I think cake is in my DNA. I grew up with a mother who was (and still is ) cake queen and who was taught this craft by my grandmother, who baked love and song into every cake, pirog and pirozhok. (Russian pies and mini-pies). Their baking repertoire was rich and extensive and there always seemed to be a fitting occasion to warrant a performance.

They baked everything from scratch and we would have our favourites and requests; the ‘Napoleon’, rich yet delicate and very time-consuming Russian mille-feuilles, the ‘Parizh‘, a nutty coffee meringue cake, the chocolate roulade ‘Roulette‘ ( I remember watching, salivating as the cacao, sugar and butter blended and were rolled into the doughy brioche pastry. This was and is still my favourite). There were also the ‘Kulichi‘, the Easter cakes ( if you can imagine a brioche-y panettone but really beautifully dense) which were so temperamental and an all-day baking affair. I remember tip-toeing around the kitchen, closing doors ever so carefully behind me, speaking in very hushed tones, afraid to disturb the rising dough and proofing yeast. No way was I going to spoil the family Easter dessert and I gave the process ( and mama and baba) their due respect and space. And when it was a really special occasion we would feast. The table would groan under the weight of the savoury dishes and then we would start again with a smorgasbord of cakes. On the following morning we would breakfast on cakes. Seriously. A long, leisurely breakfast of hot tea and cakes.

So, I love cake and my kids love cake. And once upon a time I used to think that a perfectly healthy after-school snack was cake, a slice, doughnut or if I was feeling particularly virtuous, a muffin. If  I had a bit of extra time on my hands I’d up the ante and make hot cakes and pancakes with honeycomb butter (hey, I just realized that the honeycomb butter  IS gluten-free and definitely a future option).  At some stage I started to get informed about farming practices in both conventional and organic farming and I patted myself on the back on the ‘informed’ choices I was starting to make, buying organic processed white flour and organic processed sugar. It made all the difference, or so I tried to convince myself. I still wasn’t making any connections between the various symptoms of family members ( like sugar highs and lows, bloating, restlessness, mood swings, the list goes on) and the ingredients I was using. My kids do occasionally reminisce about the ‘good old days’ when wheat flour and processed sugar were pantry staples in our household. Not too often though. They can now make the connection now between the food they eat and the way they feel. Which however, doesn’t solve the problem of our cake gene. What to do? Experiment. This Macadamia, Coconut and Lemon tea cake is GAPS and Paleo- friendly with only healthy, nutritious ingredients used. Still not an everyday food but here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients for cake 

• 1 generous cup of macadamia nuts
• 1/4 cup green banana flour ( if using a different gluten-free flour use 1/3 cup)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 6 eggs, separated
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut

Ingredients for icing

• 100g coconut butter (I use 2- 50g sachets)
• juice of 2 small lemons
• 2 generous tablespoons honey

To decorate

• roughly chopped macadamias
• lemon rind

Method for cake

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees celcius or if you have an extremely hot oven like mine, 160 degrees.
2. Grind the macadamias in food processor until almost finely processed. Add the banana flour and baking powder towards the end and finish processing together.
3. Beat the egg yolks and honey together in mixer for several minutes until pale and creamy (and oh so beautiful to look at!).
4. Fold the grated lemon rind and coconut through the egg yolk mixture.
5. Next fold through the nut mixture.
6. Beat the egg whites and a pinch of salt in a separate bowl until stiff peaks form.
7. Fold the egg whites carefully into the nut and yolk mixture.
8. Pour the batter into a greased/lined cake tin and bake for 40 minutes or until lightly golden in colour.
9. Allow to rest and cool slightly while you prepare icing.

Method for icing

1. Combine all ingredients in processor until smooth. You can either use a hand-held mixer or larger processor.

Remove cake carefully from tin onto serving platter or plate. Drizzle with the icing while still warm ( watch it run over the sides of your cake!) and decorate with as much or little chopped macadamia and lemon zest as you wish. Enjoy and watch it disappear!