Coconut and Lemon Yoghurt Loaf

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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. This healthy lemon loaf is perfect for lunchboxes and is a low sugar lemon cake recipe, meaning it's better for the kids too! You can make this healthy lemon bread recipe in under 60 minutes, and it's all about one bowl mixing.

coconut and lemon yoghurt loaf sliced on a plate and on a wire rack

Contents hide

1 Why you're going to love this recipe

2 What goes into the recipe

3 How to make this recipe

4 Expert Tips and FAQS

5 More lemon recipes for kids

6 Coconut and lemon yoghurt loaf

Why you're going to love this recipe

The sweetness of the coconut works really well with the tartness of the yoghurt, which means the kids love this healthy lemon bread recipe.

Here's why you're going to love this recipe:

to make this lemon loaf healthy, I've reduced the sugar
made with yoghurt and coconut oil (but you can switch to coconut yoghurt if you want to!)
easy to slice and freeze for lunchboxes
one bowl mixing
dense crumb, so it doesn't make a mess in the lunchbox

What goes into the recipe

ingredients, eegs, flour, coconut oil, lemon, sugar, shredded coconut and yoghurt

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

How to make this recipe

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.
Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl. Give 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.

Expert Tips and FAQS

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

Can I make this healthy lemon loaf cake as a round cake?

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.

Why use 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. Yoghurt also
helps to keep cake crumb tighter- meaning less mess when eating! It keeps loaves moist (and delicious) and the tanginess works really well with flavours such as lemon.

Will the recipe be sweet enough?

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.

Can I ice this healthy lemon loaf cake?

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. This healthy citrus cake does work well without icing though!

How do I store this cake?

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.

Can I bake this 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.

coconut and lemon yoghurt loaf, cut into slices

More lemon recipes for kids

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