Gluten Free Tres Leches Cake

Gluten Free Tres Leches Cake is sweet, moist, and delectable. It was such a hit at my husband's birthday party, I made a second cake the following weekend for my father-in-law's birthday.

For my husband's birthday last month, I also made one of his new favorite cakes - Tres Leches Cake.  Mike tried real (aka gluten cake at a Spanish restaurant) Tres Leches Cake last year at a holiday party and raved about it. I obviously could not try it, but I've been wanting to try a gluten free version since Mike loved it so much. I knew I had to make Tres Leches Cake for his birthday, because one birthday cake just does not cut it anymore in our household. We're a two birthday cake household. Why pick one favorite, when you can have two of your favorite cakes?!


Gluten Free Tres Leches Cake

Ingredients:
·1 box Betty Crocker Gluten Free yellow cake mix
·1/2 cup butter, melted
·2/3 cup water
·3 eggs
·3 tsp real vanilla extract
·10 oz sweetened condensed milk
·1/2 cup fat free evaporated milk
·1 1/2 cups whipping cream, divided
·2 TBS sugar
·1/2 pint fresh strawberries, sliced (optional for garnish)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease the bottom and sides of an 8x8-inch pan.

In a kitchen stand mixer, beat cake mix, water, oil, 2 tsp vanilla, and eggs on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 36 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Poke top of hot ake very 1/2 inch with a long-tined fork, wiping the fork occasinoally to reduce sticking.

In a large bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and 1/2 cup whipping cream. Carefully pour evenly over the top of the cake. Cover and refrigerate overnight so the milk mixture absorbs into the cake.

The next day, prepare the whipped frosting. In a large, chilled bowl, beat the remaining 1 cup whipping cream, 2 TBS sugar, and remaining 1 tsp vanilla in a kitchen stand mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Frost cake with whipped cream and sliced strawberries before serving.

Raspberry Filled Banana Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting

Raspberry Filled Banana Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting are light, fresh, and sweet - perfect for spring and summer celebrations.

These cupcakes combine my husband's favorite dessert flavors - banana, lemon, and raspberry. I made them last month to celebrate his birthday, and they were a hit.


Raspberry Filled Banana Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting

Cupcake Ingredients:
·1 box (15 oz) Betty Crocker Gluten-Free yellow cake mix
·1 cup mashed ripe bananas (approximately 2 bananas)
·1/3 cup butter, melted
·1/3 cup water
·3 eggs
·2 tsp real vanilla extract
·1/2 cup raspberry jam

Lemon Frosting Ingredients:
·1/2 cup butter, softened
·2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
·1 tsp real vanilla extract
·4 TBS fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Heat oven to 350˚. Place cupcake liners into a muffin tin. In a kitchen stand mixer, beat cake mix, mashed bananas, melted butter, water, eggs, and vanilla until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon batter into cupcake liner, filling half way. Spoon a teaspoon of raspberry jam into the center of each cup of cupcake batter. Top with remaining batter until cupcake liner is filled.

Bake for 18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the side comes out clean. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting, about 30 minutes.

To prepare the Lemon Frosting, beat together butter, sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice in a bowl or kitchen stand mixer until light and fluffy. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and serve.

 

Yield: and 20 mini-cupcakes, or 18-20 regular cupcakes

Double Chocolate Reese's Cake

I celebrated my birthday last month and had a great month of celebrating. The festivities included two delicious gluten free cakes. The first cake was a phenomenal Thin Mint gluten free cake made by my mom. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures. But, I'm still dreaming of the fudge frosting on top of a perfectly cooked and flavored vanilla cake with crème de menthe.

The second cake was a decadent Double Chocolate Reese’s gluten free cake my husband (who hates baking) made. He’s made me a few cakes throughout the years for my birthday, but this one topped the cake (pun intended). J Just take a look…

 

                         

While I don't have a recipe to share, I just had to share photos of this decadent cake with you. All I know about making this cake is that it took him 4 hours to prepare, is full of butter, and is made with a gluten free chocolate boxed cake mix, gluten free chocolate buttercream icing, mini Reese’s cups, and my favorite Reese’s – Reese’s Eggs. It tastes even better than it looks!

 

                              

 

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

                                     

 

These Cookie Dough Cupcakes look amazing and taste even better than they look. They also pack a sweet surprise...

 

                              

A cookie dough stuffed center! These Cookie Dough Cupcakes are double the cookie dough - stuffed with cookie dough in the middle and then topped with cookie dough frosting. Sinfully sweet and delicious!

I made these in February to celebrate my brother's birthday. They were loved and devoured by everyone.

There are no health safety risks eating these cupcakes, as the cookie dough is eggless. I'd recommend making extra and keeping it in the freezer when you need a sweet tooth fix.

Enjoy!
 

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Ingredients:
·1 box of Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix
·1 1/2 cups brown sugar
·1/2 cup butter, softened
·1/2 tsp vanilla
·2 cups gluten free flour
·Pinch of salt
·1 cup miniature chocolate chips

Directions:
To prepare cookie dough, mix together the brown sugar and butter in a medium bowl until smooth. Mix in vanilla, milk, gluten free flour, and salt until well blended. Remove half of the cookie dough into a separate bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips into one bowl of cookie dough only. Chill both bowls of cookie dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare gluten free cake batter according to package directions. Spoon into muffin tins lined with cupcake liners. *Do not bake yet.

Remove both bowls of cookie dough from the fridge. Using the bowl of cookie dough with chocolate chips mixed in, roll the cookie dough into 18-24 one-inch balls. Drop one ball of cookie dough into the center of the cake batter in each cupcake liner.

Bake cookie dough stuffed cupcakes according to package directions. Meanwhile, let the other bowl of cookie dough begin to soften. When cupcakes are finished baking, remove from pan and allow to cool completely.

To prepare the cookie dough icing, stir the cookie dough that's been softening on the counter. Do not stir in the chocolate chips. If you do, the cookie dough frosting will be harder to work with. Add a few splashes of milk, if needed, to thin the cookie dough out enough for frosting. Frost each cooled cupcake with the cookie dough frosting, then sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips on top.

Serve, enjoy, and celebrate!

Peach-Blackberry Praline Upside-Down Cake

 

 

If you also came home with a 1/2 peck of ripe peaches from the local farmer's market this weekend, this Peach-Blackberry Praline Upside-Down Cake is for you! If not, you don't want to miss this cake and should find fresh peaches pronto.

This Peach-Blackberry Praline Upside-Down Cake is seriously phenomenal. A moist, spongy cinnamon-vanilla cake is topped with plump and juicy peaches and blackberries - all coated in a syrupy brown sugar pecan praline. AMAZING!!

 

But, don't take my word for it. Here are some comments from my family who absolutely loved this cake. "Oh wow, that is good!" "Mmmm!" "Very good." "It doesn't even have a hint of gluten-free." Yes, there is no aftertaste and it's As Good As Gluten. (With all of the sugar, butter, and eggs and my flour blend, I didn't expect it to taste anything less than amazing).

A few pieces of advice when making this decadent cake: 1) Bake it now. 2) Share the love. Your family and friends will adore you for it.

My family enjoyed this cake as is, but decided it would be extra special if taken topped with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Just a suggestion. :)

 

Peach-Blackberry Praline Upside-Down Cake
Modified from Taste of Home

Ingredients:

·4 eggs, separated

·1/4 cup butter, cubed

·2/3 cup packed brown sugar

·1 tsp ground cinnamon, plus 1/2 tsp for cake

·1/4 tsp fresh ginger, grated

·3 medium peaches, peeled and sliced

·1/4 cup fresh blackberries

·1/2 cup pecans, chopped

·1/2 cup brown rice flour

·1/2 cup oat flour

·1 tsp baking powder

·1/4 tsp salt

·1 cup brown sugar

·1/4 cup skim milk

·2 TBS Greek yogurt

·1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Place egg whites in a large bowl. Set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375˚.

In a 16-20 inch cast iron skillet (or oven proof skillet), melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, and ginger. Remove from heat. Arrange peaches and blackberries on top. Sprinkle with pecans.

In a small bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and salt. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks until thickened. Gradually add sugar, beating on high speed until thick and lemon-colored. Beat in milk, Greek yogurt, and vanilla. Fold in flour mixture.

With clean beaters, beat egg whites on medium speed until stuff. Fold into cake batter. Pour batter into skillet.

Bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes; invert onto a plate. Serve warm.

Reese's No Bake Cheesecakes

Just in case Lemon Mousse Cake wasn’t enough dessert for Mike’s birthday a few months ago, I also made these delicious Reese’s No Bake Cheesecakes. They are naturally gluten-free, so I may have indulged in a few too many of these mini cheesecakes.

I originally came across this recipe on Pinterest, but the link to the original recipe is broken. The concept is pretty self-explanatory, so my recipe and take on it is below. It’s a super easy and very tasty dessert!

Reese’s No Bake Cheesecakes

Ingredients:
·16 regular-sized Reese’s cups, unwrapped
·¼ cup chocolate chips
·½ cup sugar
·8oz. Neufchâtel cream cheese
·8oz. cool whip
·1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Line muffin tins with wrappers. Place an unwrapped Reese’s into the liners. Make no bake cheesecake by beating together sugar, cream cheese, cool whip, and vanilla. Spoon cheesecake on top of Reese’s and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours before serving.

Lemon Mousse Cake

My husband requested a lemon cake for his birthday in May. While he’d be happy with a boxed lemon cake with icing, I can’t do anything simple. So, I came up with this Lemon Mousse Cake recipe. This decadent cake is the outcome of combining a few simple ingredients of white cake mix, lemon pie filling, and cream cheese frosting. 

Full disclosure – I used a gluten boxed cake mix since my husband is not gluten free. However, I’m posting this recipe because it was simply amazing and I’m confident it will be just as delicious with gluten free boxed cake mix. How do I know it’s amazing outside of what my husband and party guests claimed? I was able to taste the filling and icing as I was making the cake. It was sweet and creamy, and I may have been unable to resist licking the spoon, beaters, and bowl. :)

Lemon Mousse Cake
Ingredients:
·1 box of white cake mix, plus ingredients called for on cake mix box (for gluten free, I’d recommend Betty Crocker Vanilla Cake Mix)
 ·1 - 24oz. can of lemon pie filling
 ·1 container of cream cheese frosting 

Directions:
For the cake, pour all ingredients – reducing water by ¼ cup – into a large bowl. Add ¼ cup of lemon pie filling to the bowl and mix until combined. Make, bake, and cool cake according to package directions for two 8- or 9-inch round cakes.

For the frosting, mix together in a large bowl one container of cream cheese frosting with ¼ cup of lemon pie filling.

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a cake plate. Spread the remaining lemon pie filling on top of the cake, leaving about ¼ inch diameter at the edge. Place the second cake layer on top. Then, frost the entire cake with the lemon cream cheese frosting. Store loosely covered in the fridge until ready to serve. Let cake sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before serving.

Lemon Blueberry Cake (Flourless)

Lemon Blueberry Cake is moist, light, delicious and super flavorful.

I made this Lemon Blueberry Cake for my husband’s birthday a few weeks ago, as my flourless lemon cake is his favorite cake. I added blueberries for a new variation that everyone enjoyed.

Lemon Blueberry Cake
Cake Ingredients:
·1 recipe for Flourless Lemon Cake
·½ cup blueberries
·1 tsp potato starch
Topping Ingredients:
·1 cup whipping cream
·1 tsp pure vanilla extract
·2 TBS sugar
·1 TBS fresh lemon juice
·1 TBS lemon zest

Directions:
Prepare Flourless Lemon Cake according to the recipe. In a small bowl, stir blueberries and potato starch together to coat blueberries in the starch. Pour half of the cake batter into the pan, sprinkle blueberries across the top, and then pour the remaining cake batter into the pan. Bake according to recipe.

To prepare the topping, beat whipping cream, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. When cake is cool, frost with topping and serve.


I've also shared this recipe on: Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Gluten Free Wednesdays

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday! I've had a great birthday and birthday weekend. For my cake this year, I wanted to celebrate with a real cupcake in my favorite flavor - Red Velvet. I haven't had Red Velvet Cake since I became gluten free a year and a half ago, which has been way too long. Since I like to complicate things, not only did I want a real Red Velvet Cupcake, but I wanted to bake it flourless with natural colors. This is how that attempt turned out...

Great flavor, but way too moist with sunken tops. I wanted so badly to try again, but it's my birthday and it's a gorgeous day out. Experimenting in the kitchen is not how I wanted to spend my day. Instead, I made some notes to improve my recipe next time (which will be soon) and turned to Betty Crocker's Gluten Free Devil's Food Cake Mix, red food coloring, and my husband to help. The outcome was...

completely and utterly successful! These gluten free Red Velvet Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting taste delicious and just like a real Red Velvet Cupcake. Happy Birthday to Me!

Click here for the Gluten Free Red Velvet Cake recipe - I followed the directions exactly. Instead of making one cake, I made 16 cupcakes which baked for 15-20 minutes.

Click here for the Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting recipe

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Torte (Flourless)

This Chocolate Covered Strawberry Torte is decadent, rich, and indulgent! It's the perfect after dinner dessert for Valentine's Day.

What are your Valentine's Day plans? Mike and I are enjoying dinner at home this year, and I couldn't think of any better way to celebrate. Mike is making one of my favorites for dinner - Garlic Chicken to Die For and gluten free spaghetti with marinara sauce. I made him Chocolate Covered Strawberry Torte for dessert. Happy Valentine's Day!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Torte (Flourless)
Based on my Flourless Double Chocolate Torte recipe

Ingredients:
·1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces (plus more for the pan)
·¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (plus more for the pan and 1 TBS for the strawberries)
·¼ cup half-and-half
·1 cup dark chocolate chips
·5 eggs
·1 cup sugar
·1 cup sliced strawberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and dust with cocoa powder. In a medium saucepan, heat butter and half-and-half over medium-low heat until the butter is melted. Add the chocolate and stir until melted and smooth; remove from heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and cocoa powder; whisk in the chocolate mixture.

In a small bowl, toss the sliced strawberries with 1 TBS of cocoa powder. (This helps keep the strawberries from rising to the top as the cake bakes).

Fold the strawberries into the batter mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until puffed and set, 45-50 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 1 hour. Run a knife around the edge of the cake before removing sides of pan.


I've also shared this recipe on: Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Gluten Free Wednesdays

Chocolate Peppermint Pudding Poke Cake

This decadent cake is inspired by my Better than Sex Cake recipe and my love of peppermint. This chocolate lovers cake is delectable!

Chocolate Peppermint Pudding Poke Cake
Ingredients:
·1 recipe for Black Bean Chocolate Cake (Flourless)
·1 recipe for Homemade Chocolate Pudding
·¼ cup skim milk
·3 crushed candy canes, optional

Directions:
Prepare Black Bean Chocolate Cake (Flourless) according to recipe. Once cake is cool, poke 15-20 holes in the cake with a wooden spoon.

Prepare Homemade Chocolate Pudding according to recipe, using 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips in place of the white chocolate chips and dark chocolate chips.

In a small bowl, thin out half of the prepared Chocolate Pudding with milk. Pour mixture over the top of the cake, allowing the thinned out pudding to seep into the holes in the cake.

Frost cake with remaining pudding and garnish with crushed candy canes.

Yield: 8 servings

No Bake Chocolate-Chili Cake Truffle for 1 Year Blog Anniversary

Rich, smooth, velvety, and decadent! This 5 ingredient No Bake Chocolate-Chili Cake is naturally gluten-free, and it seriously only takes 10 minutes to prepare.

You can make it in any sized pan, but a smaller and narrower pan will result in a bigger and thicker slice. If the cake doesn't set up properly in the fridge, try freezing it. I used half 'n half and the cake set up better in the freezer. If you use cream, I would guess it would set up better in the fridge due to the fat content of the cream.
This cake was the perfect dessert to celebrate my 1 Year Blog Anniversary. I started As Good As Gluten one year ago today! My blog has evolved a great deal over the past year. My soul purpose to start As Good As Gluten was to share my recipes with my family members who are also gluten-free. I had no idea how much my little blog would grow. It's still small compared to more popular blogs, but it's huge to me. A few nights ago, I went through all of my blog posts and noticed two things: one, my food photography skills have greatly improved. Second, I was reminded of tons of recipes that I love and haven't made in awhile. I'll be fixing that soon. I hope you've enjoyed the past year as much as I have!    --Lauren

No Bake Chocolate-Chili Cake Truffle
Ingredients:
·1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
·1 cup half ‘n half (or heavy cream)
·1½ tsp cinnamon
·¼ tsp cayenne pepper
·¼ tsp salt

Directions:
Lightly butter a 6-inch pan and line with parchment paper. In a double boiler, barely melt the chocolate over low heat. In a medium pan, heat the half ‘n half over medium-low heat. Stir in cinnamon and cayenne pepper. When the cream is very warm, remove from heat and stir in the salt.

Pour the chocolate into the infused cream, and steadily stir until well combined. Pour into the prepared pan, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled throughout, a few hours, or overnight.

When ready to serve, let sit at room temperature before slicing.


I've also shared this recipe on: Slightly Indulgent Tuesday


Recipe adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Lemon White Bean Cake with Pistachio Lemon Topping (Flourless)

O.M.G. this cake is delectable! It's light, refreshing, moist, and incredibly flavorful. This may very well be the best cake I've ever made!

 

After having so much success baking with black beans, I wanted to try baking with white beans. I searched the internet, but could not find any flourless white bean cake recipes. I took a chance and created my own white bean cake recipe. And, my first attempt was beyond successful!

The lemon flavor does an excellent job of masking the bean flavor. I let the cake sit overnight before frosting and serving, and there was not a single hint of bean flavor. Not only is the flavor delicious, but the texture is perfect - spongy and very moist.

Mike calls this recipe my "most amazing lemon cake!" He really thinks I'm "on to something" and insists that I should sell this recipe. And, he wants half of the profits since the lemon flavor was partly his idea! :) When Mike starts talking about making money with gluten-free recipes, I know without a doubt that this recipe is phenomenal and As Good As Gluten!

Lemon White Bean Cake with Pistachio Lemon Topping
Cake Ingredients:
·2 cups cooked white beans (I soaked ½ cup of dried Great Northern Beans overnight, cooked them the next day, and allowed them to cool completely before pureeing.)
·3 eggs, separated
·2 TBS applesauce
·1 TBS pure vanilla
·2 TBS fresh lemon juice
·Pinch of sea salt
·6 TBS butter, softened
·¾ cup sugar
·1 TBS potato starch
·1½ TBS lemon zest
·1 tsp double acting baking powder
·½ tsp baking soda
Topping Ingredients:
·1 container fat-free whipped topping, thawed
·1 TBS fresh lemon juice
·1 TBS lemon zest
·1 oz. pistachios, chopped in a food processor

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚. Line the bottom of a 9” cake pan with a parchment paper round and grease pan with butter. In a blender, puree white beans, egg yolks, applesauce, vanilla, lemon juice, and sea salt until completely smooth. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until fluffy and soft peaks begin to form. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add bean puree to butter mixture and mix well. Stir in potato starch, lemon zest, baking powder, and baking soda. Beat on medium speed until all ingredients are completely combined. Fold in egg whites by hand until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan, smooth out the top, and bake for 35-40 minutes. Cake is finished when the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes and then remove.

When the cake is completely cool, prepare frosting by mixing one container of thawed whipped topping with lemon juice and lemon zest. Frost cake and then top with chopped pistachios.

I've also shared this recipe on: Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten Free, This Week's Craving

Black Bean Chocolate Cake (Flourless)

This healthy and flourless Black Bean Chocolate Cake is delectable. I topped with Better than Sex GF Cake toppings and it was heavenly! My husband even said it's the best cake he has ever had!!

Mike gave me a great compliment while he was eating this cake. He looked at me seriously and said, "I have something serious to tell you, this is quite possibly the best cake I've ever had!" Until I had a slice of this cake, I would not have believed a Black Bean Chocolate Cake with Better than Sex GF Cake toppings would top all of the gluten and gluten-free cakes my husband has ever had, but it does!

Since I've been gluten-free, the neatest cooking/baking tip I've learned is that you can bake delicious treats using beans! So far, I've made Black Bean Cupcakes, Peanut Butter & Jelly Black Bean Cupcakes, and Black Bean Brownies with Creme de Menthe Frosting - all three were As Good As Gluten and delicious! I'm truly amazed by the versatility and healthiness of black beans. There is no black bean aftertaste to any of the dessert recipe I've made with black beans!

Black Bean Chocolate Cake (Flourless)

Ingredients:

·1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed

·3 eggs, separated

·2 TBS applesauce

·1 TBS pure vanilla

·Pinch of sea salt

·6 TBS butter, softened

·¾ cup sugar

·¼ cup cocoa powder

·1 tsp double acting baking powder

·½ tsp baking soda

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease a 9" cake pan and dust with cocoa powder. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, and grease. In a blender, puree black beans, egg yolks, applesauce, vanilla, and sea salt until completely smooth. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until fluffy. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add bean puree to butter mixture and mix well. Stir in cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda. Beat on medium speed until all ingredients are completely combined. Fold in egg whites by hand until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan, smooth out the top, and bake for 40-45 minutes. Cake is finished when firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and let the cake cool completely. Frost with your favorite frosting/cake toppings and serve.

Yield: one 9" cake

I've also shared this recipe on: Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, This Week's Craving

"Better than Sex" GF Cake

I made this cake for my husband's birthday, and he loved it!

Mike and I have been to a few celebrations over the past few months that have served "Better than Sex" Cake. Since the cake at these celebrations were not gluten-free, I've been unable to enjoy it. Mike has benefited as he has no problem eating my slice of cake. At a seated dinner last month, he even had me request a piece of "Better than Sex" Cake for dessert (despite requesting a gluten-free meal) so he could enjoy two slices! 

The gluten-free version of this cake is really good, and the only "word" Mike could use to describe his birthday cake as he was eating it was "mmmmmm!" However, I'm a perfectionist and am not completly satisfied with the GF cake texture. I made some adjustments to the cake recipe below that I think will improve the texture and result in an even better "Better than Sex" GF Cake.

"Better than Sex" GF Cake
Gluten-Free Devil's Food Cake Ingredients:
·2 eggs, separated
·6 TBS canola oil (I prefer a variety fortified with omega-3)
·½ cup plus 2 TBS sugar
·1 cup hot coffee (add gradually to get the right texture for the GF flour blend you're using)
·1 cup all-purpose GF flour blend (add 1 tsp of xanthan gum if your mix doesn't already include it)
·1 tsp baking soda
·½ tsp salt
·6 TBS cocoa powder
·1 TBS pure Mexican vanilla

Topping Ingredients:
·½ of a 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
·6 oz. caramel syrup topping
·½ of an 8 oz. container of fat free whipped topping, thawed
·1 Heath candy bar, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚. Butter an 8" or 9" round cake pan and dust with cocoa powder.

Separate egg yolks from egg whites. In a small bowl, use an electric mixer to beat 2 egg whites until white and fluffy, and peaks begin to form (about 2-4 minutes). Set bowl aside. In a large bowl, beat together 2 egg yolks, oil, and sugar until well combined. Gradually add in coffee, GF flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Mix until well combined. Fold in egg whites and vanilla until well combined, being careful not to over-mix.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Let cake cool completely before adding the toppings. If you are going to remove the cake from the pan to a cake stand, let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes then move it to a cake stand to finish cooling.

When cake is completely cooled, use a kitchen skewer to poke 15-20 holes in the cake. Pour sweetened condensed milk over the cake. Then, pour the caramel topping over the cake. Frost the cake with whipped topping and top with crushed Heath bar pieces.

GF Chocolate Layer Cake

One of my best friends is getting married this summer, and this was the cake for her wedding shower this past weekend. First off, I can't take credit for the design - it was the awesome idea of the another one of my best friends. And, I had major help making the cake from my mom and husband.

This was my first attempt at working with store-bought fondant (I used Chef Duff's line from Michael's). I found that making a fondant cake is somewhat difficult and takes a lot of time. But, the outcome is worth it.

The top layer of the cake was the GF Chocolate Layer Cake with Vanilla frosting. The texture was moist, the chocolate flavor was rich, and (best of all) there was no GF after-taste. A quote from another GF friend at the shower sums up this cake quite well, "This tastes like REAL cake!"

Wet Ingredients:
·1 whole egg plus 1 egg white
·⅓ cup canola oil
·½ cup milk plus 1 tsp lemon juice
·½ tsp vanilla
·½ cup coffee
Dry Ingredients:
·1 cup sugar
·1 cup GF all-purpose flour with xanthan gum (if your mix does not include xanthan, add 1 tsp)
·1½ tsp baking powder
·¼ tsp salt
·⅓ cup cocoa powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease and flour one 8 inch pan or two small 4-6 inch pans. Beat 2 egg whites on high until fluffy and peaks form. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients (sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder). Measure wet ingredients (1 egg yolk, oil, milk and lemon juice, vanilla, and coffee) and then add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well with an electric mixer. Fold in egg whites. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack. Frost when completely cool. (I've frosted this cake with vanilla frosting and pink buttercream fondant and have also had it with peanut butter frosting - both have tasted great).

Flourless Double Chocolate Torte

This quote from my hubby sums up this dessert perfectly - "MMMM, this is aMAZing!!" This is seriously THE BEST dessert I've ever made! I'm in chocolate heaven; this dessert is very rich and moist - melts in your mouth! However, it is not as good as gluten - it's BETTER! In my gluten days, I never had a gluten dessert this FANTASTIC! Seriously.

·1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces (plus more for the pan)
·¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (plus more for the pan)
·¼ cup half-and-half
·4 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
·4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
·5 eggs
·1 cup sugar
·Powdered sugar and whipped cream, optional toppings

Preheat oven to 350˚. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and dust with cocoa powder. In a medium saucepan, heat butter and half-and-half over medium-low heat until the butter is melted. Add the chocolate and stir until melted and smooth; remove from heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and cocoa powder; whisk in the chocolate mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until puffed and set, 35-40 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 1 hour. Run a knife around the edge of the cake before removing sides of pan.

To serve: dust with powdered sugar and whipped cream. Cake can be refrigerated up to 2 days in advance of serving – just bring to room temperature before serving then dust with powdered sugar and whipped cream.

I've also shared this recipe on: Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays