Gluten free cake advice please.

[Sqveeze]

I find if I make a standard Victoria sponge using gluten free flour that it crumbles as it comes out the tin, and then again when I try and decorate it. I can't remember the make of flour I used, but it's the one that tesco stocks.

What am I missing? I there a trick to it?

I think that some recipes suggest adding Xantham gum - it helps with the binding (I think).

Do you desperately need a Vic sponge? This is a delicious gluten free lemon polenta cake or for something unusual, this carrot pistachio and coconut cake is fab!

It's for a 3yr olds birthday cake, so ideally something kid-friendly. Thanks for the xantham gum tip I'll go and get some off eBay just now. How would I know how much to add?

There are some easy recipes. Is it Doves Farm? Should be able to use the recipe on the back.

lifeinmyhousefulofboys.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/recipe-of-week-victoria-sponge.html?m=1 this will work though

I was really surprised by the gluten free range in Asda. They had Xanthan gum and all sorts!

Yes! Doves Farm - that's it. I find the cakes so hard to work with though. No chance of clean edges, is all patched up with buttercream! Thanks for link.

Victoria sponge made with GF flour will dry out really quickly as GF flour absorbs liquid more slowly than regular flour. You need to try a recipe with oil/yogurt/apple sauce in it to keep it stable and moinst. I have a choc cake recipe that works brilliantly with GF flour.

Please do be careful of cross contamination of ingredients if the recipient is coeliac, I have seen many gf cakes make coeliacs quite poorly, due to cross contamination from sugar/crumbs in butter/flour residue on mixers.

I make standard gf victoria sponges with Doves Farm GF SR flour. It just needs more milk than usual (I calibrate by it being 'plopping' texture off a spoon), and I add a teaspoonful of glycerine to keep it moist.

i never found a problem making gf cakes/cupcakes, i made vast quantities for a lical cafe not so long ago and yes the only difference i found is you add milk as ir obsorbs the flour and the texture is different, i made lots of different flavours and even found that non gf customers bought them on a regular basis.

You shouldn't need can than gum if you're using Doves Farm GF flour. But if you're following a standard recipe then you need to add more liquid. The batter should look runnier than you would expect.

If you are baking in a non-GF kitchen, then I would strongly suggest you open a fresh block of butter (to avoid crumbs of non-GF bread) and buy new packets of baking powder (unless it's SR GF flour) and sugar. When people have no need to avoid contamination, they are often oblivious to the fact that they have used the same spoon to measure out, say, flour and sugar. So the sugar and BP get contaminated with wheat flour.

And wipe the mixer down twice with a fresh damp cloth each time.

You can make a nice choc cake with ground almonds instead of flour - I use nigella's recipe for Italian choc cake in her nigelissima book. Basically: olive oil, sugar, eggs mixed with ground almonds and choc paste made from cocoa powder and boiled water. Tastes great.

Wipe it down before you start.

I find I need lower temp/less cooking time with GF flour as well as a drop of milk.

Thanks for all these tips, we are doing a monthly coffee morning at school and found out one of the staff is GF so are trying to cater for her :) I am quite happy baking, but finding this quite a steep learning curve. Having worked in catering the non-contamination stuff is mostly OK, its just the recipes I'm collecting, and getting used to checking ingredients/labels on the most unlikely of things - like chocolate!