Posted on November 1, 2009

I don’t often cook with coconut because my husband doesn’t like it. I love coconut and always have, but making a coconut cake for one just isn’t all that practical. This is the same man who didn’t like sweet potatoes, cilantro, greens, spinach, squash, and a whole list of other foods when I met him. I have hope.

There is a ton of information about the health benefits of coconut oil, and if you have trouble with grains coconut flour is grain-free. I have done some research and so far, at least to me, coconut oil and coconut flour seem like a good thing.

I am a boring moderate when it comes to making changes in my diet. I spent most of my life jumping on bandwagons trying to lose weight and get healthy. I failed repeatedly. Today, I make small, educated changes that I can sustain. And I listen to my body throughout the entire process.

I know that low-carb doesn’t work for me. I need carbs for energy. Low-fat leaves me feeling hungry and too much fat, even healthy fat, leaves me feeling sluggish. Over time, I’ve found that a balance of healthy fat, carbs, and protein work for me. Add to that regular exercise and I do really well.

Nothing bothers me more than people running amuck, with uneducated, unsubstantiated advise about what others must do about their diet. It can be so harmful. I’ve been amused watching this through flu season. The hysteria, the quick fixes. Don’t get me wrong – I fully believe that a sound diet is key to good health. I also know that healing your body takes time, and if you’ve been eating poorly your body needs some time to repair itself on a healthy diet. One week of eating garlic and avoiding sugar is not going fix anything.

Recently Tropical Traditions sent me a jar of their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil to review, along with a research based book that talks about the benefits of coconut oil. After spending some time with their book, this company has my respect. I don’t know enough about many of the topics covered to give my opinion, but I do know about long-term weight loss. (You can read my story here and read my series on Finding Balance with Food here.) Tropical Traditions shares both sides of the story and make no promises. It’s helped many people. Others it hasn’t helped. But as one component in a healthy diet, I do think it has value.

I made this yummy cake (and ate it with my homemade vanilla bean ice cream) with the coconut oil they sent. If you’ve never used coconut oil, it’s solid at room temperature. You have to heat it turn it into a liquid. You’ll notice that it uses a lot of eggs and no xanthan or guar gum. The eggs act as a binder and help leaven the cake. The oil itself is not neutral flavored – it imparts a definite coconut flavor, as does the coconut flour.

During Holiday Food Fest (which starts this Thursday at Hoosier Homemade with Fall Desserts) Tropical Traditions is going to give one lucky reader a 32 ounce jar of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. You can read about the themes and the weekly give-aways here.

Have you cooked with coconut oil or coconut flour? If so, what do you think about it? What about diet changes? How do you handle those?

Printer-friendly recipe
Triple Berry Coconut Cake
makes one 8-inch cake, about ¾ inch thick

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon coconut flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
3 eggs
¼ cup 1 % milk
3 tablespoons agave
2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
½ cup frozen berries (I used a mix of blueberries, raspberries, and marionberries)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line an 8 inch round cake pan with parchment paper and oil well.

Sift coconut flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, agave, and coconut oil. Add sifted coconut flour and mix well, making sure there are no lumps. Gently stir in frozen berries.

Turn into prepared pan. Spread evenly with a spatula. Bake for 18 – 22 minutes, or until a toothpick tests clean. Let cool on a wire baking rack for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool completely. Serve with homemade vanilla bean ice cream.

A note about coconut flour: Coconut flour has lots of fiber so a little goes a long way. It also has a natural sweetness so it doesn’t need a lot of agave. This batter will be thick but it should not be stiff. If your batter is too thick, add milk a couple of teaspoons at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.

A little bit of fun: October’s Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten-Free post is up at Life, Gluten Free. It’s full of great pumpkin recipes. Make sure to stop by and check it out. Heather did a fabulous job putting this month together. Thanks, Heather!

This week’s give-away:

Two of my bloggy friends have recently published e-books and they’re fabulous. This week I’m giving them away to two different people.

Linda, The Gluten-Free Homemaker, has published Cakes & Cookies and Yeast Breads & Quick Breads.

Jessica, from Life as Mom, has published Pretty. Cool. Cakes. and Fishmama’s Guide to Cooking with Children. (Not gluten-free, but full of fabulous ideas – and, many of my readers aren’t gluten-free…)

I think these would make great gifts for the upcoming holidays, especially in a gift basket with other kitchen goodies. The price is great – I told them both to charge much more but they didn’t listen to me. That’s good for you.

I’ll be honest with you – I am of the mindset that when you see a brilliant woman trying to make a difference in the world you get behind her and help her accomplish her goals. I hope that you’ll get behind these brilliant women, too, and help them spread the word about their recent publications, too.

To enter:

Link a recipe/post that fits the Slightly Induglent theme (healthier in some way) and include a link back to this post.
Leave a comment below.
Tweet about this give-away and leave a separate comment telling me you did.
Share about this give-away on your blog and link back here, then leave a separate comment telling me you did.

This give-away will be open until Sunday, November 8th at 8 pm CST.

Please tell us who you are and what you’re cooking . For example, I would enter:

Amy @ Simply Sugar & Gluten Free – Triple Berry Coconut Cake. And, I always appreciate the link back to this post.