My father-in-law has a grand lemon tree that he has grown for many years, it is his pride and joy. He takes great pleasure in showing the fruits of his labor to family and friends each Winter with a gleam in his eye and smile from ear to ear how can we not be anything but grateful to accept the buckets filled with his prized lemons. The lemon tree is in full bloom with hundreds of beautiful juicy lemons the size of baseballs which means we have an endless supply. Whilst we have been using them in juices, cooking, teas, etc we still have them by the bucket loads. Baking just seemed the natural fit to use some of these luscious citrus fruits.
Lemon tea cake, lemon curd tart, lemon meringue pie all sounds so tempting but I still try to make relatively healthy sweets and desserts after all who is going to be eating them, myself and the family. I decided to make a sugar-free, dairy-free lemon and coconut slice. Using cashew nuts to make the creamy filling you really don’t miss the dairy at all. No sugar added only sweetened with natural honey or rice malt syrup and the tangy lemon juice and rind that complements so beautifully that you end up with a perfectly sweet but tangy, creamy, and smooth slice. It can be kept in the fridge for up to a week to eat a little as you please or frozen for 3 months.
Servings: 16, Time: 30 min
Ingredients
Base
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup desiccated coconut
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp rice malt syrup or natural honey
Filling
1 cup cashews
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup rice malt syrup or honey
juice of 1 lemon
the rind of 1 lemon (leaving some to top)
extra desiccated coconut to sprinkle on top
Directions
To make base, place oats in a food processor or Vitamix and blend until fine crumbs
Add desiccated coconut, melted coconut oil, and rice malt syrup/honey and process till well combined
Press mixture into a prepared 20x20cm square tin line with baking paper
Place in the fridge for 20mins
Make the filling, Place cashews, coconut milk, coconut oil, rice malt syrup, lemon juice, and rind, in a Vitamix or blender and blend until smooth and creamy
Pour over the base and return to the fridge for at least 45mins or until set.
Sprinkle over the extra coconut and lemon rind and cut into squares.
Note– GF option Replace oats with quinoa flakes or buckwheat flour
