Ammonia smell in coop-first time owner

[Chickendoodle]

My ED is graduating this year and they are having a party after the ceremony. I am making a celebration cake which is no problem but she has asked me to make a separate one as 4 of her friends are gluten intolerant.

 

I though of doing the main cake and maybe a set of pretty gluten free cupcakes. Never made gluten free before and looking on the web it seems that the main problem is dry cakes which might make cupcakes a bad idea?

 

Advice and recipes would be greatly appreciated. The main cake will be iced and I don't want the gluten free one to look like second best.

 

Can I use normal buttercream? Fondant icing if it is a bigger cake?

 

Is there anything else I should be aware of (does baking powder have gluten for instance?)

 

Don't want to make anyone ill

[..lay a little egg for me]

Yes, some baking powder does have gluten. However, if you buy baking soda and cream of tartar you can make your own baking powder by adding equal quantities of each.

 

As far as dry cakes go, yes, they can be. If there are no nut allergies among the guests, using ground almonds instead of flour gives a nice moist cake. Or ground almonds to replace some of the flour. There are plenty of chocolate cake recipes that use ground almonds which would be suitable. They might well work as cup cakes...

 

As far as icing, there won't be gluten in home made of course, but I would not be certain that shop-bought would not have gluten as, like the baking powder, I think they add wheat flour to help prevent clumping.

 

I have some friends who are gluten intolerant and have had to make gluten-free cakes for them in the past so that's how I know this stuff. But I'm sure you will get better advice from some of the forum members who have first hand experience.

[Chicken shack]

This is completly gluten free and is very easy to make. You can also make it several days in advance. It does serve 10 as it is very rich. Do try it.

 

Lorna Wing's Sachertorte

 

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour

Use:

 

9-inch springform cake pan

Serves: 10

 

 

 

TORTE

Melted butter for greasing

Two 3.5-ounce bars dark chocolate, minimum 60% cocoa content, broken into pieces

6 large eggs

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

1 2/3 cups ground almonds

1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground coffee

6 tablespoons apricot jam

 

 

ICING

One 3.5-ounce bar dark chocolate, minimum 60% cocoa content, broken into pieces

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

 

 

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush the pan with melted butter, then line it with parchment paper. Alternatively, butter the pan and dust with ground almonds to coat.

 

To make the torte, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Separate 5 of the eggs, then whisk the egg yolks, the whole egg, and the sugar until the mixture is thick and creamy.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

 

Add the ground almonds, coffee grounds, and melted chocolate to the egg yolk mixture and stir well. Gently fold in the egg whites and pour into the prepared pan.

 

Bake for 1 hour, covering the cake with foil after 40 minutes to prevent the top from over browning. A skewer inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Release the spring-form ring but leave the cake on the bottom part of the pan to cool on a wire rack.

 

Melt the apricot jam over a low heat, strain, and then brush it over the cooled cake.

 

To make the icing, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Add the butter and stir until it has the consistency of thick pouring cream. Pour the icing evenly over the cake, smoothing it over the top and sides using the back of a metal spatula. Let it set.

[Chickendoodle]

That's perfect - thanks

[ubereglu]

Also, have a look at the coeliac website, and there appears to be some good ones on the Bakind Mad Website. Hope that will give you some inspiration!