt luckily but dark. Should have known better, I made them into friands, should have known theyd need less time 🤦♀️
Thank you, Carolyn. Friands are a great idea!!
I have been searching for a healthier coconut and raspberry cake recipe – and this looks gorgeous! I’ve got some fresh pears that need using up though – do you think I could use puréed pears instead of honey to sweeten?
Hey Rachel, you could but they would a bit of moisture so you might just need to increase the amount of flour/meal used.
Made this with frozen berries – was amazing. Just wondering – could I make as muffins? I’d like to get individual cakes.
Yes, I think the batter would work well as muffins too. Reduce cooking time to maybe 15-20 minutes or whatever standard muffin cooking time is.
Looks like a lovely recipe. Is the dessicated coconut essential?
There is quite a bit of it so it imparts that lovely coconut flavour but you can replace it with extra almond meal and coconut flour instead.
Can you substitute the coconut flour for plain/all purpose?. Looking online it suggests 1/4 coconut is 1 cup plain, and reduce eggs by 1. Looking forward to this!
yes, you certainly can. I don’t think you need to reduce the eggs, but yes, add 1 cup of plain flour instead of 1/4 cup coconut (or whatever the ratio is needed).