Let them eat Cake!

This is the cake I made with the Healthy Top product I shared with everyone for my son's 3rd birthday. I got lucky enough to find an amazing website for all of us dealing with gluten allergies: Art of Gluten Free Baking

I modified Jeanne's recipe for her Chocolate Dump (It) Cake . Here's what I came up with:

Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix (mix together and store in a cool, dark place):
1 1/4 C (170g) brown rice flour
1 1/4 C (205g) white rice flour
1 C (120g) tapioca flour
1 C (165g) sweet rice flour (also known as Mochiko)
2 scant tsp. xanthan gum
(you can also use the gluten-free flour mixture (not baking mix) of your choice–just be sure it contains xanthan gum. Or, you can add 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum per cup of gluten-free flour. If you use bean flour, it will add a bean taste to the cake)

For the Cake:
2 C (280g) Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 scant tsp pink Himalayan salt
2 C (400g) evaporated cane juice
1/2 C (1 stick; 4 oz; 115g ) organic unsalted butter
4 oz (115g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 C (235ml) coconut milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 large or extra large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
extra melted butter and tapioca flour for the pan

For the Frosting

Healthy Top

2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour your tube pan with the extra butter and tapioca flour.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the coconut milk and the apple cider vinegar. Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the eggs for several minutes–until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat until combined.

While your eggs are beating, melt together the butter, chocolate, organic evaporated cane juice, and 1 C of water in a saucepan set over very low heat. Whisk to combine. Once melted, remove from heat to cool for a few minutes.

Once the mixture is cool and your eggs are light and fluffy, turn on your mixer to low, and slowly pour the chocolate mixture into the eggs. Beat until just combined. In alternating batches, add the flour mixture and the milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat until just combined.

Pour into your prepared tube pan. Thump once on the counter to release any trapped air bubbles. Bake at 375 degrees for about 40-45 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 5 minutes then carefully turn out onto wire wrack to cool completely.

Whip the Healthy top on high to mimic whipped cream's fluffy and slightly stiff texture. Spread on cake and sprinkle with the semi-sweet chocolate chips. 

What we found with our modified version of this recipe, was a delicious moist cake that was a hit with everyone. To be honest, it didn't even need the "frosting". The trickiest part to me came down to the pans. I used a bundt pan for one version and a pyrex sheet pan for another. With each, I sprinkled the extra tapioca flour on the buttered surfaces and it clumped thickly. Excess flour didn't shake off easily at all. Removing the cakes from the pans was a bit of a delicate operation as well. I had to use a butter knife along the edges of the bundt pan to loosen the cake and coax it out. The surface of the cake is a little delicate so frosting it requires a light hand with plenty of your choice of topping. I think it would still be a success with an alternative topping of just powdered sugar and raspberries. Mangia and enjoy!

Whipped into a frenzy

I have been racking my brain for gluten and dairy free solutions for special occasions and upcoming holidays. Family traditions are important to us and recipes we've used to celebrate these moments have become endangered with these food allergies. And then the heavens opened above, and heavenly light rained down from above. Healthy top has come to our rescue. It's lactose free, gluten free, cholesterol free, soy free, non-gmo, vegan, and kosher. We couldn't ask for much more except, please Lord, let it taste good! I was thrilled at how simple this stuff is to use. It needs to be refrigerated for at least 30 minutes before you use it, throw it in a mixing bowl, whisk it for a few minutes and waa laa! Done. It whipped up just as promised and it was very tasty. It doesn't taste exactly like whipped cream but it is pretty close. Here's how I used the final product:

I don't live near a retailer of this product so I found it on Amazon.com

Happy holidays everyone!