The Spunky Coconut

Gluten-Free ❤ Dairy-Free ❤ Paleo

You are here: Home / Cake & Cupcakes / Lemon Breakfast Cake

Lemon Breakfast Cake

By

LemonBreakfastCake-1

I’m always looking for more ways to add gelatin to our diet. You’ve probably heard that it’s great for your hair and nails, but it’s also a good source of protein, it supports joint health, and it’s very healing for the gut (especially helpful for Ashley).

In March I attended Natural Products Expo West, and I was so excited to find Vital Proteins. Their gelatin is made from pasture-raised hormone-free beef. They gave me some jars of their collagen protein (gelatin) and their collagen peptides. I often get questions about the difference between the two.

LemonBreakfastCake-3

All gelatin is collagen, but not all collagen is gelatin. (I’m really bad and call both of them “gelatin,” which is not technically correct.) They come from the same part of the animal, both are made of collagen and contain protein, but they’re processed differently for different uses in the kitchen: Gelatin, the type we’re most familiar with Vital Proteins’ Collagen Protein Beef Gelatin (green lid) dissolves in hot water and gels (picture the fun jiggly dessert). Meanwhile, Vital Proteins’ Collagen Peptides (blue lid) do not gel or clump, so they’re great for smoothies or baking.

I usually use powdered collagen as the protein in our smoothies, but today I’m adding it to a yummy breakfast cake! This protein cake is quick to make and grab on a busy morning (AKA: all mornings).

LemonBreakfastCake-2

Lemon Breakfast Cake

1/4 cup (34g) coconut flour, sifted
1/4 cup (20g) collagen peptides (blue lid)*
1/4 cup (34g) arrowroot flour
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons sustainably-sourced palm shortening (I think ghee would also work, and possibly coconut oil)
1 egg
2 strawberries, trimmed, cut in half

*A lot of you have asked if Great Lakes collagen protein will work for this, and it does.

  1. Set the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
  2. In a mixing bowl combine the coconut flour, collagen, arrowroot flour, lemon zest, salt, and baking soda with a whisk.
  3. Add the honey, lemon juice, shortening, and egg. Mix with an electric mixer for about 20 seconds.
  4. Transfer the dough to the sheet and use your hands to shape it into a 5 inch square. Press the strawberries into the top of the dough. Cut the cake into four, but do not separate the parts.
  5. Bake for about 20 minutes. When the cake is cool separate the pieces and enjoy at room temperature.

♥, Kelly

Note: This is a sponsored post, but the opinions are my own, and I would never promote anything I didn’t strongly believe in.

Share this:

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Oh, I really want to make this. It looks delicious. But I think I might sub blueberries for strawberries because lemon and blueberry is one of my favorite combos. <3

  2. Thanks for the info, Kelly. I just visited Vital Proteins and placed an order. I drink a lot of smoothies in the summer and love the idea of adding protein this way. I think adding collagen to our diet will be beneficial to both me and my husband. The lemon cake sounds yummy!

    • I haven’t tried using them, but I think there are websites online that offer nutritional calculators based on ingredients 🙂

  6. But who is going to buy such an expensive product (collagen peptides) just to make this recipe? I know that you can continue taking this product daily but I am not going to buy this product. I hate sponsored anything!!! 🙁

    • Really? She posted this recipe for us for free AND gave us a 20% off coupon code for a very beneficial product that should be used daily.

      Why would you say something so rude and risk making her feel bad? Maybe she can start charging you for all of her recipes and then she won’t have to “sponsor” anything?

  7. Thank you, Kelly! Just ordered Vital Proteins’ Collagen Peptides (blue lid) and saved 20%!

  8. It’s necessary use collagen, or a can substuite for other thing and if is possible what i could use?
    * would you please, when you use collagen, protein powder and stuff like that put replacer or substitute? Because a don’t use those things.
    anyways i love this website, the recipes. I am a big coconut addicted. Kisses. :*:*

    • So, you go to a *free* website, where the author has a very specific focus – of which you are very well aware, being a big fan and all – and tell her to make sure she’s giving substitutions for very specific products that are used for very specific purposes in a small handful of the many many many *free* recipes, simply because YOU don’t use them? The audacity of people on the internet, especially with specialty cooking/food blogs never ceases to astound me….

      • FYI some people do not consume animal products for a variety of reasons including political or religious. Consequently not all followers of Kelly’s amazing blog can use collagen.

        It’s fine that a substitute is not included since she’s specifically highlighting the collagen. It just means we have to figure it out on our own.

        • Very well said, Amy! I think that ingredient can just be omitted altogether and one can just watch the consistency of the batter when pouring in the liquid. Don’t see why that would not work out!

      • I find this all so amusing. A recipe is presented without an order to make it! It looks fantastic, but if you’re not willing to get the ingredients, then test it out with something else and report your findings. Really, aren’t we demanding too much of the recipe writer to test every which way herself so she can answer our questions? Substitutions, dear ladies, are up to us!

  12. THanks for the recipes and coupon! I have been using gelatin and/or collagen as a protein supplement in smoothies, bulletproof-type coffee, and other drinks for a while now, and am so happy to see more ways to use it in the diet. It is SO good for you!

  13. Will this recipe work with the Great Lakes Collagen instead of the Vital Proteins’ Collagen Peptides?

  14. Yum! I just ordered some peptides so I can make this! I’m thinking strawberry shortcakes this spring!

    Do you use fresh or dried lemon zest?

  15. thanks for posting about Vital Proteins, I wasn’t aware of that brand of gelatin. I’ve used Great Lakes and happy with it except for the price. With your 20% off coupon code, 32oz at Vital Proteins saved me a bit of cash … happy about that!

    • I need to be careful how much starch I’m having, and I’ve had pretty good success using ground chia seeds unstead of tapioca or arrowroot if the recipe calls for a little bit. I haven’t tried a recipe with this much tapioca though it could work.

  17. Two questions for you…
    1) What would happen if I used the green lid collagen (i.e. the one that gels)?
    2) Could I substitute more coconut flour for the arrowroot?

    Thank you. <3

    • Hi Sophie. The green lid gelatin will make clumps like Jell-O. Tapioca flour can substitute the arrowroot. 🙂

  18. Mmmm. I made this recipe, with hesitation because I usually do not like coconut flour baking. But, desperate for a gluten and nut-free “cake”, I thought I’d give coconut flour another go. It’s delicious!

    I had to make a couple changes for ingredients – I used butter because I don’t have shortening (or a problem with dairy) and we don’t have fresh strawberries here yet so I used 4 little blobs of strawberry jam that I have left from last summers strawberries.

    I also used the Great Lakes brand gelatin in the green can.

    Thanks Kelly so much for the recipe!

  20. Hello,
    Recipe looks awesome…just confirming that Kelly recommends using the red can of Great Lakes Collagen. (I got confused bcs Tanya mentions using the green can with success — no lumps…)
    Thank you!!

    • Great Lakes red can of “gelatin” is good for jiggly desserts. Their green can of Collage hydroslysate is what you would us in this recipe.

  21. Kelly, thanks for the coupon. I made your breakfast cake but doubled the amount of lemon zest to help overcome the starchy mouth feel.

  24. We have the recipe all measured out except for the egg, for breakfast fast tomorrow. I think we might try a smaller cake and some mini cupcakes for the wee ones, looking forward to trying it!

  25. I’m excited to try this recipe! Definitely need to get my hands on some collagen protein stat!! I have a sensitivity to coconut products, can I use an alternative or is it a must? Thanks for such yummy looking recipes and always interesting information!!

  26. I made this for my kids & me but I substituted a gelatin egg for the egg & lemon stevia (about 10 drops) for honey. It turned out great!! It tastes best after you let it cool about an hour.
    I also substituted cassava flour for arrowroot & it worked as well.