Yotam Ottolenghi’s Flourless Coconut Cake

You don’t have to be on a gluten free diet to appreciate Yotam Ottolenghi’s Flourless Coconut Cake ~ this super moist, super decadent pound cake is completely grain free and a must try.

I know we all have lots of choices for dessert recipes, between cookbooks, blogs, magazines, and Pinterest, I bet you’re swimming in possibilities.  But one of my goals I have here at tvfgi is to help you cut to the chase and find those gems you might not otherwise discover. 

I found this flourless coconut cake in Yotam Ottolenghi’s newest book, Sweet, which I got for Christmas this year.  It’s his first book dedicated to desserts and I wasn’t sure what to expect, I think of him more as a savory kind of guy.  But since he’s been a major inspiration for me in the past few years,  I was anxious to give his ‘sweet’ side a chance.  This simple cake is unique and delicious, I think you’re going to love it.

I’ve always been fascinated by flourless cakes, and I’ve done a few before. ..a classic FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE, and a couple of flourless citrus cakes, GLUTEN FREE TANGERINE and FLOURLESS MEYER LEMON.   The minute I read the name of this cake I knew I wanted to try it ~ it rounds out the bunch with an entirely different flavor profile.  Just putting the words ‘coconut’ and ‘flourless’ in the same sentence conjures up all sorts of deliciousness.

To be honest, when I pulled this flourless coconut cake out of the oven I wasn’t super impressed.  It didn’t look like much, and there were a few ragged chunks stuck in the corners of my loaf pan, which I carefully patched back on.  It wasn’t until I sliced off the end piece and took a taste that I realized I had a winner on my hands.  It’s sooooo moist and the coconut flavor is fabulous.

Of course, no surprise, the ganache glaze made a good cake a great cake.  The two flavors are legendary together.

The almond flour and the shredded coconut give it just enough structure to hold together, but that’s it.  As you can see from the photos, it’s not a tall fluffy cake, the texture is almost creamy!   It’s a sophisticated little dessert that would go great with an after dinner espresso.

TIP: Don’t skip the parchment lining for this cake, it’s essential to getting it out of the pan so you can slice and serve it.

*recipe slightly adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Sweet.

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3.47 from 125 votes

Yotam Ottlenghi’s Flourless Coconut Cake

Yield 8 servings

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup shredded coconut the sweetened kind
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or seeds of one vanilla bean
• 4 large eggs
• 1 2/3 cups almond meal or almond flour

ganache glaze

• 4 ounces dark chocolate cut in small pieces
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla or seeds from 1/2 pod
• 3 Tbsp water
• 1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter room temperature, cut into pieces

Instructions

• Set oven to 350F
• Butter a standard (9x5") loaf pan and line with parchment paper with overhanging ends.
• Beat the butter and sugar together for several minutes until pale and fluffy. Beat in the coconut, salt, and vanilla.
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the almond flour. Spoon the mixture into the loaf pan, smoothing out the top. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then carefully lift out of the pan and continue to cool on a rack. Frost with the ganache when completely cool.
• To make the ganache ~ put the chocolate in a bowl and set aside. Combine the sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for a couple of minutes, until the mixture is golden colored. Remove from heat and carefully pour in the water and vanilla. If the mixture seizes, just put it back on the heat and heat until melted. Pour this hot mixture over the chocolate and let sit for 3 minutes. Whisk to combine, then add the butter, a bit at a time, whisking until everything is smooth and glossy.
• Glaze the cake with the ganache.

Make it your own ~

• You can bake this in a round pan with a removable bottom, like a spring form or tart pan, but keep in mind, it will be quite flat.
• You could theoretically do without the chocolate glaze for a plainer cake, the flavor is so nice, but it won’t look as purdy ;)

Don’t forget to pin this wonderful flourless coconut cake for later!