How to Make a Delicious Sugar-Free, Lactose-Free and Gluten-Free Cake

It might sound like a crazy or even unappealing thing to think about the prospect of sugar-free and lactose-free cake. I mean, surely there's no such possibility, of learning how to make a delicious sugar-free, lactose-free and gluten-free cake.

That's especially true when most recipes tend to comprise of sugar, butter, flour eggs and other such ingredients. I mean, why in the hell would anyone even want a sugar-free cake? Why would they even want a cake which contains no lactose or gluten? Besides, even if you did want such a cake, what would it be made of? Straw? Lettuce? Dust? We all know how dust worked out for Marjorie Dawes.

I learned how to make sugar-free and lactose-free cakes because of two very special and important family members of mine who happen to have some dietary restrictions. Terrible guilt was felt on my part at our family gatherings, as these two were unable to enjoy themselves to the fullest without having to think about health repercussions.

I went to many bakeries, made countless enquiries and the combination of lactose-free and sugar-free was very difficult to come by. The good news for those who are lactose intolerant is that vegan bakeries are available to you and there some great ones in the inner west.It got very difficult to make a lactose-free and sugar-free cake, so I had to share my simple recipe with you.

It took a few goes to get the correct balance of ingredients and it's quite simple to dress up. You can flavour this recipe however you like.As a side note, If you can eat lactose-free dairy but have developed lactose intolerance, don't fret - there is a simple solution to your problem. This brand of lactose-free creams and products could suit your needs. Of course, if you cannot tolerate any dairy and lactose itself is not your problem, this range is unlikely to suit you. However, I digress.

Before the recipe, I will make one disclaimer. If you are used to very sugary foods - this may not quite taste the same to you. It is a delicious recipe and everyone who has tried it has enjoyed it every time. I had to issue this warning because those around me have mostly been cutting down on sugar, so perhaps we're biased.

In any case, this recipe is a treat. It's also highly versatile. You can use it to make one large cake or a batch of cupcakes. Do whatever makes you happy.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of of flour, I use this gluten-free one
• half a cup (1/2) of granulated sweetener, I use this stevia-based baking one
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla essence
• 1 cup of unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 large eggs (if you are a vegan or intolerant to eggs, you can make a flax egg)
• 5 tablespoons of melted lactose-free butter alternative

Cocoa to taste if you're making a chocolate cake or alternatively, you can actually add coconut cream and desiccated coconut flakes in the cake mixture for a different flavour.

Note:When buying desiccated coconut, watch out to ensure you're buying the unsweetened one if you're aiming to make this cake entirely sugar-free.

Method

1. First, thoroughly mix all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

2. In a smaller, second bowl separate to the dry ingredients, whisk together the egg, vanilla extract and milk.

3. Pour the liquid mix into the dry mix and mix very well. Melt the "butter" as you mix for maximum efficiency. I use a third bowl in the microwave.

4. Pour in the melted "butter" and keep mixing until the consistency becomes thick and similar to a batter.

5. Line cake tin with baking paper.

6. Preheat oven to 180-200 degrees celcius (fan-forced).

7. Pour mixture into cake tin and bake for 20-30 minutes. If you used the same flour as I did, the cake will rise. If you did not use cocoa, you can actually see the cake turn golden brown and that means it's almost ready.

8. Transfer the cake out of the oven and allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes before moving it from the pan. Only frost the cake once it has cooled down.

Frosting / Icing 

To make a sugar-free fake nutella icing, you can just mix the following ingredients like crazy:

• 4-6 tablespoons of lactose-free butter
• 2 tablespoons of granulated sweetener
• A tiny splash of coconut milk to thin the mixture out of required, but not always compulsory
• Cocoa to your heart's content to make it as dark as you like.
• Note: To make the white "buttercream" frosting in the picture, simply mix coconut flakes, lactose-free butter and sweetener. You can also add 1/2 a lemon, albeit, it can make the taste quite sour. It isn't a bad idea to use it to offset the sweetener.
• Important: I note that the decorations in the cake in the picture actually contain sugar, but at least they can be picked off quite easily.I hope that this recipe serves you as well as it serves me. You can modify this recipe as much as you like to make it your own. i am truly sorry if I offended any sugar artists out there, but this is my preferred recipe because it allows everyone I care about to have their cake, and eat it too.

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