Chocolate Cake by Wendy Wark

Dry Ingredients

1 ¾ c GF flour mix

½ t xanthan gum

2 c sugar

¾ cocoa powder (or you can substitute carob powder)

1 ½ t baking soda

1 ½ t baking powder

1 t salt

Wet Ingredients

2 eggs

1 c milk

½ c oil

2 t vanilla

1 c boiling water

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and mix. Beat eggs well and add to dry ingredients with milk and oil. Add remaining ingredients and mix. Batter will be thin. Pour into greased and floured 13 x 9” pan Bake at 350 degrees 35 minutes. Allow the cake to cool completely.

Chocolate Frosting from the McCall’s Cooking School Cookbook, p 104

1 pkg (6 oz) semisweet chocolate pieces ( For GF, make sure they are not sweetened with barley malt.)

½ c light cream

1 c (2 sticks) butter

2-1/2 c powdered sugar

1 t GF vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan combine chocolate pieces, cream and butter. Stir over medium heat until smooth. Remove from heat. With a whisk, blend in 2-1/2 c confectioner’s sugar. With your bowl set over ice, beat frosting until it holds its shape. Frost cooled cake.

GF Buttermilk Cornbread 

Dry Ingredients:

 2 cups gluten free flour

1/2 cup 2-tablespoons sugar

1-1/2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups white cornmeal

 Wet Ingredients:

 1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup milk

Three eggs

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

  Directions:

Bring ingredients to room temperature (set out cold ingredients for about 1/2-hour).

Preheat oven to 425-degrees.

Sift together dry ingredients, add cornmeal.

Mix together wet ingredients. Add to dry ingredients and mix well.

Pour into greased 9 x 13-inch pan, smooth (10×14 works okay with this for thinner pieces.

Bake at 425-degrees for 25 minutes.

Recipe makes 20 pieces depending on how you cut it.

Hi Everyone,

My Gluten Free cooking goal:  That foods taste as close to the ones we grew up with when we were eating gluten.  (Alas, this is not always possible, but you can come close.)

My section on Gluten Free recipes will be a work in progress until I decide how to organize them.

FLOURS:

I have not made specific suggestions for flours because we all like “our” formula the best.  As you will learn, I like to keep things as simple as possible. This is because having to make so much from scratch already, takes up a lot of my time, so keeping it simple is my goal. If you are curious about the flour I use the most, it is Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix. I buy mine in bulk because it is so much cheaper. I keep it in a not so obvious place in my kitchen in a 5 gallon bucket.  It is always there when I want it. Now, I apologize to Pamela’s, but there are some recipes where I do use other flours. Sometimes, this is for health reasons, other times because it is more nutritious to do so. If I have a recipe listed here and there is no specific mention of flour, then I just use Pamela’s Gluten Free Baking and Pancake Mix. Otherwise the changes will be in the recipe you are looking at.

Now, all that said, I want to mention that there are some very good variations on GF flours that you can make or buy. Combinations of flours change from brand to brand and the end product (texture) using one flour versus another flour will not always be the same.  This is because the ingredients for those flours are different and they produce different results.  I do not make my own flour recipe, except in very few instances.  Simple…remember we are keeping it simple!

Occasionally, I will post things on “how to” do certain things and soon I will post a “tips and tricks” page for GF cooking.  If however you have any questions about something, just post it in the “comments” section and I will be happy to help you.

I am aware that Halloween and Thanksgiving are coming up, as well as other holidays. I have a fully tested array of GF recipes to help you.  It will take some planning on your part, but I will give tips along the way so that you can make the Holidays wonderful for you or for the GF people you love.

I look forward to sharing and hope that you will also share your GF successes.