There are so many different diets out there these days that dinners for more than one can be pretty fraught events. One older friend of mine once observed that she invited five people but the only thing that they would all eat in common was potatoes. That was before the no-carb movement hit. Add to that now gluten-free, paleo, raw food, and the new guidelines from the government that have allowed as how eggs might be OK after all, and it is almost enough to make a person wish for the future where we could all just take a pill that would supply everything we needed. Not a very tasty option but it would simplify meal planning.

I know I complicated some hostess’s life about thirty years ago by being a vegetarian (albeit an egg, dairy, fish, and pepperoni-pizza eating one.) I can recall the discomfiture among kind folks who doubled-down on the starches by putting potatoes plus spaghetti or rice on the table, quite unnecessarily if generously because even if meat was the centerpiece, it was rarely the only dish offered. A vegetarian friend said her mother always bought an eggplant before a visit home because she heard that vegetarians ate those. Ah, for the good old days.

So chances are very good that among your friends or relatives there is someone eschewing gluten and dairy but who still has a sweet tooth; and you might be glad to have a dessert that everyone, except vegans, would like to eat that won’t elicit the all-too-common, “it’s not bad” response. This is actually delicious and satisfying, and Toby’s son Tres concocts it fairly often here.

It has ingredients that take a bit of searching to find, but they are not rare these days; most grocery stores have sections devoted to natural or whole foods and some of these items lurk there. My young friend makes his own almond meal by pulsing it carefully in the blender to avoid turning it into almond butter. Flax seed is easy to find and can also be made into meal in the processor. It seems to me that I remember a time when coconut oil was not good for our hearts, but it is very useful for baking for vegans. My philosophy is all things in moderation and in the interest of a diverse diet, it seems coconut oil ought to have a place. What part of it you don’t eat, you can spread it on your skin where it also might do you good. You can store coconut oil on the pantry shelf, where it will have a lard-like texture.

This little item is “baked” in the microwave. As a fifteen year old with a hollow leg, Tres can devour one of these little cakes in a sitting, and assembles his cakes in a two cup measuring cup. We doubled his recipe to make enough dessert for three of us and it is the doubled recipe that you see below.

This is a very tender cake. In order to turn it out, be sure to cover the cup you cook it in with a plate to catch the whole cake when you flip it over. We decorated ours with unsweetened coconut.

Tres calls this Cake in a Cup. As snacks for the gluten and lactose intolerant, this really works. As dessert for omnivores, it is moist, rich, and flavorful. For anyone it is certainly more wholesome than a store-bought thing with twenty-seven unpronounceable ingredients.