Happy early birthday to the big guy, my Dad! He is turning the big 55 tomorrow but clearly shows no sign of getting old and decrepit anytime soon. My mom and I threw together a cake after taking him out to dinner on thursday night but it was an utter failure with the 7-minute boiled frosting that my mom added to the top. I knew as soon as she brought it into the living room (there was some game on tv he had to watch) that the vanilla frosting would not go over so well. It resembled gooey marshmallow and had a grainy/ sugary consistency that neither I nor my dad approved. So, to make up for the awful cake I brought home some chicken wings and donated some of my "healthy" beer aka, Micholob Ultra to the cause. It was a great success!
I also decided it was a perfect time to test out some gluten free baking using the Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Flour mix that I had purchased at Wegmans along with the Xanthan gum that is necessary for the majority of gluten-free baking recipes. (Xanthan gum is used as a thickener for baking and a small bag is a whopping $11, however, you usually use only a tsp at a time).
Keep this a secret but I fed this cake to my dad and forgot to tell him that it was Gluten-free but he didn't really seem to notice and said it was actually pretty good--a bit brownie like, or torte, fudgey but a hit! What a pleasant surprise!
Fudgey goodness?
Too much for a family of three?
My mom also made these amazing lentil stuffed acorn squash which incorporated Masala spice, Tumeric, Curry and Corriander. It brought me back to South Africa and the amazing indian and malaysia dishes that I had grown so accustomed to over the summer!
Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
Adapted from King Arthur Flour & Savoring Today
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups Gluten-Free Multi-purpose flour mix (I used Bob's Red Mill Baking Flour-GF)
- 1 cup Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa --Check brand for gluten free
- **I only had Ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa powder but it did the trick!
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 1/2 cups sugar -- divided
- 2/3 cup butter -- softened
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup almond milk + 1 tsp vinegar (buttermilk)
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract -- gluten-free
**I added a layer of basic chocolate buttercream frosting in between the two cakes, however, do not have the recipe since my mom helped with that while I was out buying tapioca! Feel free to whip up your own frosting or use the tasty recipe on Savoring Today.
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare two 8" or 9" round pans with cooking spray
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, xanthan gum, and 1/2 cup of the sugar
- Place butter and 1 cup of the sugar in the bowl of a mixer and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, buttermilk, water, and vanilla into your mixer bowl, and mix until well blended.
- Blend in the dry ingredients 1 cup at a time, beating for 1 minute and scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition.
- Once all of the dry ingredients have been mixed in, beat at medium-high speed for 2 minutes, to make a smooth batter.
- Pour the batter equally into the prepared pans. Using a kitchen scale helps to get the batter evenly divided
- Bake the cakes for 30 to 33 minutes
- Remove the cakes from the oven, and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn pans over onto a rack and cool cakes completely
- Once cooled, frost cakes, or serve with powdered sugar and whipped topping
Happy Fall and happy baking :)
Next on my list is GF Pumpkin Loaf!
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