Are you ready for the best vegan lemon and coconut bread? Despite being absolutely delicious… It also provides great nutritional value! I have worked off of one of my previous recipes and made a few changes to enhance the flavours and achieve more of a ‘bread’ as opposed to a cake. I think I would go as far as saying that lemon and coconut are my two favourite flavours that go so deliciously together. I also made a sweet tasting icing to go on top of the bread (this is optional, as it also tastes great without the icing), and admittedly- this is more of a ‘treat’ as it is made with icing sugar. But still, it was a Sunday so we did decide to treat ourselves! I always use unrefined ingredients- so when whipping up some frosting/icing, I always go for this.
This bread is packed with zesty lemons…
- Lemons are rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants
- They support a healthy functioning immune system
- They are great for skin health
- They’re also a source of potassium and can help lower blood pressure levels
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups of wholemeal spelt flour
- 1/4 of a cup of unrefined sugar (I used muscovado)
- 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
- 1 1/4 cup of coconut milk (unsweetened)
- 2 fresh unwaxed lemons (for zest and juice)
- 1/2 a cup of desiccated coconut
- 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate soda
For the icing
- 1 1/2 cups of icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons of coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and line/ grease a 1lb loaf tin. I greased mine with a little coconut oil, however I also sometimes use baking paper to line the tin.
- In a bowl, mix together the spelt flour and sugar. Then gradually add the coconut milk, and stir in until the mixture is combined. This can be stirred with a wooden spoon.
- Then add the coconut oil (melted), the apple cider vinegar and the bicarbonate soda. The vinegar and bicarbonate soda will react together to ensure the bread rises correctly.
- Gently stir in the desiccated coconut.
- Grate the zest of one lemon and set aside. Now cut the lemon in half, and squeeze the juice into the mixture. Depending on how ‘lemony’ you want the bread to be, you can use the whole or half the lemon for fresh juice.
- Now fold in the lemon zest that you grated, and pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin.
- This will need around 45- 50 minutes to bake. Try not open the oven whilst its cooking as it may not rise as well. Once baked (knife comes out clean) leave to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tin.
For the frosting
- Mix the icing sugar and coconut milk in a bowl until it is well combined.Then add the juice from half a lemon.
- You can add more or less icing sugar depending on the consistency you want to achieve- For the thicker spread add more icing sugar and for more of a glaze, gradually add more coconut milk.
So there you have it- the best lemon and coconut vegan bread! Soft on the inside and crisp on the outside- I have definitely found that spelt flour is best for baking bread recipes!
You can also see another one of my healthy bread recipes here- vegan berry bread.
