Make this stunning chia seed cake and indulge with a cup of afternoon coffee or tea. There is nothing better than enjoying that soft sponge with lemony flavours, with a hint of crunch from the chia seeds. Oh, and that irresistible lemon glaze just produces top results!
This chia seed cake is undeniably nutritious because of the addition of chia seeds into the cake batter. It can also be used as a healthy snack in-between meals if you omit the lemon glaze on top.
This recipe is actually very similar to a lemon drizzle cake recipe. In fact, if you add chia seeds to a lemon drizzle cake recipe, you come pretty close to an identical result.
The prep time for this recipe is 40 minutes. The cook time is 45 minutes. Hence, the total time it will take you to make this chia seed cake from scratch is 1.5 hours.
If you love cakes and desserts with lemon, you should also try my moist drizzle lemon curd cupcakes or this easy lemon chess pie.
products you need for this recipe
Here is a list of the top products you will need to make this excellent chia seed cake recipe. What's more, you can also use these to make other cakes and desserts. Take a look below:
- stand mixer - I can't even imagine what it must have been like back in the day without a stand mixer to perfectly mix everything together. This is a life saver!
- electric hand mixer - similarly, it's always a good idea to have a hand mixer to make dips, salsas, you name it.
- cake tin - you can make other desserts with this shape, like this no bake biscuit cake recipe for instance.
- measuring utensils - I don't know about you, but I can't stand having my measuring utensils all over the kitchen. Hence, I am recommending these measuring utensils, as they are all strapped to each other. Very easy to find indeed!
- cake decorating set - this cake decorating set will take you to the next level with this cake recipe. You can make stunning creations like my sugar free angel food cake for instance.
Is there any other product which is a must for you, when it comes to baked goods and baking cakes? Let me know in the comments section below.
what are chia seeds?
In short, chia seeds are a type of edible seed from the chia plant, which belongs to the mint family, believe it or not.
The chia plant is native to the regions of Central America. Most notably, Mexico, all the way up to the southwestern part of the United States.
Apparently, there is evidence that these seeds were cultivated by the ancient Aztec civilisation. It is argued, that the chia seeds were used as a staple throughout the Mesoamerican period.
Chia seeds are quite versatile. Here are just a few different methods of how you can enjoy and cook with chia seeds:
- Sprinkle them on top of other foods as a topping (in their dried form)
- Mix them into a healthy smoothie recipe
- Add them into bread (to make chia seed bread), muffins, cakes, cookies and other baked recipes. It's an excellent way to also reduce flour content in recipes.
- Add them into yoghurt
- Soak them overnight with oat and make overnight oats with chia and blueberries
- Soak them in water and consume them directly
- Make a pudding with them, like this wild blueberry chia pudding
- Grind them to a fine powder and make a gelatin which can be used to replace up to 25% of egg and oil content in a cake recipe
- Toss them into salad for extra nutrition
- Use them to make energy bars
You name it, there are multiple ways you can cook with as well as consume chia seeds.
what benefits do chia seeds have?
Even though chia seeds are quite small, they're very nutritious and play an important role in our diets. These seeds are one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids, just like walnuts. These good fats are important as regards reducing the risk of heart disease. This is because the omega-3 fatty acids support the good type of cholesterol, which can help prevent heart disease, heart attacks and stroke.
Moreover, chia seeds are also rich in fibre and anti-oxidants, and are a source of Vitamin B, niacin, riboflavin, folate, manganese, magnesium, zinc, thiamin, phosphorous, calcium and iron.
Hence, as you can see, adding chia seeds into your cake is a great idea, since they contain a ton of health benefits.
Can you add chia seeds to cake?
Yes, you can add chia seeds to cake recipes. In fact, you can add them into baked recipes which have a bit of texture. For instance, muffins, bread, cupcakes and energy bars.
Moreover, because of the fact that they don't have any significant flavour, adding them won't affect the overall taste of your cakes.
Believe me, you'll hardly notice that they're there.
How do you bake with chia seeds?
There are multiple ways you can bake with chia seeds.
Firstly, you can add chia seeds in with the flour and mix all the ingredients together. There is no need to worry about soaking them prior to the cook. When you bake dried chia seeds, they'll plump up and absorb any liquids from the batter as they bake. The liquids the chia seeds will absorb will be from the eggs, the butter and the citrus juice.
So, simply add the dried seeds into the cake batter and wait until the cake comes out clean and beautiful from the oven. The amount of time you'll need to wait until the cake is ready is about 45 minutes.
Secondly, you can also grind the seeds prior to baking the cake and then treat it like flour. When in ground form, it has a very similar texture to flour. So, make sure that they are ground first and, only then, mix the latter with the flour. The end result will be a cake with a delicious fluffy texture.
Some people even use the ground chia seeds as a substitute for flour baking, or for reducing the amount of flour in baking recipes. In addition, chia seeds are gluten free, so they make a fabulous gluten-free substitute to flour.
Is it bad to eat chia seeds dry?
In essence, they absorb enormous amounts of water. Hence, if you ingest them, they will absorb any liquid from inside your system which can even cause digestive problems such as blockage. Moreover, it might be more difficult to swallow them dry. Therefore, it is preferable if you soak them first.
Always make sure that you first soak them for at least 10 minutes in cold water prior to consuming them. Especially, if you plan to only consume them alone.
how much can I eat per day?
It is recommended that the daily dosage of seeds per day is approximately 40 grams. This is roughly 3 tablespoons.
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In addition, it's recommended that this amount should be divided throughout the day. So, at one time, consume only 20 grams, which is approximately 1.5 tablespoons.
I recommend splitting these amounts between breakfast and lunch, or between breakfast and dinner.
Just think of the fact that this cake recipe includes the daily recommended dosage. Although, I wouldn't go as far as eating the whole cake in one day!
can I use lemon essence instead of lemon juice?
This chia seed cake calls for lemon zest as well and a bit of lemon juice. However, if you want to intensify the flavour of lemon, you can add more lemon juice. Just make sure you don't add too much juice as you might encounter consistency issues.
For this reason, it is better if you use lemon essence. It's stronger and it doesn't call for too much liquid. So, yes you can use lemon essence instead of lemon juice in this cake recipe.
This cake recipe aside, in general you can substitute lemon essence instead of the juice. Whether it be in another cake recipe, muffin recipe, curd, etc. However, you must use caution as the 1:1 ratio does not apply.
Since lemon essence is far stronger and aromatic than the juice itself, you'll need to experiment by testing the flavour, by adding a teaspoon at a time.
should I use baking powder or baking soda for my cake?
No, my chia seed cake doesn't call for baking powder or baking soda. It doesn't need to rise, as it would do with both baking soda and baking powder, therefore they're not required.
However, if you like to experiment by adding baking powder, 1 teaspoon would not drastically change the consistency of the cake. If you add more baking powder, 1 tablespoon for instance, then you are likely to run into consistency problems.
My recommendation is to stick to the recipe for optimal results.
best toppings for chia cake
This is where you can get creative with the chia seed cake. First of all, I opted for grated lemon zest. The citrusy flavour of the lemon complements the cake perfectly.
When selecting lemons, make sure you go for organic ones. Especially, since you'll be using the skin of the lemon. The organic lemons not only taste better, they also have a better colour. In addition, they're much healthier for you because they weren't exposed to any pesticides, herbicides or other chemicals.
The grated lemon goes on top of a delicious lemon glaze, which is made with icing sugar.
other toppings
If you feel like being adventurous, other toppings can work extremely well with this recipe.
- orange zest (equally delicious, slightly sweeter)
- fresh forest fruit such as raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, redcurrant, blackcurrant or strawberries (you can easily use 1 cup)
- drizzle a bit of lemon curd, lime curd, kiwi curd, or strawberry curd on top of this cake
- fresh mint
- cream cheese frosting if you are looking for a creamy result
- yoghurt (yoghurt and lemon pair very well together)
- chocolate fudge sauce if you crave chocolate
- homemade caramel sauce
- seedless blackberry jam or seville orange marmalade
- powdered sugar (add the powder 1 teaspoon at a time. Pass the powder through a sieve for perfect results)
- candied lemon or candied orange
As you can see, the choices are endless! It's completely up to you how you decorate your cake. In fact, you don't even need to decorate it. You can opt for serving it without the lemon glaze if you'd like to spare a few calories.
Nevertheless, this is a delicious dessert, to be enjoyed at any time of day!
How would you serve your chia seed cake? How would you decorate it? Let me know in the comments section.
GIVEAWAY
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The whole process of freezing the product and then taking the rest of the water out helps the fruit and vegetables to keep all the nutritions, making them incredibly light, portable and compact.
They can also be re-hydrated by just adding warm water. No more worrying about going off fruit!
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Competition Question: What is your favourite healthy cake?
Print📖 Recipe
Chia Seed Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 slices 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This chia seed cake is drizzled with lemon icing and makes a healthy addition to tea breaks. It's easy to prepare and vegetarian.
Ingredients
Cake
- 180g (¾ cup) butter, softened
- 120g (⅝ cup) + 7.5ml (1 ½ tbsp) sugar
- 4 eggs, separated
- 60ml (¼ cup) milk
- 15ml (1 tbsp) lemon zest
- 15ml (1 tbsp) lemon juice
- 43g (¼ cup) chia seeds
- 2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
- 120g (1 cup) all-purpose flour, sifted
Lemon Glaze
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 100g (1 cup) icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / fan 160°C / 350°F / gas mark 4.
- Grease a 22cm/2lb loaf tin with butter.
- Place the butter and sugar in a stand mixer, and cream until pale and fluffy.
- Add one egg yolk at a time, and beat it into the mixture until all are used up.
- Set the mixer on a low setting, then add the milk, chia seeds, lemon juice, zest and salt. Set aside.
- Place the remaining egg whites and 7.5ml (1½ tbsp) sugar in another bowl and beat until stiff peaks have formed.
- Fold in a bit of the flour into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in a bit of the egg white mixture. Keep alternating until everything is well incorporated and a batter is formed.
- Pour into the greased loaf tin and cook for 40 minutes or until cooked.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a cooling rack.
- For the Lemon Glaze: Mix together the icing sugar and lemon juice until you have a smooth icing. You might need to add a few drops of water if the icing is too thick.
- Pour the icing over the top of the cake, letting the icing drizzle down the sides.
- [Optional] Sprinkle the top with lemon zest.
- Serve with your favourite cup of tea or as part of an afternoon tea. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you don’t own a stand mixer, you can use an electric hand mixer.
- You can test if the cake is cooked by inserting a wooden skewer. If it comes out clean, it’s ready.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 391
- Sugar: 28.2 g
- Sodium: 102 mg
- Fat: 22.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 12.4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 43.1 g
- Fiber: 2.4 g
- Protein: 6.1 g
- Cholesterol: 141.5 mg
Traci S
I made this lemon chia seed cake today and it was delicious! Everyone loved it. They could not stop saying how great it was. It was moist and lemony- the texture was perfect.
I followed the recipe as it was but I didn't have a stand or a hand mixer. I just mixed it by hand with a whisk and it came out great. The icing was so easy and delicious. The next time I make it, I'll make two and make a double layer cake. Thanks for the great recipe!
Teeronks
Thanks, i learnt a lot from this write up
Violet Perkins Phillippo
I love carrot cake but I try and use minimal sugar and add other veg, such as courgette, for extra moisture.
Natalie Gillham
I love carrot cake with some naughty cream cheese frosting x
Lorna-Jane Holland
Walnut and cinnamon cake!
Rose Eros
Apple/cherry strudel..not a cake but it is my favourite
Aileen
Carrot cake
S Straw
Either carrot cake or banana bread, I can't decide!
Mr Michael Knappett
Carrot Cake Cheesecake
Andrzej Szymanski
Gluten free Courgette Chocolate Cake
MERYL Thomas
A banana loaf cake
Alba Garcia
I love banana bread. This chia cake looks amazing 🙂
Faridah Brooker
My mums apple and almond cake
Ross Leech
Ring doughnuts, with their healthy hole in the middle.
Amy Bondoc
apple cake
Caron Twyman
Carrot cake
HowToDrawAnOwl
spinach based cakes
Daphne Monk
I have some chia seeds in my cupboard, now I know how to use them
Sandra Fortune
Bran loaf homemade
Sarah Hold
Probably less healthy than it sounds but Carrot cake is my favourite xx
Christine Hobbs
I use chia seeds in my recipes all the time. I find I can use one less egg but add a dash more milk. My healthy honey chia seed and lemon cake is lovely. I use quality raw honey instead of sugar and the zest of two lemons makes it very tasty.
Jeanette Leighton
I love banana loaf
daniel o
date and carrot
Charlotte Carter-Dunn
Avocado chocolate cake
sharon martin
Carrot Cake
Megan
Carrot cake
Laura Napier
carrot cake or lemon drizzle cake
Rebecca Beesley
Now this is my kind of cake! I love lemon and poppy seed so I think chia seed would help it have a similar texture. My fave healthier cake is lemon polenta cake made with coconut sugar in place of refined sugar.
Alice O'Neill
Carrot cake
Ms Joanna Tolhurst
banana and walnut loaf
Troy Easton
Black berry cake.
chloe brill
carrot cake
betsy ferguson
Beetroot and chocolate cake for me and my daughter, as we are gluten intolerant. But, for the rest of the family, it is carrot cakes with wheat flour x (Incidently, you cant taste the beetroot in the cake) x
Julie Wilson
Carrot and sultana cake - no frosting
Emma Fox
Has to be Apple Cake 😋😋 yummy yummy
Kim M
Like a malt loaf x
Charlotte Bell
I love a carrot cake. I will definitely try this recipe, I have chia seeds at home!
Jodie Green
Has to be carrot cake!
Angela Morgan
Has to be low calorie carrot cake - yum
Carol W.
Banana bread with walnuts and raisins....delish and filling...freezes well too.
Kirsty Charleston
Banana and raisin is my favourite.
Ali Thorpe
Plum cake made with oil instead of butter.
Charlotte Burle
My fav healthy cake is a fig and hazelnut cake. Yum yum. Might have to make one today!
Joy Winn
Courgette & Lemon Cake
Lori Ross
My favourite healthy cake has to be banana and raisin, but this chia seed cake sounds delish!
Hazel Rea
Carrot cake.
Deborah Preston
Is carrot cake healthy??
Amanda Botterill
I had a really nice lower calorie carrot cake which was delicious
Jayne K
Wholemeal carrot and walnut sponge with real banana frosting
Anthea Holloway
I make a sugar free banana cake which is lovely and suits my diabetic husband.
Erica Hughes
Carrot cake
Jo Nichol
Carrot cake!
Susannah
Courgette cake is delicious!
Emma Davison
Chocolate courgette cake
Angela Kelly
Does carrot cake count as healthy? It has vegetables in it!
Patricia Barrett
Carrot cake is my favourite. Thanks for the competition.
Carly Belsey
I love a carrot cake or a banana cake. To be honest, I didn't know there was such thing as a healthy cake haha.
Laura Green
carrot cake
Sheri Darby
Apple cake
Tracy Barber
I think this Chia seed cake is my new favourite healthy cake it's lush
Francesca H
Love homemade red velvet cake - beetroot made amazing!!
Deborah Hambleton
Banana loaf
James Travis
Banana cake is mine
Janine Phillips
Guilt free brownies
Jennifer Rhymer
Banana cake is my absolute favourite x
Kristyn Harris
I like malt loaf
Clara
Beetroot and carrot cake
Marie Rungapadiachy
Banana cake is my favourite. It is so delicious.
John Williams
Carrot Cake
Victoria
courgette and carrot cake
Niall Seenan
Carrott cake!
Charlotte Cooke
I don’t know about healthy but banana loaf.
Keith Hunt
Welsh Cakes i dont know if they are healthy
Charlotte H
I love a carrot cake! One of your five a day right?!
k.benmailoud
I love Cranberry Crumb Coffee Cake
Victoria Prince
Banana Cake! I don't even add sugar because I find there is enough sweetness in the bananas
Stephanie
Carrot cake
Donna Lawton
Carrot cake. I doubt it is healthy but it has veg in it!
Mr Leslie Evans
Carrot Cake
Charmaine Dance
Banana loaf
Alex
My favourite is low fat banana bread. Yum.
Elizm
Nigella's lemon polenta cake (not sure how healthy it is but it is so good!)
Laura Norcop
Carrot cake...it's healthy because it has carrots right?? I usually try and substitue for healthy options where I can 🙂
Rebecca King
You can't beat banana cake in my opinion!
MichelleD
I make a healthy carrot cake that is delish!
Kim Carberry
Carrot cake. x
lynn neal
Carrot Cake
moth
low sugar banana bread
Rachel Craig
Banana loaf.
Sam Cornford
Love carrot cake
Michelle Smith
I love Chia seed cake
Mark R
My spicy carrot and banana cake - if I don’t put the icing on the top!
Carole E
Carrot cake
Jacob Barnard
Low Calorie Carrot cake
Mrs Laura R Love
carrot cake
Sharon Hirst
Not sure how healthy it is but can't resist carrot cake
sallie burrows
carrot cake
Dale Dow
I make a beetroot and raspberry cake topped with dark chocolate which is super healthy
Tina H
My favourite healthy cake is reduced sugar apple and cinnamon cake. Yum!
Libby Noack
My favourite healthier cake is Banana Loaf 🙂
Ruth Harwood
Wasn't sure whether cake was healthy, but I do like a nice Victoria Sponge, I'm sure if I tried, I could make it healthy and fab at the same time!
Elisa W
Carrot cake
Carole Nott
My favourite healthy cake has to have fruit on it. Thats my excuse anyway
Adrian Bold
Banana and date muffins
Rebecca Walker
carrot cake
Susan Jack
Flourless tangerine cake
Christina Palmer
Carrot and walnut cake
Jayne Townson
Thanks for the recipe, I'm going to give this a try. My favourite cake is carrot cake.
Louise B
Carrot Cake
Chris Andrews
What is your favourite healthy cake? . . . a banana cake
Laura Pritchard
My mum's Ginger Cake
claire woods
Carrot cake
Peter Watson
Carrot Cake
Louise A
Flapjacks but I do limit the sugar in them
Ursula Hunt
I love Carrot cake, not sure how healthy it is but carrot makes it sound healthy
Kelly Y
Banana cake
Andrew
A yoghurt cake with fresh berries
Ray Dodds
Dorset Apple Cake
Nicola S
My friend’s recipe for carrot cake has not too much sugar and plenty of carrots, fruit and spices. I think that’s probably the healthiest.
Tee Simpson
Courgette cake is a firm favourite.
Kirsten Barthy
Chocolate brownies made with sweet potatoes, dates and oats instead of flour and sugar
Julie Ward
All cakes, I tell myself they are all healthy
john prendergast
carrot cake
Tammy Tudor
yummy apple cake
Anne Bostwick
Chocolate cake made with courgettes...I'm anticipating a glut!
harriet
Dutch apple cake
Elaine Savage
Parsnip Cake is surprisingly really delicious, I love it
fiona waterworth
an apple cake, I just found a good recipe for this
Yasmin0147
I love carrot cake, dunno if that’s healthy or not, but it’s my favourite
Avs
Carrot Cake
Elizabeth Bazley
Carrot cake
Joanne Darnell
carrot cake
Tracy Newton
To be honest, I have never made a healthy cake before
Margaret Mccaffery
Carrot cake
pete c
mine is a delicious banana cake with a few citrus fruits within the ingredients too
Mel Pennie
My partner makes the most delicious banana loaf
Annabel Greaves
I love a delicious apple cake
Susan Lloyd
Chocolate and beetroot cake.
Cheron T
Banana loaf
Claire Holtey
sorry, cake shouldn't be healthy. Just make good quality ones and don't have them too often. No nasty shop bought ones
April Phillips
Banana Coffee cake.
christine goody
Love acarrot and pineapple cake
Alice Dixon
I really enjoy a spiced parsnip cake
Sima Halimi
Carrot cake
Mark Mccaffery
Angel food cake
Jill Osborne
Carrot cake
Bryan Murphy
Carrot Cake
Sheena Batey
Very fruity tea loaf
Valerie Brown
I like a date and nut tealoaf
Keith Hunt
apple cake
Natalie Burgess
Carrot cake
Rachel Blythe
I have had some success 'healthing up' loaf-style cakes using grated apple to replace some of the fat content. Doesn't always work, but I made a very successful chocolate-banana loaf this morning. However, I also do a 'root cake' using beetroot and carrot, with ginger, and that's probably my favourite.
Margaret Clarkson
Brack - packed full of dried fruit and no fat!
Patricia Avery
Banana loaf
Margaret Gallagher
Breakfast muffins with vanilla - perfect when im running late too - can eat as i travel
Michael Fisher
I have never found a healthy cake as I always eat far too much too be healthy
Jo m welsh
I like to kid myself that chocolate beetroot cake is kinda healthy but seeing the other response I guess that there are much healthier ones 😆
kathleen warwick
I just love Low Fat Fruit Loaf
Darren Jacobs
Coffee and walnut cake
melanie stirling
Keto chocolate cake.
Kim Neville
Carrot and brazil nut cake
Solange
One of my all-time favourite cake recipes is Jamie Oliver's polenta and apple cake, which uses olive oil in the base instead of butter.
TonyG
Banana bread
sam macaree
sugar free almond flour cake
Susan B
I love an old fashioned banana cake either with or without chocolate icing, the latter obviously being healthier.