Gluten Free Baking Classics

My daughter, Becca, is also gluten intolerant. She bought a new cookbook, Gluten Free Baking Classics by Annalise G. Roberts. Click here for Becca's review of the book. Even Ken, who is not gluten intolerant, loved the cupcakes she made. So, I wanted to give the recipe a try, too.




The recipe uses a brown rice, potato starch, tapioca mix, the recipe for which is given in the book. It makes a really good layer cake, that does not crumble apart, and was moist and tasty the second day, too. It actually calls for using a lemon curd in the filling between layers, but I was too lazy to make that. The Lemon Buttercream Frosting was delish, though. This recipe is posted with permission from Annalise (thank you, Annalise!)

Lemon Layer Cake 2 Cups sugar 4 eggs 2 1/2 cups Brown rice flour mix 1/2 tsp salt 1 Tbsp baking powder 1 tsp xanthan gum 1 Cup Canola oil 1 Cup Milk 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp lemon extract 1 Tbsp grated lemon rind Preheat oven to 350 Line 2 round 9-inch cake pans with parchment or wax paper and spray lightly with cooking spray. Beat sugar and eggs at medium speed for 1 minute Add the rest of the ingredients and beat at medium speed for 1 minute Pour batter into prepared pans and bake about 35 minutes (40 minutes for 8 inch pans, 18-20 minutes for cupcakes) or until center springs back when touched and cake pulls away from sides of pan. Cool cake in pan on rack for 5 minutes. Use a knife to loosen cake from sides of pan. Invert cake layers on a rack, peel off paper and cool completely. Place one of the filled layers on a plate and spread with about 1/2 cup of frosting. Place the other filled layer on top and spread sides and top with remaining frosting. Lemon Buttercream Frosting 1 Cup butter 3 1/2 Cups Confectioners sugar 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1/2 tsp lemon extract 2 tsp grated lemon zest Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add 1 cup of the sugar, lemon juice, lemon extract, and lemon zest and beat to blend. Add remaining sugar and beat until creamy.

Nana's Birthday Dinner

On one of the yahoo groups I am on, one of the ladies there calls her husband's mother her mother-in-love. I like that designation , so I am officially stealing it for my own husband's mother. My mother -in-love, Virginia, had her birthday last week. To help her celebrate, Jim and I cooked dinner and took it over to her house. Well, Ingle's Supermarket made the rotisserie chicken, but I made the rest.


In addition to the chicken, we had gluten free macaroni and cheese, cole slaw, and a pretty good gluten free carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. I don't have any pictures of the food, but here are the recipes I used:


Gluten Free Mac and Cheese

2 cups cooked gluten free pasta (I used quinoa elbow macaroni)
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 small can evaporated milk
1 small can water
1 1/4 cups 2% milk
1 egg
2 cups grated cheese


Spray an 8" X 8" pan with olive oil. Spread the cooked pasta in the pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over the noodles, and toss to mix together. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add salt and tapioca flour, stirring to cook so it does not burn. Slowly add the milk and water, stirring with a whisk so it won't be lumpy. When it thickens slightly, add the egg that has been beaten, whisking to stir it in completely. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Pour sauce over the noodles in the pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over the top. Place the pan on a cookie sheet, and put into the oven, and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, stir the mixture towards the center, making sure the cooked part in the corners is stirred to the middle. Put back in the oven and bake for another 35 minutes. Remove from oven again, stir again. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Put back in the oven and bake for 15 more minutes.


For the carrot cake, I used the recipe on the back of the package of Pamela's Baking Mix.

1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup Splenda and 1/4 cup sugar)
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
2 1/4 cups Pamela's Baking Mix
1 1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Beat oil, eggs, and sugar together, then mix in remaining ingredients. Batter will be very thick. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans or one 8" X 8" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 cups confectioners sugar

Beat cheese and butter together until fluffy. Beat in sugar until well blended. Spread on cooled cake.

I baked this cake a day ahead of time and put it in the refrigerator, covered with aluminum foil. It was a bit dry the next day, but it still tasted good. I would make it again, but serve it the same day.

Oh, and when we went outside to get in the truck to leave, there was the most beautiful moonrise ever. This picture does not do it justice, but here is the best picture I could get of it, so enjoy: (Can you believe that moon?!)