Can I Use Coconut Oil To Make The Almond And Orange Blossom Cake?

Our answer

Nigella's Almond And Orange Blossom Cake (from HOW TO EAT) is a moist and fragrant cake that can be made gluten free by using rice flour instead of regular flour. Using rice flour also gives a very tender cake.

We suspect that coconut oil could be used as an alternative to butter. However, beating together the fat and sugar at the start is an important step as it incorporates air and there is no other leavening in the cake batter. So the coconut oil needs to be firm enough to beat and not too soft or liquid. As coconut oil has a higher fat content than butter, it may be better to use a combination of coconut oil and a low-fat plant-based plain, unsweetened yogurt. We would suggest using 180g (¾ cup) coconut oil and 45g (3 tablespoons) yogurt. Add 1 tablespoon of yogurt with the first, second and third eggs. However, please note that as we have not tried the cake with these ingredients, we are unable to guarantee the results.