This lime almond coconut oil poundcake is packed full of fresh flavor and is super moist from the use of healthy coconut oil. This is one delicious cake!
Alright ladies and gentleman. I want your opinion. Coconut oil – the devil in oil form or not as horrible as once thought? I have been doing a lot of reading lately I’m leaning towards “not as horrible as once thought.” Here is my thought on the matter. In moderation it’s not horrible for you.
Yes it’s high in saturated fat BUT according to Melissa Clark of the New York Times “The main saturated fat in coconut oil is lauric acid, a medium chain fatty acid. Lauric acid increases levels of good HDL, or high-density lipoprotein, and bad LDL, or low-density lipoprotein, in the blood, but is not thought to negatively affect the overall ratio of the two.”
Even though that sounds really scientific (not generally my area of interest) I do in fact find it very interesting. At this point in my life I would rather eat a natural fat over anything processed. I have been on a lot of crazy diets in my life and some of them rely heavily on processed foods. I take away fat and sub in carbohydrates. Not good. Especially for me. Without getting overly personal I have a metabolic/endocrine disorder which make me insulin resistant, infertile and sometimes feel crazy. I’m not labeled diabetic but my body does have issues with insulin. Which makes me stay fat. Which sucks. So here is my point. I need to get healthier. Which I have been doing BUT I want to go even farther. No more chemical filled processed products. If I need fiber I will eat apples, not chow down on Fiber One Bars.
I do honestly think this will be a positive change in my life. Baby steps and small changes are the right way to take things to make a healthier future. I’m still hooked on the white flour but sugar but I’m working on cutting them out.
Now to get back to coconut oil…what do you think? Since it’s considered “natural” can it be lumped into the category of “in moderation it’s fine” – like butter, lard and beef tallow. Thoughts? If you want to read one of the articles I read about coconut oil you can click here.
Alright, lets finally get to the food part of this blog 🙂 I bought some extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil and gave it a try in a delicious pound cake recipe. Coconut oil is solid so you do have to melt it before you can put it in the recipe. I just measured out a solid 1/2 cup, put it in a small sauce pan and melted it on the stove. After it melted I set it aside and let it cool down while I continued with the recipe. When mixed all together it smelled amazing. I’m officially in love with the smell of coconut oil…so good! I made four mini loaves and they turned out perfectly. They were moist, flavorful and delicious. If you’re pro coconut oil I would recommend giving this recipe a try. It’s a nice little treat 🙂
Coconut Oil Poundcake with Almonds and Lime Zest
This lime almond coconut oil poundcake is packed full of fresh flavor and is super moist from the use of healthy coconut oil. This is one delicious cake!
Yield: 1 large loaf or 4 mini-loaves
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
- 3/4 cup milk
- 3 large eggs
- Zest of 1 lime
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1-3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Source: New York Times
Directions:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan or a 4 mini loaf pan.
To make the topping, stir together the almonds, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl.
Melt the coconut oil in a small pan. Pour it into a large bowl and whisk in the remaining sugar, milk, eggs and lime zest.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients to combine. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle the almonds on top. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes or 40 minutes for the mini loaves. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from the loaf pan. Cool completely before serving.