I’m not sure how many times you have to do something before you can refer to it as a tradition, but I’m calling a new one in our house. Cake for breakfast.

It’s happened twice now, and I don’t feel bad about it at all. Because when you make a cake which only has ingredients that are good for you, I actually think it can make a perfect breakfast food. Protein, good fats and low sugar, and seriously fun to boot; that sounds like a pretty good breakfast to me.

The first time we tried this new ‘cake for breakfast’ tradition was about 6 weeks ago. I had made a cake and on a whim, offered a leftover slice as an option for breakfast. It had some pretty great ingredients that I thought would actually set anybody up well for a busy day at work or school; apples, almonds, eggs and no refined sugar. My son and I both had a slice, and it made the mid-week morning feel really fun, more like the weekend than just an ordinary school day. It was our fun, little secret that we had actually eaten cake for breakfast.

When I made this cake, I was looking for something a little bright in the middle of winter and to use up a batch of blueberries I had roasted originally intending to have as a yoghurt topping. Then a bad cold reared it’s ugly head and we decided to go off dairy temporarily, until everyone had a chance to restore to full wellness. I needed to find a new home for those blueberries, as well as for a few lemons that had snapped off the tree in the blustery winter winds. I also really needed to do something creative while we hung out at home waiting for the worst of the lethargy to pass.

Fortunately everyone’s energy (and appetite) started to return right about the time the cake came out of the oven. Funny that.

The next day everyone felt much better, and to celebrate we treated ourselves to cake for breakfast.

Blueberry, Lemon and Coconut Cake

This cake is best eaten as a slice of cake in the first day or two, but then makes a delicious breakfast or dessert topped with a generous dollop of yoghurt (coconut yoghurt if you are dairy free) and a sprinkling of bee pollen, a few coconut flakes, some roughly chopped toasted almonds, or a few extra frozen blueberries if it takes your fancy (as it does mine). If the whole cake is too much to get through within a couple of days you can freeze a few pre-cut slices for another day.

If you like, you can roast the blueberries to make a juicy compote to stir through the cake batter or to alongside the cake, but this step is totally optional – the cake also works beautifully by simply stirring through some still frozen blueberries just before baking.

Blueberry, Lemon and Coconut Cake ~ Cake for Breakfast

300g frozen blueberries
2 tablespoons xylitol

100g (1 cup) almond meal
250g (1 1/2 cups) buckwheat flour
160g (2/3 cup) xylitol
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla powder
100g (1/2 cup) coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
250ml (1 cup) coconut milk
zest of 2 lemons
70ml (1/4 cup) maple syrup
2 eggs, separated

Preheat your oven to 170°C  fan forced / 190° C conventional / 375° F / Gas Mark 5. Grease and line a 26cm round cake tin with baking paper.

Place the blueberries and the 2 tablespoons of xylitol into a small roasting tin and bake for 20 minutes, or until the blueberries are juicy. This step is optional.

If your coconut oil is solid, then warm it in a small saucepan over a low heat until it has just melted. Allow the coconut oil to cool slightly.

In a medium sized bowl, stir together the dry ingredients until well combined.

Separate the eggs, and put the yolks into the dry mixture and the whites into another clean medium sized bowl. Add the coconut oil, coconut milk, lemon zest and maple syrup into the dry mixture (that now also has the egg yolks) and stir together until the mixture is uniform and there are no dry lumps.

Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, then fold these gently through the cake batter. Fold either the blueberry compote or frozen blueberries through now too. Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin, and slide into the middle of the oven. Bake for around 40 minutes, or until the cake is golden on top and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Serve the cake still warm for afternoon tea, or at room temperature for breakfast alongside some yoghurt and extra berries, or a sprinkling of coconut and chopped, toasted almonds.

If the thought of cake for breakfast really appeals to you, these Pumpkin and Dark Chocolate Muffins with Cacao Nibs would also make a great breakfast, as would this yummy Travelling Banana Bread, or the Everyone Cookies