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Quick & Easy Whole30 Instant Pot Lemon Cake

A Whole30-compliant dessert you'll crave even when the 30 days are up!
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If you haven't discovered how versatile an Instant Pot can truly be, this dessert recipe is the one to win you over. Steaming a gluten-free lemon cake batter in an Instant Pot yields a cake that has a delicate, soft, and tender crumb. The Instant Pot baking method is especially well-suited for almond flour-based batters like this one. To make it work, you'll also need a 7-inch springform pan and a trivet.

Because we wanted to make a cake that's suited for those following a Whole30 diet, the only source of sweetness here is date syrup because dates are the only Whole30-compliant sweetener. The cake is also dairy-free by swapping in coconut milk.

You'll find the flavor of this dessert incredibly satisfying—a combo of sweetness from the date syrup and coconut milk, and tartness from the lemon juice. So sweeten up your 30-day cleanse (or your paleo diet!), with this dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free dessert creation.

Makes one 7-inch cake

Ingredients

1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
Zest and juice of 3 lemons
1/2 cup date syrup
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
1/2 cup melted coconut oil, plus more for greasing the pan
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

How to Make It

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, date syrup, coconut milk, coconut oil, and vanilla extract.
  3. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix gently until well combined.
  4. Grease the inside of a 7-inch springform pan thoroughly. Pour the batter in and cover the top of the pan tightly with foil. Place a trivet inside your Instant Pot, then pour two cups of water into the Instant Pot. Place the cake pan carefully on top of the trivet, lock the lid, and close the pressure valve. Set the Instant Pot to cook on manual at high pressure for 35 minutes.
  5. After 35 minutes, manually release the pressure valve (a "quick release") by turning it to venting and allowing the steam to escape until the pressure valve drops. Unlock the lid and carefully remove the cake pan by pulling the trivet out of the Instant Pot.
  6. Carefully remove the foil (it will be hot) and allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes before removing the outer ring of the springform pan.

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Posie Brien
Posie Brien is a New York City-based recipe developer. Read more about Posie