Gluten free cake

[cantthinkofausernamerightnow]

I am about to make a gluten free cake (preferably a layer cake) for someone who has coeliac disease.
I need it to look suitably celebratory and taste yummy.
Any favourite recipes you's like to share?
TIA

[Dragonfree]

I have an amazing one clementine one, but it's not layered. Any good?

[ZombiesAreClammyDodgers]

I have to do the same but was just planning to get GF cake mix
Am I missing something or is all icing gluten free btw? Unless you're adding wheat, but who does that!?

[Dragonfree]

I can't think that icing would contain gluten! Certainly the stuff I make doesn't! If you're buying, double check the ingredients in case there's some sort of thickening agent added...

[ZombiesAreClammyDodgers]

So I did some checking up since I posted (yes, was planning on homemade) and apparently icing sugar can't be trusted unless it says GF!?
Apparently it's better to take sugar and pulverise as some agents used in making icing sugar can have gluten.

[Dragonfree]

[er1507]

I made a gluten free layer cake for DDs birthday last week. one of her litte friends is wheat and gluten intolerant. I used aldi GF self raising flour and followed the Mary Berry recipe for Victoria sponge. made my one buttercream to cover.

[lamado]

This is my favourite gf cake.

smittenkitchen.com/2013/03/chocolate-hazelnut-macaroon-torte/

[Celticlassie]

I just do a basic all in one sponge using gf flour instead of normal and a little extra baking powder. Beat it for ages to get extra air in. Used to faff around with more complex recipes but this seems to work the best.

Never had any bother with the icing sugar - ingredients list just says 'sugar' so it sounds like a racket trying to get you to pay extra for the same thing marked 'gf'.

[PinkGlitter17]

I used to faff about with recipes and then tried the one printed on the flour packet. I concluded that the people who produce the flour will have done lots of recipe-testing and research.

[canihaveacoffeeplease]

Sophie Dahl has an amazing flourless chocolate cake, we too with whipped cream and lots of berries, it looks beautiful. No flour in it at all.

[canihaveacoffeeplease]

Top with, sorry! www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/447783/Sophie-Dahl-s-flourless-chocolate-cake

[badbadhusky]

There are some great GF recipes - or rather recipes that use non-wheaty stuff - in the River Cafe Easy cookbook. There is a walnut & dark chocolate cake where the pulverised walnuts are the stodge instead of flour & it is held together by the eggs & set chocolate. It is fab.

[Scrowy]

most importantly make sure any sieves/ tins etc you use for ordinary baking are thoroughly scrubbed before using for GF baking otherwise your very kind efforts will be pointless.

[MissSmiley]

I was just coming on to say the same thing. I wouldn't eat a home baked cake from someone else's kitchen for fear of cross contamination. Sorry OP but a lot of coeliacs are very sensitive and even the smallest crumb in the corner of a tin could make us extremely unwell.

[LadyPeterWimsey]

Best ever GF cake is my friend's all-in-one Victoria Sponge. No one can tell it is GF. I just layer it with jam, and dust with icing sugar.

Put everything in a bowl and mix:

225g caster sugar
175g gf sr flour
50g ground almonds
2tsp baking powder
4 eggs
190ml mild and light olive oil
1tsp vanilla extract

Bake at 160C for 25- 30mins - and Bob's your auntie's live-in lover.

[Modestine]

oooh yum

[MorrisZapp]

My dads recently been diagnosed coeliac but he isn't the vigorously sensitive kind.

Could I make a coffee and walnut cake for him, with gf flour? There's a nice looking recipe in today's I newspaper.

[MorrisZapp]

Also very fond memories as an eighties weirdo reading the Delia Smith cookery course books, she had an amazing recipe for squidgy chocolate log which she described as 'rather wicked'.

I never made it but I have the recipe and photo imprinted on my brain.

[MorrisZapp]

The log is flourless...

[ConstantlyCooking]

I make nigella' polenta lemon cake (I am not sure if polenta is gluten free) or a flourless chocolate cake for DSIL, who can't eat wheat or dairy. I also make the BBC good food website's peach and almond tart but instead of using a pastry case, I line the tin with grease proof paper and then omit the flour from the recipe and add extra almonds. I might try the chocolate and walnut for a change next time.

[badbadhusky]

Morris - there's a flourless hazlenut & expresso cake in the River Cafe Easy cookbook I referred to upthread. You could easily adapt it. If I remember tomorrow, I'll post it.

[MorrisZapp]

Ooh yum!

[HashiAsLarry]

all recipes

This isn't too different to where I started from when I began gf baking. The best things to remember are to check the baking powder is gf (dr oetker generally is) and unlike normal batters, they are wetter and you should beat the crap out of them to create a bonding structure.

[Kofa]

I make s similar cake Lamado but with ricotta and pear instead of chocolate.

As a coeliac can I also add how important it is to use GF baking powder and to ensure all equipment including oven are cleaned thoroughly to minimise the dangers of cross contamination. Also while some ingredients like polenta are naturally gluten free, they may be contaminated in the processing. Always check packaging and coeliac society if you are unsure.

Hope your friend enjoys her cake. What a lovely thing for you to do.

[notapizzaeater]

I also would be dubious having a cake from a gluten kitchen.

Crumbs in the tins, flour in the workings of the mixer etc

I went out and bought all new tins, mixer, spoons etc when my son was diagnosed