Coconut and lemon yoghurt loaf

Cake. Seriously, I love making cakes that I can freeze, sliced up ready to go for lunches and this coconut and lemon yoghurt loaf is no exception. Realistically lemon and coconut go so well together.

The sweetness of the coconut works really well with the tartness of the yoghurt too, which means the kids love this cake!

Loaves work best in the lunchbox

I've done this cake without icing and in a loaf pan- why? Well, a chunk of a circular cake doesn't really work that well in the lunchbox- way too many edges! But, you could bake this for a similar amount of time in a round cake tin, just keep and eye on it and remember it isn't done until a skewer comes out clean.

No icing

Now. Icing. It's uniced, isn't it? That's because of school and the icing sticking to the top of the lunchbox and the fact that I freeze it. If you want to ice it, it would be quite nice with a cream cheese frosting like this cake. Or even a simple lemon drizzle would work wonders.

Yoghurt in baking

There are so many reasons why yoghurt is great in your baking:

• it helps cakes and loaves rise- it's acidity works with baking powder
• helps to keep cake crumb tighter- meaning less mess when eating
• it keeps loaves moist (and delicious)
• the tanginess works really well with flavours such as lemon

Low sugar baking

There isn't much sugar in this loaf and it isn't needed! The goal is to enhance the lemon flavour, rather than mask it with sweetness.

Family friendly baking

The flavours of this loaf make it super family friendly and having no nuts means it is perfect for the lunchbox! Being freezer friendly, you can always have it ready to go.

Bake with the kids

It's such a simple recipe that you could easily get the kids involved. Because you only use one bowl there isn't a lot of washing up either. Other options for baking with the kids that they will love are things like the cookies in this post about how to have fun cooking with kids – tips, tricks and a fun cookie recipe to get you started.Save

Ingredients

• eggs
• self raising flour or you can use plain flour and baking powder (2 tsps baking powder to one cup of plain flour)
• shredded coconut- this gives a much better texture than desiccated
• yoghurt: greek/natural or make your own following this method
• ½ cup sugar - see I told you it was low sugar!
• juice of one lemon
• zest of one lemon
•  coconut oil melted, I do this in the microwave

One bowl mixing method

It's all about mixing in one bowl...because then there is only one bowl to wash up!

• Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celsius. This is so important!
• Grease and flour your tin if you aren't using non stick. If you need a nonstick pan, I recommend Aerolift by RACO.
• Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl. Given it a quick mix.
• Add the wet ingredients (lemon juice, yoghurt, eggs oil). Mix well until all combined.
• Pour into a loaf tin (or a round cake tin). Smooth off the top.
• Bake at 160 degrees for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. I use a wooden skewer to check. You can tell if it isn't cooked because there will be uncooked cake attached to the skewer.
• Cool in the tin for 10 minutes. It helps it to firm up!
• Cool on a wire rack. Don't cut into slices until completely cool.
  

Top tips for a perfect loaf

This recipe is basically foolproof!

• use a nonstick pan or grease and flour any other type
• smooth the top before baking
• use good quality yoghurt

Freezing and storing

You can comfortably store this unsliced in the fridge for up to a week. If you want to slice it, then it's best to freeze the slices. That will keep them at their prime. I pop them on a tray to freeze then put into a container when solid.

Got loads of lemons?

Try these recipes for more lemony yumminess:

• Lemon fridge slice, no bake yumminess
• Lemon madeleines, low sugar
• Strawberry and lemon polenta cake

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