Ohhhhhh, lemon slice. How you make my heart sing.
I don’t have many vices, but this is absolutely one of them. I can never say no to the delectably citrusy, melt-in-your-mouth delightfulness. It takes me straight back to my childhood when I’d alternate between making lemon slice and strawberry jelly slice most weekends. Both recipes conveniently only used half a tin of sweetened condensed milk, which meant I could drink the second half straight from the can. Oh boy.
The internet is flooded with wholesome spins on traditional slices these days, but it’s always been a little more difficult to find ones that are suitable for digestively challenged folk. Most healthified lemon slices I’ve come across, delightful as they look, rely heavily on coconut, dates, cashews, and other high FODMAP ingredients. So, this is my attempt. I’d be lying if I said it was half the mouth party that its Marie biscuit, condensed milk, and icing sugar-laden muse is, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. I’ll let you be the judge.
The base for this Lemon, Macadamia and Coconut slice is bulked with quinoa flakes and buckwheat grouts, which lend a lovely biscuity texture. Pre-soaking the macadamias (an imperative step) makes for a fluffy, creamy topping, and you can add as much zest to it until your ideal level of lemonyness is reached.
It’s also vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, and paleo, and is packed with quality proteins, healthy fats, fibre, vitamins, and minerals!
Lemon, Macadamia and Coconut Slice | Gluten Free, Grain Free, Low FODMAP, Vegan
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins (plus 1 hour for setting)
- Yield: 24 squares 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
Biscuit Base:
- 1 cup (70g) quinoa flakes
- 1 ½ cups (82g) unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut plus a little extra, to serve
- 1 cup (100g) raw pecans
- ½ cup (80g) buckwheat groats
- 2 tbsp linseeds (chia seeds would also work)
- ¼ cup (85g) pure maple syrup
- 1/3 cup (70g) melted coconut oil
- Generous pinch of fine sea salt
Lemon Cream Topping:
- 1 ½ cups (180g) cashews (or macadamias for the FODMAP friendly version)
- ⅔ cup (120g) organic full-fat coconut cream
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- Optional: 3 tbsp melted coconut oil (for a slightly firmer topping – see notes in step 5 below)
Instructions
- Place the cashews/macadamias in a small bowl and cover with filtered water. Cover the bowl with a small plate and allow to soak overnight at room temperature.
- Line a rectangular slice tray (mine is 18 x 27cm) with baking paper.
- To make the biscuit base, use a high-powered processor to process the quinoa flakes, dried coconut, pecans, buckwheat grouts, linseeds, and salt until a crumbly texture forms.
- Add the coconut oil and maple syrup and process until it all comes together, scraping the bowl down with a spatula as necessary. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and use your fingertips to press it down firmly and evenly. Place in the freezer to set, ensuring a flat position, while you make the topping.
- To make the lemon cream topping, drain the pre-soaked cashews/macadamias and discard the liquid. Place them into the cleaned processor bowl/jug and blend until as smooth as possible. Add the coconut cream, maple syrup, lemon juice and a quarter of the zest. Process until smooth and creamy, scraping the sides down with a spatula as necessary. Taste the cream and add more zest until your ideal level of lemonyness is reached (make sure you reserve some zest for topping). Note: this topping is designed to stay quite soft and creamy once set, but if you’d prefer it a bit firmer, you can add 3-4 tbsp melted coconut oil at this step – the coconut oil will solidify during setting and create a denser topping.
- Remove the biscuit base from the freezer and top with the lemon cream, using the back of a spoon or spatula to smooth over. Top with extra lemon zest and toasted coconut flakes. Set in the freezer for an hour or so, ensuring a flat position.
- Once set, remove from the freezer and use a sharp knife to cut the slice into 24 squares. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to one week, or freeze for up to one month.
Notes
Cashews result in an even creamier topping consistency than macadamias, so I recommend using cashews if you’re not sensitive to them.
Regarding FODMAPS: This recipe has been carefully formulated to be FODMAP friendly when the recommended serving size is adhered to. It contains moderate amounts of sorbitol from coconut and small amounts of fructans from pecans, macadamias and linseeds. When this slice is cut into 24 squares, one square is considered low FODMAPs overall and should be tolerated by individuals with IBS.
This may be a stupid question, but is there anything I can use other than cashews? My boyfriend has a tree nut allergy making it really difficult to make many of these healthy desserts (thank god he can still have peanut butter though otherwise it could have been a deal breaker). I can sub the pecans with sunflower seeds, but don’t think I can do that for the filling?
Going to try this tomorrow, what could I use instead of buckwheat groats? Can it be frozen?
Great to hear Kylie! Pistachio base sounds super yummy! And you’re right, a little maple syrup goes a long way in this recipe 🙂
I made it and it was delicious. I didn’t have pecans, so i used pistachios. This meant the base was greenish, but that didn’t matter so much! Two things suprised me – the cream set more than I thought, though I still think I’d rather it more ‘set’, like icing, and how little maple syrup you actually need. Thanks!
Oh my YUM!!!! This looks and sounds amazing!!!
Lennae xxx
http://www.lennaesworld.com
Haha YAY! I can’t wait for you to try this! Let me know what you think of it 🙂 Xxx
I love you! (and all of your recipes) I spent about 45 minutes trying to find a recipe like this just four days ago…with no luck. Thank you! Can’t wait to make it.