I’ve mentioned few times how much I love winter. It’s not just the colder temperatures, but the snow (yes, I know), the cloud formations during winter, the ominous Rockies, the white stormy and overcast skies. I love it all, even the bare trees. Yes, it’s dull and dreary but the promise of newly sprung life and the first few glimpses of green make all the dreariness worth it. Aren’t we all super excited when the first bits of sunshiny days appear? We drool at the sight of the first of the spring’s bouncy, golden daffodils and the heady hyacinths, soaking in their beauty and fragrance, awaiting the promise of warmer days. So, I’m not totally crazy.
Another reason for my love of winter: citrus. I love citrus. That’s not to say I don’t like summer fruit, I love my berries and stone fruit but I also love oranges, lemons, tangerines and I love discovering new kinds of citrus and new varieties. This year I was able to find an heirloom variety of navel oranges. Of course, I promptly bought some and I have to tell you, oh my goodness, they are SO sweet and so juicy. Have you tried the sumo tangerines? They are ugly little things on the outside but oh so delicious inside. I was super thrilled to find Seville oranges for the first time in the US (for me at least) I know they are a rare find so when I stumbled upon them, I grabbed a whole bunch for project marmalade. When I went back to the store a few days later, I glanced over and they were all gone, I haven’t seen anymore.
Of course, you already know my obsession with blood oranges 🙂 There are quite a few recipes on this site for the beloved blood orange. I use Meyer lemons all the time but haven’t posted a recipe yet. This Lemon Spelt Loaf was supposed to be made with Meyers but I couldn’t find any when I was shopping for this cake. I love regular lemons too, so I used those instead. While I was there, I found some pink lemons but I haven’t used them yet or cut them to see if they really are pink.
I do love a good piece of cake. I’m not a fan of overly frosted, buttercream cakes. I never have been, even as a child I preferred the sponge cakes with a drizzle of cream or custard. I actually cringe when I have to make a birthday cake that requires a traditional cake and buttercream frosting because I will go to all that trouble to make it, a nice Swiss or Italian, and then usually wipe it off before I eat the cake :/
So, I just really stick to cakes I like to eat with tea and coffee, like plain pound cakes, Madeira cakes, sponge cakes and coffee cakes. One of my favourites: a lemon loaf, tart and lemony. I can eat a whole one if left alone with it for long enough.
This is an updated lemon loaf cake, with unrefined flour and sugar, still tart and lemony but possibly a bit more…dare I say it…healthier?
So, I’m going to go off on a tangent for a minute because well, it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t, but I really hate the word healthy. I think it gets tossed around a bit too freely and really, exactly what does it mean? And is anything really healthy? I also REALLY hate the word, clean eating. Ugh, so does that mean what I eat is dirty? I know what clean eating is but I don’t want it shoved on me. The thing is, I eat food. I buy and eat only organic, I eat local as much as possible, I eat most things in season, I don’t eat prepackaged foods, I don’t eat fast food, I don’t eat GMO foods. I only drink natural sodas, organic teas and coffee sourced from local coffee houses around town. I eat REAL food. So, I don’t appreciate the whole “clean eating” tag. My food is not always “healthy” but it’s definitely not “dirty”!
The way I see it, if you eat real food, organic and fresh, and in moderation, that’s all that matters. This means that when I want cake, made with flour, butter, eggs and cream I make a cake and I eat it. I do have a problem with moderation here, though.
So, are you bothered by all the “healthy” eating we hear about?
So, this cake wasn’t made to make my original cake “healthier”, it was just made because I wanted to use spelt flour in a cake and use some coconut products. The result was pretty amazing though so if you want a healthy cake, this one does fit the bill. Great thing is, it doesn’t feel clean at all, it tastes like a filthy cake.
Rating
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1 cake

- INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup/140g spelt flour, whole grain
- ¾ cup/85g almond flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup/85g coconut sugar, unrefined
- 2 eggs, large
- 1 cup/ 235ml coconut yoghurt
- 1 large lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup/60ml coconut oil, melted
- ¼ cup/21g coconut sugar
- Juice of 1 large lemon
- ¼ cup/60ml water
- 1 lemon, sliced thin for candied lemon on top
- Preheat the oven to 350F/180C
- Line a 9 x 5 inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf tin with parchment and grease or spray with non stick spray.
- In a bowl, add the flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda and mix well.
- Wash and dry the large lemon and remove the zest with a micro plane and then juice it, keep aside.
- In a large bowl or a bowl of a mixer, beat the sugar and eggs together, till blended.
- Add the coconut yoghurt, vanilla, lemon zest and juice.
- Slowly add the melted coconut oil.
- Add the flour mixture and mix gently but thoroughly.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin.
- Place in the oven and bake until golden and brown, about 40-45 minutes.
- While the loaf cake is baking, make the syrup and the candied lemons.
- In a small saucepan, add the coconut sugar, lemon juice and water.
- Bring the mixture up to a simmer on medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.
- Add the slices of lemon.
- Simmer on medium low until the lemons have softened and the syrup begins to thicken, about 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat.
- Carefully remove the lemons from the syrup and keep aside.
- Reserve the syrup for the loaf cake.
- Once the loaf is baked and cooling on a rack, pure the syrup all over the loaf.
- Allow to soak and cool completely before removing from pan.
- Place the cooled cake on a plate and decorate the top with the candied lemons.

I hope you are getting to enjoy spring like weather where you are and I hope our Southern friends are getting a reprieve from their scorcher summer. Happy season change to everyone!
I’m headed to Texas for Spring Break this week and looking forward to seeing my dad and my brothers and all my extended family, We’ve had some new additions this year so looking forward to holding some babies 🙂
I will be absent from the blogosphere for a few days because I’m sure you’ll understand how time consuming family can be! I’ll visit you as soon as I get back. In the meantime, if you’re on Instagram, follow me, I’m sure I’ll be eating my way nicely through Texas.
See y’all soon 🙂
If there is one ingredient that is never missing in my kitchen it’s lemon.
It gives a wonderful flavor to salty and sweet dishes and now I have one more delicious way to prepare it. Thanks for a great inspiration, Nazneen!
I came across your blog while looking for some loaf related recipes and liked a lot. How amazing! I will keep an eye out for all your recipes 🙂
Nazneen….I so agree with you about the terminology thrown around these days with regard to food. I just eat what I like, in moderation. And I try to eat seasonally using local products, etc. But mostly….I just want to eat WITHOUT GUILT!!!! Your cake looks amazing! I am with you in that I prefer simple cakes to be enjoyed with a sip of something warm to wash it down. Lemon is among my favorite flavors and I would love to have a slice of your filthy cake! : )
Anne@FromMySweetHeart recently posted..Oregon Dark Cherry & Oatmeal Bars
Marvelously beautiful.
btw, I cannot wait for SUN, Warmth, Flowers.
No. More. Snow!!!! xx
My Inner Chick recently posted..10 Lies Abusers Will Tell You
Oh, how I love the concept of “filthy cake!” I need to find spelt flour – I have never tried it. I, too, love the citrus season and love our Tucson winters! 🙂 Unlike you, I could live a long time never seeing another wintry, gray-white sky or another flake of snow. (I do love our monsoons, though – but the days are usually sunny, then a cloudburst, then more sun and usually a fantastic sunset!) But I don’t think I can live very long without trying this lemon loaf!
Sorry for my late response – somehow, this post was in my junk file (how could a lemon loaf EVER be junk?) and then I saw it on your FB page! Good think for all our social media! xo, David
David recently posted..Not Born With a Silver Spoon {a cookbook review}
Love the color, the texture, the combination of flavors! I adore anything with citrus … that sourness is so special … so I guess we are on the same page except for winter. I hate winters! 😉
Francesca recently posted..Variety Show: Spotlight on Primitivo… Or Zinfandel?… Or Tribidrag?
YES! YES! YES! Looks totally delicious!
marcela recently posted..Sernik Nowojorski (New York-Style Cheesecake)
Une vrai réussite se pain ! à essayer absolument 🙂 bonne journée
josephine recently posted..Cabillaud en crumble de chorizo
I really like spelt as well. I just love discovering that I actually prefer the texture and flavor of whole grains in many instances. Lemon is always wonderful, too. And there are a lot of words and phrases I want to avoid, Nazneen…words like “guilt” or “good/bad for you”, etc. but it’s honestly hard to avoid saying/writing those things from habit. I try not to judge anyone else and I hope no one judges me. : )
Monica recently posted..Norwegian-style thin pancakes
Great colour and texture combination. Love it simple yet flavourful 🙂
Julie & Alesah
Gourmet Getaways xx
Gourmet Getaways recently posted..Mana Chita – An Ethiopian Experience
Gorgeous cake Nazneen! I have never baked or ever used spelt flour and each time I see a recipe with this ingredient, I always wonder about its character and taste.
Easyfoodsmith recently posted..OATS UPMA (Savory Oats Porridge)
I hope you’re having a lovely time with your family. No wonder you love England so much – it’s practically in a permanent winter! I love how this loaf has so many coconut products. I’ve been buying coconut yoghurt lately, as Drew is not supposed to be having dairy. Your loaf looks really good and I know I’d love the citrus flavours. Our citrus season will begin very soon xx
Hotly Spiced recently posted..Stuffed Pork Loin
Sounds easy and looks delicious, your cake is for sure healthier ;-). Enjoy your vacation in Texas.
Amira recently posted..Freekeh Pilaf (freek mefalfel)
Filthy cake, haha. This does really look moist and good.
I like eating good food, home made, fresh ingredients. Definitely not the one to follow fads… Like you so many times, I just use few ingredients to try it out or because we like how it tastes.
Ash-foodfashionparty recently posted..Chettinad Spicy Chicken Curry
Clean eating has jumped the shark, IMO. But whatever floats people’s boats is OK with me. Anyway, lovely recipe –clean and healthy! 😀 I love citrus, so I need to search out sumo tangerines — haven’t tried those. Anyway, thanks for this, and have a great trip!
John@Kitchen Riffs recently posted..Kale and Cabbage Gratin
Haha – Nazneen – your “filthy” cake looks so darn moist and decadent! I have a major thing for lemon lately (though I abhor the cold) and this cake would be heavenly with a cup of coffee!
Enjoy your break in Texas with your family ! xx
Shashi at RunninSrilankan recently posted..Almond & Pecan Bites
This is my kind of cake… perfectly dense, moist and good for you too. Spelt is my favourite grain!
Angie@Angie’s Recipes recently posted..Coconut Honey Spelt Cookies
What a mouthwatering, “filthy” cake. I don’t even need a cup of coffee to go with it.
Denise Browning@From Brazil To You recently posted..Baked Baby Potatoes with Bacon
i hope you are having a wonderful break in Texas….and i am not a big fan of particular food labeling terms either..in my opinion as long as we are eating unprocessed food in its natural form we are good..unless its chocolate (those dont count).
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health recently posted..Healthy Kitchen Staples
Thanks Dixya!! Chocolate is in a class of its own 😉
I love the thought of a filthy cake! I’m totally with you about ‘healthy’ and ‘clean eating’ although I do tend to say something is healthy/ healthier option 🙂 I struggle here with getting my head around where my food has come from and what process it has gone through – but I endeavour to make good choices whenever I can.
I hate the whole paleo label. I feel it’s such a judgemental movement – and yet my diet is probably paleo-ish 90% of the time (I refuse to give up hummus!).
Anyhoo – I’ve been using spelt flour lately in my sourdough bread and like you I much prefer a tea -cake to a cream cake so this is perfect.
Enjoy your family time x
I really have to watch what year very carefully. My auto immune condition demands I stay unprocessed and pure. It’s so, so hard here because everything is tampered with. That’s why I’m strictly organic, and not because I’m labeling. Like Krista mentioned below, some people don’t have the luxury of food and yet we go on about clean eating and fad diets. Oh well. Bread is my weakness, paleo just doesn’t work for me!!
Hey Nazneen, the look of this cake reminds me of malt loaf. Slightly dense but super moist. Looking at the ingredients list, this cake sounds delicious. Whether it’s healthy or not, I love new things.
David Crichton recently posted..Lobster Avocado Truffles
I love malt loaf and have been wanting to make it forever. Just having trouble finding some of the stuff required. The texture was very much like malt loaf but the flavour is very lemony, of course.
A filthy cake sounds marvelous to me. 🙂 I am excited to see you baking with spelt flour. My hubs and I are planning to start growing spelt on our property, so I’m looking forward to doing a lot of baking with it. I too weary of the labels thrown around. I think we forget how some people are thankful just to have food, whether it’s Kraft Mac and Cheese or organic, grass-fed beef with home grown veggies. I hope we can stop judging each other’s food choices, and simply celebrate that we have choices.
Krista recently posted..Simple Pleasures On A Stormy Day
No way!! You’re going to be growing spelt? That is just too awesome. I wish we lived closer Krista! I’d be at your farm everyday 🙂