As we’ve been going through this year’s Christmas ranges at the various UK supermarkets, we’ve noticed a few things in common: there’s lots of chocolate orange, vegetarians still haven’t avoided a nut roast, and stars are a popular shape.
Since star cakes are popular in shops this Christmas, we decided to make a sugar-free lemon cake using ProCook’s Aluminium Star Cake Mould – which is also new this Christmas.
We’ll keep this recipe simple: below, you’ll find a quick rundown of how much this cake will cost to make and a basic recipe for a sugar-free lemon cake. How you decorate it is up to you.
Shopping list (with prices)
For our refined white sugar alternative, we’re using coconut sugar which has a glycemic index of 50-54, around half that of white sugar.
- Stork 250g Baking Block – £1.50, Tesco
- Coconut sugar – £4, Tesco
- Large eggs – £2.55, Tesco
- Self raising flour – £0.70, Tesco
- Lemon extract – £1.55, Tesco
Total: £10.30
Obviously, check your cupboards before you go shopping. Chances are you’ve got a bag of flour at the back of your cupboard somewhere. Only got plain? Convert plain flour to self-raising with baking powder.
If you’ve got any margarine or unsalted butter in your fridge door, use that before going to buy more.
Coconut sugar is the biggest expense on the list, but if you’ve tried any of our sugar-free baking recipes before, chances are, you’ll already have some. If not, you’ll have some coconut sugar left over from this cake to try one of our other bakes.
Ingredients
- 8oz margarine/ unsalted butter
- 8oz coconut sugar
- 8oz self raising flour
- 4 large eggs
- Two teaspoons of lemon extract
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4
2. Wipe a whisper thin layer of butter around the interior of the star cake tin
3. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and coconut sugar until smooth and creamy. Make sure you beat them together as you want the mixture aerated
4. Next, whisk the eggs in one by one. If it starts to curdle, add in a tablespoon of self-raising flour. Add the lemon extract at this stage
5. Gradually sift the flour into the bowl and fold into the mixture using a spatula or wooden spoon, being careful not to knock the air out or overmix
6. Pour the mix into the star cake mould, making sure to keep it even.
7. Place into the oven for 25-30 minutes. Check at the 25 minutes mark by inserting a knife/skewer into the middle of the cake; if it comes out clean, then it’s done. If not, place it back into the oven and check again in two minutes. Don’t judge it too much on how brown it looks – coconut sugar is darker than caster sugar
8. Once removed, leave to cool for 5-10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack or a plate.
9. Decorate however you wish. We haven’t mastered a sugar-free lemon drizzle or icing yet, so we’ll leave the icing and final finish to you.
