Hey CC
I'm having my friend visit today for lunch. She doesnt live nearby so we only see each other about twice a year, and she is on a gluten free diet (coeliac). She's also a vegetarian but the stuffed aubergines Im making will solve that issue. I wanted to make her something sweet so I set about experimenting with recipes on thursday and friday. OMG so frustrating!! They either look like or taste rubbish! I've used flourless chocolate cupcakes (martha stewart what were you thinking?), and cakes with GF flour and xanthan gum. The after taste wasnt so much of an aftertaste, but rather a fore-taste. Disgusting.

The recipes on here for GF cakes have little or no feedback.
Can anyone suggest something I can do in the next few hours. I could do with someones help x

hi

I feel for you. Remember to wipe down your benches, clean your cupcake tin and use wrappers as contamination is a real risk.

I have heard the Betty crocker Gluten free mixes in the US taste good. If not here is a recipe that although I haven't personally tried I have been told tastes good.

makes 16 prep 15min cooking 25 minutes

1 cup rice flour
3/4 cup cornflour (make sure made from maize not wheat)
1/3 cup cocoa
1 1/4 teaspoons bicarbonate soda
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk
125g butter melted
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup frozen raspberries (I'm sure you could use any berry and fresh if you wanted)
whipped cream and cocoa powder to serve

preheat oven to moderate 180c. line a 12 hole muffin pan with paper cases.
sift combined flours, cocoa and soda together into a large bowl, stir in sugar
in a jug whisk together buttermilk, butter and eggs. fold into dry ingredients. add raspberries and lightly mix.
spoon mixture into patty cases until 2/3 full. bake for 20 - 25 minutes until cooked when tested with a skewer
cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.
when ready to serve, slice tops off, top with cream, return tops and dust with cocoa powder.


good luck
Nel

oh Nel that sounds fantastic. I have some frozen blueberries here so I think i'll give that a go.
I dont have rice flour though so i'll have to make do with the gf flour in place of it. hope it turns out ok.
Will let you know how i get on. x

If you have rice and a blender I think you can blend the rice to powder to get rice flour. - I'm pretty sure I have read that somewhere on here.

the gluten free flour will be heavier so you may need to add more liquid. the consistency should be somewhere between muffin batter and your normal cupcake batter.

oh and gluten free batter never tastes nice - you have to wait for the cooked product before you make your judgment.

good luck

Nel

Visit Tartelette's blog, she cooks everything gluten-free and everything looks delicious!!
http://www.mytartelette.com/

I have a really yummy choc brownie cupcake recipe that I've used several times if you still need a recipe. It uses almond meal instead of flour, and I frost with ganache or can be served with fresh cream.

Well DH had finished the last of the blueberries for his porridge this week so I didnt want to use another alternative in the recipe. Bummed!
I did take your idea of cornflour though and googled it and found a recipe that I currently have in the oven

although I would love the brownie recipe too for future use!
And thank you also for the link.

My problem now is that the normal cupcakes I baked before it have sank and taste a tiny bit raw even though I had a lovely creamy batter before I put them in and they were firm and golden when i took them out. eeeeeeek!!!! panic stations.
This happened with the chocolate cupcakes I made yesterday but I assumed That there was something wrong with one of the ingredients so I opened fresh stuff today.
Now I'm worried....

Hmmm not quite sure why your cupcakes are sinking, except that they're not quite done when taken out of oven. I generally use a cocktail stick to test them.

Chocolate Flourless Cupcakes

Preheat oven 140c

350g butter
450g dark cooking chocolate
2 1/2cups castor/superfine sugar
1 1/2cups almond meal
2 cups cocoa
10 eggs
2 teas vanilla extract

Combine butter,sugar and chocolate in saucepan and melt on low until melted. (I melt butter and sugar on stove top and choc in microwave and then add to butter, it works better for me that way)
Sift the almond meal and cocoa and add choc/butter mixture and mix on low for 1 min, or until combined.
Add eggs 2 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla.
Bake for 30-40mins. or until fine skewer comes out clean.

Makes about 26 lge cupcakes.

keeps: 1 week freeze: 2 months

note: I generally halve the recipe as it seems to make alot.
Really yummy frosted with choc ganache or buttercream.
HTH

I also have a friend with celiac sprue disease. She made these muffins, and they were delicious. It's a regular recipe, but she substituted GF flour for the AP flour.

Pecan Pie Muffins

1 C. brown sugar
2/3 C. melted butter
1/2 C. flour
2 eggs
1 C. chopped pecans

Mix together and fill mini muffin tins 2/3 full
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Note:
If you fill the pan a little fuller and bake them @ 15 minutes, the come out softer and chewier.

I had to make a small gluten free wedding cake for my DH's Aunt, a couple of weeks ago and it came out delicious!!!! This is all I did:

Betty Crocker Yellow Gluten free cake mix,
Jell-O brand pudding vanilla
I substitute milk

for chocolate:
add a 1/2 cup of hot coffee to the mix.

I used a Strawberry mousse filling with chocolate ganache and covered it with Wilton fondant. (Fondx is also gluten free)

I used Pam ORIGINAL it is gluten free (not Pam Baking) for greasing the pans.

Any Jell-O brand is gluten free
Most Kraft products are gluten free or they will state that they are not on the box.
Watch out for some additives such as: triticate, Spelt, Mir or Farina (aka: Far or Farro) Theey have hidden gluten in them!

Good Luck!!!

I would do exactly what Karen just described. There are more and more gluten free mixes on the market--and they've done all the research and hard work for you. No shame in using something guaranteed to suited to your friend's condition--besides that, you're not going to be left with different flours and ingredients you may not use again.

This lemon cake is DIVINE!!! If she is a vegan (no eggs or dairy), then you can replace the eggs in the cake with egg substitute, milk with PLAIN rice milk, forego the curd (not sure the egg sub would do it justice) for Pastry Pride or Rich's Bettercreme non dairy whipping cream....which you can frost with as well, or use any of the shortening based buttercreams on this site. EVERYONE, regardless of GF or not, loves this! GOOD LUCK!


1 cup canola oil, plus additional for greasing cake pans
2 1/2 cups brown-rice flour mix
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs

For lemon curd:
2 heaping teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon guar gum
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

For lemon frosting:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest


Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lemon-Layer-Cake-233013#ixzz0vvUTbUZP




Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lemon-Layer-Cake-233013#ixzz0vvSzqeID

Since time is an issue here, I'd just use the Betty Crocker gluten free mix. Keep in mind, it won't rise like a typical cake, yet it's just as fluffy and moist as any other cake. In fact, I don't think anyone would even know it was gluten free unless you told them. BC makes yellow and either chocolate or devils food mix, plus brownies and cookies.

Hi I am a coeliac, and would suggest that unless you can get a decent GF flour alrwady mixed, then go for the GF cake mixes as suggested. Trying to mix your own combinations is a nightmare to get the right mix. Luckily, I live in the UK and get really good quality combined flour on prescription. I use this for all my cake making and the results are just like normal, the sponge cake especially is light and moist.

Good for you trying to make sure your friend has a nice sweet treat - we usually just get fruit salad!!! whcih is boring , believe me

regards

Heres a link to a good website you might want keep for the future. I have a disabled friend I help look after, she has MS, with her case being more severe. She's recently been told to go gluten free as it might help some of her digestive symptoms.
I have not tried any recipes from the website as yet as I've just signed up but will be as they have the option of making your own gluten free mix that doesn't cost an arm & a leg like some premixed GF at the grocers.

The webisite came highly recommended by another friend that is following a gluten free diet. They also have a monthly magazine you can find on most mag stands. If you wish, you can sign up for their e-newsletters. They arrive with info and the latest recipes. Check it out, and, good luck!

http://www.livingwithout.com/

I recomment a book by Elizabeth Gordon for Allergy free desserts.

My daughters (born premature) have multiple allergies. They are allergic to dairy, eggs, peanuts (treenuts_, wheat, strawberries, and MSG and have asthma issues.

I have to cook most of my families food from scratch.

Go to your local library or barnes and noble and get a cookbook or check on line for websites on gluten free desserts.

It is hard but I watch what the kids eat.

Also you have be careful to wipe your baking bowls to make your no wheat touched the batter. If my kids eat any form of wheat, they will vomit and I have to use an EP pen until the paramedics come.

Thank you all so much for your help.

I eventually made her little cupcakes which although to me had a weird texture, she was more than happy with them (or probably just being polite lol) She was especially impressed with the effort though. A+ for trying?

I'm doing the dessert catering for my mums big 50th birthday party at the end of the month and I know of a couple of ppl with gf diets that will be attending so I'm going to experiment with some of your yummy suggestions in the meantime.
again thanks for all your input!