Remember the vegan lemon curd and this lemon tart? These gluten-free vegan lemon coconut squares are their distant cousins :). Lemon and coconut just go so well together, and I couldn't resist playing around with the lemon curd in more recipes. Happy to report these came out delicious!
Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Coconut Squares {Refined Sugar-Free and Paleo}
* The base of these squares is an adaptation of this {amazing} recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 squares
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- 4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup liquid sweetener of your choice (I used maple syrup)
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 2 tsp pure lemon extract
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Lemon Filling Ingredients:
- 1 batch of this refined sugar-free and vegan lemon curd
Coconut Topping Ingredients:
- 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut for topping
Instructions
- Place all base ingredients into a food processor and process until the mixture is smooth. Transfer contents into a parchment paper-lined 8x8 glass container (or anything of a similar size) and press the mixture down so that it's packed down evenly and smoothly. Place in the freezer for at least 10 minutes to solidify a little.
- If your lemon curd filling is already ready, move on to the next step. Otherwise use this time to prepare the filling and allow it to cool off a little.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with some parchment paper and spread the coconut for the topping evenly on the sheet. Bake the coconut for a few minutes until it's just toasted. Alternatively, you can do this in 2 smaller batches on a smaller cookie sheet that fits into a toaster oven (that's what I used this time around).
- Remove the container with the coconut squares base from the freezer. Spread lemon filling on top of the base evenly. Sprinkle with toasted coconut evenly and return back to the freezer for about an hour for the lemon filling to set. You can also let it set further in the fridge after the 1 hour mark (the longer it sets, the cleaner it'll cut). Once set, cut into squares and either enjoy straight away or transfer the squares into the fridge for later use.
Food Recipe says
This is a fantastic recipe, thank you for sharing.
Genie says
Loved how these turned out and how they taste. Didn't have agar flakes.....so subsituted with cornstarch......which worked out fine....and cut the maple syrup/agave mix to 2/3 cup and such a nice sweet/tart combo. for me. Merci!
Audrey says
Aw, that's awesome. Thanks so much for sharing the substitutions, Genie! So glad you liked these :)
Laura says
Mmmmm I just made these and they were soooo yum! A little to sweet for me, but still delicious! Thank you for the recipe :)
Audrey says
Awesome! So glad you liked them, Laura :)