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Coconut and Lime Pound Cake

Apart from being delicious AND healthy, this Coconut and Lime Pound Cake is zingy, moist and a breeze to make. Better still, it is gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free. Yes, seriously! While I’m not the one to take credit for it, I sure had trouble stopping at just one slice… 

 Coconut and Lime Pound Cake

It’s no secret that I’m a little bit if a cookbook and food magazine hoarder. I buy them, flick through them but hardly ever actually cook from them. For me it’s more about the inspiration and the ideas than following a recipe to a tee…

There are, however, exceptions to this and Sarah Wilson’s I Quit Sugar Cookbook is one of them. Why?

  • It’s not a fancy recipe book – there are “no croquembouches”, but the food looks and tastes great.
  • Most of the 108 recipes are fructose-free, many are gluten- and grain-free.
  • The book also includes plenty of tips on good fats, sugar alternatives, buying organic produce and planning ahead. For a little more research-based reading you can also check out Sarah’s IQS Book
  • To be honest there aren’t many recipes in the IQS Cookbook that I would fault. Take this Coconut and Lime Pound Cake for example. I tried to come up with my own adaptation and a few little twists but the original was good in its own right, thanks to The Spunky Coconut who provided this recipe for the publication.
  • Sarah’s IQS Cookbook is what inspired me to publish my own Guilt Free Desserts Cookbook (out now!)

Coconut and Lime Pound Cake

More cookbook news: Speaking of sharing and providing recipes for cookbooks, Sarah has kindly agreed to share one of her own sugar-free recipes in my very own Guilt Free Desserts cookbook, which is now available here – you can sign up here to receive a special launch offer plus my regular recipe and giveaway posts.

And the cake? Well, it was gone in half a sday – everyone wanted a slice. And then an extra one. It was moist, and delicious, and really guilt-free. I was a little surprised to learn a few people had overlooked or completely missed this recipe based on the comments on Sarah’s repost of my pic of the cake on Insta! Perhaps that’s why I thought I’d share my slight adaptation with full credits with you.

Coconut and Lime Pound Cake

Coconut and Lime Pound Cake
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Coconut and Lime Pound Cake

This Coconut and Lime Pound Cake is zingy, moist and a breeze to make. Better still, it is gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free. Adapted slightly from Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar Cookbook from an original recipe by The Spunky Coconut.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Servings: 10

Ingredients

For the Coconut and Lime Pound Cake - Step 1:

  • 1/2 cup lime juice freshly squeezed is best - I didn't strain mine
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews
  • 1/3 cup rice malt syrup

For the Coconut and Lime Pound Cake - Step 2:

  • 1/4 cup coconut oil - mine was softened lightly but not liquid
  • 1/3 cup coconut cream
  • 4 eggs at room temperature
  • 1/2 tsp liquid Stevia
  • 1/4 cup tapioca flour
  • 2/3 cup coconut flour sifted
  • 1 tsp bicarb soda

For the Coconut and Lime Pound Cake Frosting:

  • 1/3 cup coconut cream
  • 2 tbsp rice malt syrup
  • 10 drops liquid stevia
  • 1/4 tsp lime zest plus extra for decorating
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1/4 cup coconut flour

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 160C (325F).

To make the Coconut and Lime Pound Cake - Step 1:

  • Place all Step 1 ingredients into a blender or 2 cup capacity jug and process until silky smooth, about 2 minutes (I used a jug and my immersion blender for this).

To make the Coconut and Lime Pound Cake - Step 2:

  • Transfer the mixture from Step 1 into a large bowl (or your mixer bowl).
  • Add all Step 2 ingredients and mix on medium-low speed until just combined, or for about 1 minute.

To bake the Coconut and Lime Pound Cake:

  • Transfer batter into your baking tin and smooth over the top.
  • Bake in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the cake is just starting to turn golden on top, and is cooked through - check with a clean bamboo skewer.
  • Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes in the tin, before transferring to a wire rack.

In the meantime, make the Frosting:

  • Place all Frosting ingredients in a blender and blend until the mixture is smooth (again, I used a jug and my immersion blender). Set aside until the cake has cooked completely.

To serve the Coconut and Lime Pound Cake:

  • Spread frosting on top of the cake. Sprinkle over with extra lime zest. Cut and serve.

To store:

  • Keep leftover cake in an airtight container in the fridge.
Tried this recipe?Mention @wholesomecook or tag #wholesomecook

45 comments

Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide January 31, 2013 at 2:02 pm

You put the lime in the coconut… Couldn’t resist singing that. I don’t think I could resist eating this either.

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JJ - 84thand3rd January 31, 2013 at 2:28 pm

Sounds perfect and this frosting is a brilliant inspiration!

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Tessa January 31, 2013 at 2:34 pm

Pretty little pound cake! Lime and coconut are two of my favorite flavor combinations!

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Lauren @ Lawfully Wedded Wife January 31, 2013 at 3:47 pm

This looks SO GOOD! I’m definitely going to try making it, the pictures are making my mouth water.

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Medeja January 31, 2013 at 3:57 pm

Coconut and lime sounds like wonderful combination. And your cake looks really good!

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Liz N N January 31, 2013 at 5:00 pm

it looks awesome, but isn’t rice malt syrup a form of sugar. Whilst it’s not cane sugar, it’s certainly a close relative. Sorry to be Debbie Downer, but I don’t believe it’s possible to have a sugar free cake!

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Martyna @ Wholesome Cook January 31, 2013 at 5:26 pm

Hi Liz NN, the thing about rice malt syrup – and I will be explaining more about this in my ebook, is that the sugars in it act more like glucose (the good sugars) and unlike the high fructose table sugars, agave, HFCS, etc. It is made out of more complex carbs, providing sustained energy.

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Susan February 2, 2013 at 8:41 am

Rice is also a grain, so you can’t really call this cake grain-free. I’m pretty sure Paleo people don’t eat rice or rice products either.

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Martyna @ Wholesome Cook February 2, 2013 at 11:30 am

Hi Susan, thanks for your comment – I completely missed that. Spunky Coconut does a lot of Paleo recipes, my bad and I’ve updated the recipe now to exclude the grain-free reference.

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Suzanne January 31, 2013 at 5:54 pm

Could this be made without the cashews as I am nut-free?

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Martyna @ Wholesome Cook January 31, 2013 at 9:44 pm

Good question, I thought about that one myself. I am pretty sure you could play with adding extra coconut flour / tapioca / coconut oil… the consistency of the Step 1 mixture was similar to pouring cream (or thin icing glaze).

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Heidi - Apples Under My Bed February 1, 2013 at 10:24 am

oooh the flavours here just seem totally dreamy!
Heidi xo

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john@heneedsfood February 1, 2013 at 6:04 pm

Coconut and lime is a match made in heaven so whether it be healthy, or not, I’d get in and have a slice (or three) of this beautiful cake.

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essentjewels February 2, 2013 at 3:07 am

Looks fabulous.

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The Life of Clare February 4, 2013 at 6:46 am

During all the other months except summer, we have buckets of limes, literally buckets of them! I can never find enough ways to use them up! Thanks for sharing!

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rsmacaalay February 4, 2013 at 6:12 pm

I need to start using coconut flour I havent tried them, I am interested in its texture and flavour

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Bam's Kitchen February 6, 2013 at 4:10 pm

My mouth is watering as I love citrus desserts. It gets me in the spring mood! How are your classes going? Maybe later we can touch base off line. I have been very busy lately but I am very interested in this as well. Take Care, BAM

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Amanda O'Neill February 15, 2013 at 2:22 pm

Hi Martyna. I made this and it is fabulous! My sister is diabetic so I’m always looking for recipes that are lighter on the sugar and are equally keen on reducing added sugars to my kiddies diets. Also love the fact that coconut flour is choc full of fibre. I also made a version with frozen raspberries, just needed a little longer in the oven but also yum.

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Jeannie February 20, 2013 at 1:00 am

Is the malt syrup gluten free? Not familiar with the product but I know that usually malt contains gluten. Would love to know, the recipe sounds delicious.

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Martyna @ Wholesome Cook February 20, 2013 at 1:32 pm

Hi Jeannie – yes, rice malt syrup is gluten free as it is made from 100% rice that’s been cooked down to a syrup (also known as brown rice syrup).

Reply
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Reply
Julie@nicholsonsglutenfree March 10, 2013 at 2:14 pm

This cake sounds delicious – I love Sarah Wilsons blog – this recipe is convincing me I should buy the IQS cookbook :)

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Christine March 11, 2013 at 8:05 am

This pound cake is great. Everybody enjoyed it. I have a question though. Why does the frosting look white in the picture but my coconut flour is darker ? Also is there anyway to have a nutrional value to the recipe?

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Martyna @ Wholesome Cook March 11, 2013 at 9:28 am

Hi Christine, my coconut flour was a creamy colour which turned out lighter in the photos. I will email you the nutritional value of the cake later today.

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Christine March 12, 2013 at 12:38 am

Thank you.

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Rachel March 20, 2013 at 3:53 pm

What would be a good substitute for the eggs in this recipe as there are a lot? I normally use bananas or flax seed but normally they don’t work well over 4 eggs. Any ideas?

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Martyna @ Wholesome Cook March 20, 2013 at 4:24 pm

Hi Rachel, I would say you could try using banana instead of 2 eggs and substituting the other 2 eggs with egg replacer.

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Alicia April 5, 2013 at 10:21 am

I made this today and it’s SO moist. It’s the first time I’ve used coconut oil and/or rice syrup. Is this recipe supposed to be super moist, and not as, err, fluffy as a normal cakey bread?

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Jodie August 21, 2013 at 1:39 pm

Hi Martyna,
I am planning on making this cake for my niece, who has recently had to go sugar free but I could not find liquid stevia where I am, only natvia. Do you have any suggestions for measurements to replace the liquid stevia? It is made from stevia, but isn’t as pure as I assume liquid stevia is, it says one teaspoon of natvia equals one teaspoon of sugar. Any advice you could offer would be great.
Thanks in advance. :)

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Martyna @ Wholesome Cook August 21, 2013 at 8:14 pm

Hi Jodie, how lovely of you to bake this for your niece! I use Natvia too and love it as it has very little aftertaste that some of the other brands can leave… I’d recomment using 1/4 cup and then tasting the batter and perhaps adding another tablespoon to the mix. Let me know if you have any issues….

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Christine November 14, 2013 at 11:57 am

I never received a breakdown of the nutritional value of this recipe could I get it again

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WhatIsName February 6, 2014 at 5:12 am

Sounds like a great recipe! Although I’ll have to make some substitutions to make it Paleo. For anyone interested, all you need to do is replace the rice malt syrup with 1/4 c of maple syrup and replace the liquid stevia with 1/3 c. of maple syrup.

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Cherylie February 10, 2014 at 8:55 am

The recipe calls for coconut cream – but I don’t know what that is. At first I thought it would be included in the recipe, but I’ve looked three times and don’t see ingredients being combined for coconut cream.

Sorry to be so dense – but I REALLY want to make this!

Thanks

Reply
Martyna @ Wholesome Cook February 10, 2014 at 9:23 am

Hi Cherylie, the coconut cream is used in step 2 – combined with all other ingredients from that step. You can get coconut cream from most major supermarkets (generally in the Asian food sections). Hope that helps.

Reply
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Reply
Hannah June 7, 2014 at 10:32 pm

Just finished making this – it is currently cooling. Looks and smells incredible! I love being able to bake these guilt free treats for my fiancée and I. Thank you! X

Reply
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Reply
anya clark May 27, 2015 at 6:50 am

Is coconut flour vital for texture in the sponge or can another kind of flour, i.e. oat flour, wholewheat pastry flour etc be used?

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Martyna @ Wholesome Cook May 27, 2015 at 1:05 pm

Hi Anya, The coconut flour here adds to the flavour a little as well. It is a very dense flour so I have a feeling oat flour would be a good 1-1 substitute. Perhaps a touch of natural coconut essence would add back that tropical flavour. Let me know how you go if you decide to make it that way. :-)

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Kelly October 22, 2015 at 11:01 pm

I have coconut flour… But no tapioca flour- can I use something else? Cornstarch? GF flour?

Thank you… Looks very yummy!!

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Martyna @ Wholesome Cook October 28, 2015 at 9:23 pm

Hi Kelly, you could try cornstarch.

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joanne November 28, 2016 at 1:43 pm

I’ve only had stevia in drinks and didn’t like the taste of it.. Does it taste differently in baked goods?
Is there a good substitute for the stevia in this recipe?

Looking forward to trying this out! Thanks!

Reply
Martyna @ Wholesome Cook December 11, 2016 at 8:27 pm

Hi Joanne, the taste of stevia is less prominent in baked goods. You could try using unrefined sugar (such as demerara – around 1/4 cup instead, or xylitol if you like). Otherwise, perhaps try the same amount of honey? I would try giving it a go with stevia drops first though, it’s really not that bad. :-)

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Lisa November 8, 2019 at 12:14 pm

What temperature do I bake this at? I see all the ingredients. I’d like to try this, but I don’t want ANY sweeteners at all, so I’m not sure what I can use as a substitute. If I DO then I want only a tiny bit. I won’t use artificial sweeteners either. But I don’t see any temperature listed for how to bake this.

I have my own frosting recipe, but for the actual cake, can you advise?

Reply
Martyna @ Wholesome Cook November 8, 2019 at 10:02 pm

Hi Lisa, my apologies, bake at 160C. I’ll be updating the recipe card. You could try honey – maybe 1/4 cup?

Reply

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