Mini Candied Meyer Lemon Cakes Recipe

These delicate little cakes seem perfectly suited for a dainty tea party, fancy brunch, or the sweet ending to a memorable meal. No one will ever guess they came from a boxed cake mix and premade frosting! But, to be fair, the Vanilla Cake Almond Flour Mix and Organic Vanilla Frosting are from Simple Mills, a company that specializes in delicious and healthy gluten-free baking mixes and ready-to-eat snacks. In other words, these aren’t your average baking shortcuts. The vanilla cake mix in this recipe is made from just six simple ingredients: almond flour, organic coconut sugar, arrowroot powder, organic coconut flour, baking soda, and sea salt. The vanilla frosting doesn’t contain many more than that—and both are free of gluten, grains, soy, corn, dairy, and gums or emulsifiers so they’re Paleo-friendly as well as gluten-free and vegan!

Mini Candied Meyer Lemon Cakes Recipe

Yield: 6 mini cakes
Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the candied lemons
1 cup water
1 cup sugar, plus ¼ cup for sprinkling
4 to 5 sprigs of thyme, plus more for garnish
2 Meyer lemons, thinly sliced

For the cake
3 eggs
⅓ cup grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup water
1 Meyer lemon, zested and juiced
1 box Simple Mills Vanilla Cake Almond Flour Mix
1 jar Simple Mills Organic Vanilla Frosting

Instructions

Make the candied lemons
In a large skillet over medium heat, add water and sugar. Bring to a boil then turn down heat; let simmer until sugar is dissolved. Add thyme and Meyer lemons. Simmer for 30 minutes, until rinds have softened and are slightly translucent. Remove lemon slices to a sheet tray lined with parchment. Let stand at room temperature until dry but slightly tacky to the touch. (These can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for several days.) When ready to use, sprinkle both sides of the lemon slices with sugar.

Remove thyme from the skillet. Continue simmering until the liquid has reduced by a third, forming a syrup. Turn off heat and let cool slightly. (This lemon syrup will be used to top your cakes later.)

Make the cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Follow the instructions on the package. Add Meyer lemon zest and juice to the batter. Pour into a 9 x 13-inch sheet tray lined with parchment paper and greased. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool.

With a round cookie cutter, cut out 12 rounds. Transfer cut rounds to a platter. Drizzle half of the rounds with 2 teaspoons reserved lemon syrup. On the same rounds, pipe frosting in a circle to cover. Top the frosted rounds with the unfrosted rounds, forming mini stacked cakes, and drizzle the top of each cake with 2 more teaspoons of syrup. Pipe frosting onto the center of each and top with a candied lemon slice and a sprig of thyme.

Recipe by: Angela Gaines
Photo credit: Paul Delmont