Gluten Free Angel Food Cake

My favorite time of the year: summer. Well, right now its kinda that in between awkward period where you don't know whether it's spring or summer. Yes, I love this time of the year. Schools out so that means I have a lot more free time. More free time=more baking, and that's never a bad thing! Summer also means going to the pool, spending more time with friends and family, and spending a lot of days doing next to nothing. When I thing of summer, light airy angel food cake comes to mind. That is why I am giving you this recipe. It tastes so "normal" and you can't tell it's gluten free at all. 

I love angel food cake. It's so light, and topped with fresh fruit, or this strawberry sauce I made a few days ago, and whipped cream makes a sweet summer dessert.

Gluten Free Angel Food Cake
10 large egg whites
3/4 cup + 1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 potato starch
1-1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
assorted fresh fruit, optional
strawberry sauce, optional

1. Place egg whites in a large bowl, let stand for 30 minutes. Sift 3/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, rice flour, tapioca, and potato starch in a medium bowl.
2. Add cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla to egg whites, beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold in dry mixture, 1/2 cup at a time.
3. Gently spoon into a 10 inch non-greased tube pan. Cut through the batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake on lowest rack at 350 for 45-50 minutes, or until lightly browned and entire top appears dry. Immediately invert pan, and cool completely for about 1 hour.
4. Run a knife around the side and inner tube of the pan. Remove cake to a serving plate and top with desired top

Topping ideas-

1. strawberry sauce
   assorted fresh fruit
   powdered sugar
   cool whip
   shaved coconut
   
   
   Notes: Make sure to cool for 1 hour. This step is very important because if you don't the top of the cake will become very sticky (personal experience).
   
   
   Source: Taste of Home

Gluten Free Cookie Cake

I've always been a big fan of cookie cakes. At the mall, while everyone is heading to Cinnabon  I always head straight for Great American Cookie. There is something even better about making homemade cookie cake. They have all of the ease of making homemade chocolate chip cookies , just without rolling them into dozens of little balls. And in my opinion, if you're looking for a birthday treat, cookie cakes are much more festive than a basket of cookies.

After many attempts to make the perfect cookie cake, they often resulted in an either bland, dry, or an overly moist cookie. Once I tried this recipe, I knew it was "the one." This is serious stuff. I mean a gluten free cookie cake that tastes almost identical to the mall version.

The best part about these cookies? Well, there's a lot but one thing that really stands out is the icing. It has a little bit of meringue powder, so the icing will slightly harden (and not smudge)  but still tastes like buttercream, it's a win-win!

Oh and yes, this recipe was inspired and altered from my Thin, Crisp, and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. Thanks to Gluten Free on a Shoestring, who made both recipes possible:)


Gluten Free Cookie Cake
Cake-
2 Cups  gluten free all purpose flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup light packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 egg + 2 egg yolks, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, tossed with 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1. Preheat oven to 325. *Line a 12 inch nonstick pizza pan with parchment.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Add the butter, shortening, eggs, and vanilla. Mix to combine. You may have to use a hand mixer (I did). Add the chocolate chips/ cornstarch, and mix to combine. Dough should be soft but, hold it's shape when scooped.
3. Place the dough onto the pizza pan, and with wet hands, mold into a disk. Make sure there is a 2 inch wide border around the edge of the cookie dough and the perimeter of the pan, as the cookie will spread during baking.
4. Place the cookie dough into the oven, and bake 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown all over. Allow to cool on the baking sheet until firm- 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool  completely. 

Frosting-

5 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons milk (I used flax, but any other would work)

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

pinch of kosher salt

1 teaspoon meringue powder

2 cups confectionery sugar

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the butter, milk, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until combined. Turn the speed to high and mix until creamy. Add the salt, meringue powder, and confectionery sugar. Mix slowly until the sugar is incorporated, then mix on high until uniformly thick. Add additional milk and/or confectionery sugar.
2. When the cookie is completely cooled, decorate the cookie cake with frosting. Allow to set to room temperature to allow frosting to hard before transferring to an airtight container.
3. Enjoy!

Notes: Guar gum can be substituted for xanthan gum. *One pizza sheet may work, but I used a pizza sheet, and an 8 inch round cake pan. That way I got 2 cakes out of one recipe.* 

Source: Gluten Free on a Shoestring

Danish Interview Plus a Recipe!

I have a neighbor that is a foreign exchange student. She came here over the past summer and is staying with our good friends. I've gotten to know her over the months and thought it would be neat to do an interview with her to find out more. Oh and her name is Clara.... and she's from Denmark.

This is Clara

Interview:


ME: What desserts do you eat in Denmark?

CLARA: We have a variety of different desserts in Denmark, many that you eat in America. This includes the well known Danish pastry, and black licorice. A dessert that is not as well known in America is layer cakes, or Lagkage. The layer cakes are made for birthdays, and usually chocolate. Then, in between the layers we put whipped cream and strawberries. Then, we top it off with icing, made of powdered sugar and water.

ME: What are foods that are new to you, and what did you think of them?

CLARA: I have tried many different new foods, such as fried chicken! I didn't like it and don't know how Americans eat it! I have also tried peanut butter which I also didn't like, and Root Beer, and didn't like that either. Something I have tried in Denmark, but tastes very different here is pizza. In America pizza is very doughy, and fatty. In Denmark, the pizza is crispy and has a thin crust.

ME: Which pizza do you like better?

CLARA: Danish for sure!

ME: What do you usually eat for dinner in Denmark?

CLARA: For dinner we usually eat sushi, fish, Indian take-out, or chicken. We also buy all of our ingredients at the local market that day.

ME: What do you usually eat for a snack:

CLARA: In Denmark, we snack waaay less than Americans. I usually have a snack in between lunch and dinner. My normal snacks are an English muffin with jam topped with a thin chocolate called paalaegschokolade. In Denmark our bread is also very different than America's. Danish bread is not as spongy as American and Danish bread is also alot darker.

 

ME:What do you eat at school for lunch?

 

CLARA: For lunch I eat a sandwich on rye bread with grilled chicken. Sometimes I go to the market during my lunch break and buy something from the market. I also stop at the bakery sometimes to get a dessert.

 

This is the bakery Clara goes to sometimes...

I learned alot about Clara and Denmark from our interview, and I hope you did too! Also, thank you Clara, for your time!

 

 

 

Now for the recipe!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I made a chocolate cake, with raspberry filling, and Danish style icing! Usually Danish cakes have more layers, but this time I stuck with two.

 

Mmmmm...

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

Cake-

2C gf all purpose flour

 3/4 C dutch process cocoa powder

1 1/4 tsp.  baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 C packed light brown sugar

3/4 tsp. guar gum

1/2 C butter or shortening

2 T milk (reg, flax, rice, soy, almond, etc)

1 tsp. vinegar

2 extra large eggs, beaten

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/3 warm water

 

Raspberry Sauce-

 

1/2 bag frozen raspberries

1/8 - 1/4 C sugar

1 tbs. cornstarch

 

Danish Style Icing-

 

2 C powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3 tsp. milk (reg, flax, rice, soy, almond, etc.)

 

Instructions:

 

1. Preheat your oven to 325. Grease two round cake pans and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, place the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar, and whisk well to get rid of any lumps. Add the butter/ shortening, milk, vinegar, eggs,  and vanilla. Mix to combine. Slowly add the water until batter is thickly pourable.
3. Fill the pans about half way with batter. Shake from side to side to evenly distribute the batter, plus this makes the cake smoother.
4. Place in the preheated oven and bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 22-28 min. The cake should be spongy, and springy--not dense. Make sure not to over bake.
5. Mean while, make the raspberry sauce. Place raspberries, sugar, and cornstarch on the stove on medium heat. Mix constantly until mixture starts to come together- about 5 minutes. Once the mixture has began to thicken, remove from heat and pan. Store in fridge.
6. Now it's time to make the icing! Mix all the icing ingredients together adding more milk if necessary. This is optional, but I added 1 tbs. of the raspberry preserves to the icing. This adds a slight raspberry taste, and a beautiful pink color!
7. Once the cake comes out, allow to cool for 5 minutes. Then, flip onto a wire rack and allow to cool for an additional 5 minutes. Then, spread the raspberry sauce on one of the cakes. This next step is a two person job: flip the second cake on a plate or parchment paper, and with the assistance of someone else, each take a side of the cake and place on top of cake with raspberry sauce. Ta- da! Now, it's time to ice!
8. With an angled spatula, frost the top layer of the cake. Because the frosting/ icing is very thin, it may run down the sides, so be prepared and place a paper towel under the rack!
9. Now, pat yourself on the back, you just made a Danish cake!! Congrats, and enjoy:)

Notes: Xanthan gum can be substitute for guar gum. Oh and this is the best cake recipe that I have ever had...just saying:)

Source: adapted from Gluten Free on a Shoestring, and Annie's Eats who adapted it from Smitten Kitchen



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