Oh Cutie! Coconut Cake with Mandarin Reduction

First ... an admission.  I'm susceptible to advertising.  (Isn't everyone?)  Well, all those commercials for Cuties, the easy-peeling mandarins, have made me want to eat all sorts of small, orange, citrus fruits.  Bring on the mandarins or clementines or tangerines.  And, let me tell you, my mind has not been satisfied with just eating the fruit.  Oh no... I needed to cook with it.

Fortunately for me, Megan was in need of a treat to eat with her mother-in-law while watching the royal wedding.  Say no more!  How about a coconut cake infused with the lovely flavor of reduced mandarin juice?

The result is a delicious cake with no need for frosting.  The juice provides a softer, flavorful top layer to the cake that makes it almost like it has a built-in frosting.  

Coconut Cake with Mandarin Reduction
Makes an 8- or 9-inch cake

Ingredients:
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur Flour blend)
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1 cup sugar
1 cup coconut milk (light is ok)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
juice from approximately 8 mandarins (1/2 cup)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375.
Oil an 8- or 9-inch square pan.
Lightly toast coconut in  a dry skillet over a medium-low heat.  Remove from heat when first pieces turn golden brown. Remove from heat, and set aside
In a medium bowl, combine flour, xanthan gum, baking soda and salt.  Stir with a whisk.
In a large bowl, combine melted coconut oil, sugar, coconut milk and vanilla.
Add in shredded coconut.
Mix dry ingredients into wet.
Stir apple cider vinegar into batter.
Pour batter into oiled pan.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
While cake is baking, in a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup juice to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the juice is reduced by half to a quarter cup.
Pierce cake with a toothpick approximately 15 times once it's on the cooling rack.  Pour reduced juice over the cake.  Serve and Enjoy!

This post was shared as part of Cybele Pascal's Allergy Friendly Fridays and Real Food Weekly at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang, and Amy Green's Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.  Please visit to check out some other great recipes. 


Happy Cooking!
Kim & Megan

Welcoming Kitchen Available for Pre-Order

We are so thrilled to announce that it is time!!  Welcoming Kitchen is available for pre-order on Amazon!  This cookbook has been our dream and to see it finally available is so rewarding.  We hope that you enjoy cooking from it as much as we enjoyed writing it.  We are inspired daily by our readers and supporters and are so thankful to have this chance to share our recipes with you!  Hopefully, our recipes will inspire you and allow all your kitchens to be welcoming ;)

Now is the time to order it as they are offering an
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Be the first to get our newest cookbook with 200 recipes that are safe for
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Each recipe is Gluten-Free, Free of the top 8 allergens, Sesame Free, and Vegan!

Happy Cooking!

Kim & Megan

Please Support Gluten-free Food Labeling Efforts

As I've written in the past, I had a really tough time when I first tried to grocery shop after learning that my son had multiple food allergies.  Trying to decipher food labels and figure out what might be safe, and what wasn't, was a challenge that left me frightened and, frankly, exhausted.  The federal food allergy labeling law made a huge difference in our lives.  Though not fool-proof, it definitely has made it easier to be an informed shopper.

Our friends and family in the gluten-free community have had no such peace of mind.  The law does not include gluten-containing grains (rye and barley).  With a growing marketplace of "gluten-free" options, how can a consumer have confidence that their food is truly gluten-free?  It is time for that to change.

On May 4, the beginning of the globally recognized Celiac Awareness Month, there will be an event in Washington, D.C. to bring attention to the need for a federally mandated gluten-free standard.  Gluten-free community leaders, Jules Shepard and John Forberger, have created an advocacy effort that includes a petition, letter-writing campaign and the event to bring change to the food-labeling laws.  The name of their effort is 1 in 133 to bring attention to the prevalence of gluten-intolerance. (1 in 133 people in the United States lives with celiac or another gluten-intolerance.) 

Please help 1 in 133 bring about important change in our food labeling laws.

Happy Cooking!
Kim and Megan