Lemon blueberry tea cakes (gluten-free, vegan)

This is the season every year where my mind tries to trick my body into thinking I am still twenty-something years old.  I wake up on a beautiful weekend morning in spring suddenly determined to make our large yard look like something out of the pages of a gardening magazine, and I spend the entire day weeding, pruning, edging, digging, planting, and schlepping inumerable giant bags of dirt and mulch all over the place.  Of course, the next morning when I wake up, my body informs my mind that it is most definitely not still twenty-something years old, and I suddenly remember once again why I shouldn't try to do so much in one day.  I'm not sure I'll ever learn....

This past Saturday was one of those crazy yard work kind of days, so yesterday morning I decided to take a short break from the gardening frenzy and putter a little in my kitchen instead.  I seem to always crave lemon flavoured things this time of year, so I whipped up some lemon blueberry tea cakes using almond flour, and iced them with a light coconut frosting.  These sweet little gluten-free and vegan cakes are perfect for enjoying on the patio with a nice cup of tea on a spring evening, and would make a lovely treat for Mom on Mother's Day.

Lemon Blueberry Tea Cakes

For the cakes:

2 cups blanched almond flour
1 tbsp arrowroot powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
the zest of one lemon
3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup frozen blueberries

For the icing:

3 tbsp raw coconut butter
3 tsp coconut oil
3 tsp raw honey

plus a bit of unsweetened shredded coconut and additional lemon zest for sprinkling on top of cakes

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, arrowroot powder, sea salt, baking soda, and lemon zest. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the almond milk and honey.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.  Carefully fold in the frozen blueberries.

Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper and gently press it with the palms of your hands to flatten it to about a 3/4 inch thickness.  Using a small biscuit cutter or a round cookie cutter, cut the dough into circles.  Place each circle on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Bake the cakes for approximately 20 minutes, or until they are lightly golden.  Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool.

Once the cakes have cooled, beat the coconut butter, coconut oil, and honey together with an electric mixture until you have a smooth icing.  Spread a little icing on the top of each cake, and sprinkle a bit of shredded coconut and lemon zest on top.  Serve and enjoy!

My break from the yard work didn't last long yesterday; I ignored my aching arms and legs and was right back at it in the afternoon.  But I sure did enjoy the nice view from my deck as I sat and savoured one of these yummy tea cakes after a good day's work.  :)