Rose Zellmer wrote to me that she was keen to do a guest post on my blog. She recounts her food adventures on www.gimmetasty.com and aims to spread happiness through food.Her idea of doing a gluten-free cake sounded delicious and healthy and so here it is for all you cake lovers. She has included a small informative note on making your own gluten-free flour mix. Happy reading!
Living in a tropical country, apples are expensive. So it is special when they are available. My Gluten-Free Caramel Apple Cake, is highly anticipated by friends and family because it is not often that they have such a treat. I seldom make Gluten-Free Cakes but if I am expecting guests that I know can’t consume gluten, I make sure to have something that they can enjoy as well. I have used flax seeds as binders in the cake since there is no gluten.
Here’s my Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend
Ingredients:
400 g – millet flour
300 g – sweet rice flour
300 g – potato starch
Making your own gluten-free flour is fairly simple. In a large container, mix the flours together until the whole mixture is a single color. If you do not have the flours I used, you can make your own version with alternative flours in the following ratio: 40% whole grain flours + 60% white starches.
Here is a list of gluten-free flours available in the market.
WHOLE GRAIN FLOURS:
- Brown rice flour
- Corn flour
- Mesquite flour
- Millet Flour
- Oat flour
- Sorghum Flour
- Teff Flour
WHITE FLOURS/STARCHES:
- Arrowroot Flour
- Cornstarch
- Potato Flour
- Potato Starch
- Sweet rice Flour
- Tapioca Flour
- White Rice Flour
When I was preparing the ingredients, I got a little sentimental. I have been baking for my family since they were young. Their reaction is always the same. They never changed. Every time I put something in the oven, it is the same wide-eyed smiles. And when I am in the process of baking, there will be 4 pairs of little feet eager to lend a helping hand. Now, they are no longer young (each has their own original recipes as well), and it already feels a little crowded inside my small warm kitchen.
I always buy a few extra apples since I know that my kids can’t resist them while bake. They disappear quickly just like the cake. I do not have a shredder so I used the grater instead. I have used Granny Smith apples since they are the best apples for baking.
While baking cakes, I like to experiment with fruits. Aside from the fact that fruits are healthy, I like the natural taste of the fruit in the cake. There are a lot of recipes for cakes with fruit and they also look fantastic on the buffet table at any celebration.
Gluten-Free Caramel Apple Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 360 g gluten-free all-purpose baking flour
- 350 ml vanilla yogurt
- 200 g white sugar
- 180 g brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 10 ml vanilla extract
- 20-25 g ground flax seed substitute for gluten
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tspground cloves
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 4 apples grated
For the caramel sauce
- 120 g butter
- 90 g brown sugar
- 10 ml milk
For the vanilla frosting
- 12 g cornstarch
- 15 g gluten free flour blend
- 150 g granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 180 ml milk
- 5 ml vanilla extract
- 180 g unsalted butter at room temperature
Instructions
To make the cake
- Preheat the oven to 165 degrees C.
- Grease a fluted tube pan or Bundt pan. I usually use margarine for greasing or the butter wrapper.
- Beat yogurt, white sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract (all the wet ingredients) together in a bowl using an electric mixer until it is smooth.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, flax seed, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg (all the dry ingredients)
- Make a well (my favorite part) in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the yogurt mixture.
- Stir yogurt mixture into flour mixture just until batter is combined;
- Fold apples into the batter.
- Pour batter into prepared greased pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 70-75 minutes
- Insert a toothpick in the center of the cake, if it comes out clean, it is done!
- Turn cake onto a serving plate. Let it cool.
To make the caramel sauce
- Melt butter, brown sugar, and milk together in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved (liquid form), 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from heat and cool until sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Pour sauce over cake. Make sure the whole cake surface is covered with it. The sweet taste of the caramel makes the cake more yummy!
To make the vanilla frosting
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a saucepan (cornstarch, flour blend, sugar, salt).
- Add milk and continue whisking until smooth.
- Cook over medium-high heat and continue whisking until it is thick.
- Remove the saucepan and put the mixture in a bowl.
- Put the bowl on top of ice just to stop the heat (or you can put it inside the fridge for a minute).
- Whisk in the vanilla, and let it cool down.
- When it has cooled down (room temp), put it in in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer and mix it on medium speed until smooth.
- Cut the butter into 3 parts, add it (while the mixer is still running on medium speed), then turn it to high speed.
- Continue until the mixture turns white, light and fluffy.
- Apply it how you like on your cake!
2 Comments
Looks amazing!!
March 31, 2017 at 5:01 pmLooks amazing!! This is definitely one to try!!
heather (delicious not gorgeous)
July 9, 2017 at 8:22 amliving in the us, it’s weird to hear that apples are special, when they’re considered so pedestrian here. it’s so refreshing to hear someone who doesn’t take them for granted (: and i love that there’s yogurt in the cake! it makes things so moist~