Coconut Cake with No Eggs, Tree Nuts, or Soy

Coconut Cake with No Eggs, Tree Nuts, or Soy

Coconut cake is such a beautiful, easy, showstopper dessert and perfect for presenting to your family and guests at Easter. But if a loved one has food allergies, it can be really difficult to find a delicious dessert recipe that is free from allergens.

That was the case with my sweet, great nephew Ben. He has had food allergies since he was a tiny baby. Eggs, tree nuts, soy, peanuts, and peas are all reaction-producing allergens for him (and many others). His mom, my niece, does an amazing job of keeping his food free of these ingredients. She has an excellent approach to his needs that never leaves him feeling as though he is being deprived of something. She is an outstanding advocate for his health and reads labels like a scientist. She knows all the scientific names for ingredients so she can keep him safe. She has taught me so much more about reading labels, when I already thought I was pretty good at it.

When Ben and his twin, big sisters come to visit, I love to make them foods that are “Ben friendly.” I enjoy the challenge of creating food to accommodate his health that is still delicious and will not make Benny feel like he is missing out. Some people who are allergic to tree nuts cannot have coconut, but Ben has no adverse reactions to it. 

There are many ways to replace egg in baked goods. Flax seed, applesauce, aquafaba, soy lecithin powder, and egg replacement are all methods used to mimic the egg’s role in baking. But for this recipe, and many others I have made for Ben, I went with a simpler method: baking powder and apple cider vinegar. The chemical reaction of these two ingredients can boost the rise in your baked goods in a way similar to eggs. I also prefer the slight tang of the apple cider vinegar. But don’t worry, your cake will not taste like vinegar! This recipe will not produce a high-domed cake, but rather flat, even layers, which are perfect for frosting. 

Let’s talk about soy for a moment. It is in far too many common things we use and take for granted, like cooking spray. Read the labels! If you are cooking and baking for someone with allergies (and sometimes when cooking or baking for a crowd, we don’t know who may be adversely affected) then label reading is essential! A better alternative is an olive oil spray with ONLY olive oil in it. For Benny’s cake, I brushed the pans with pure grapeseed oil. Simply drizzle in a small amount and swirl around with a pastry brush. 

Since this is a coconut cake, I wanted to amp up the coconut flavor. At the same time, I find it frustrating when a recipe calls for a canned ingredient, but doesn’t use the whole can. UGH! So this cake gets tremendous moisture from unsweetened canned coconut milk. It comes in 14 ounce cans. Twelve ounces (1.5 cups) goes into the cake batter. The remaining two ounces (1/4 cup) gets blended into the frosting. I also added coconut extract and sweetened, flaked coconut to the batter. The result is a moist, flavorful cake that is so tender and delicious and with a subtle, but distinct coconut flavor. You will love this cake! You don’t need to have allergies to love this one! Give the recipe a try and let me know what you think of Coconut Cake with no eggs, tree nuts, or soy. Send me photo once you make it.  Enjoy!