Some of you may recall when I made this cake about a year ago, I put in way, way too much of the flour mixture and a friend, who I had served it to, joked that I made him eat a brick. The cake was a disaster and apparently, it took me a year to get over it, but here it is. Wow, what a difference correctly following the recipe makes! š This cake is outstanding! You’d never know it was gluten-free AND vegan! The cake was soft, moist, and not too sweet. (The icing will sure make up for that!) This is now going to be the family birthday cake for a while—it’s that good! Plus, I’ve completely redeemed myself and my friend told me he can no longer tease me about serving him a brick!
INGREDIENTS:
1 C gluten-free vanilla rice milk
1 tsp cider vinegar
2-1/2 C Betsy’s Baking Mix (recipe below)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 C palm oil shortening
2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 oz red food coloring
1/4 C + 3 Tbs unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs distilled white vinegar
1 tsp baking soda
1 recipe butter cream frosting (below)
Betsy’s Making Mix: this makes 7-1/2 cups–remember, use just 2-1/2 cups of it.
3-3/4 C garbanzo beanĀ flour
2-1/4 C potato starch
1-1/2 C tapioca starch/flour
Buttercream Frosting:
1 C veganĀ margarine
4 to 4-1/2 C confectioner’s sugar
Vanilla rice milk
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. Make your baking mix first: Combine all the flours in a large zip-lock bag. Using a whisk, blend them well. Then seal tightly and shake it vigorously for 1 minute. This mix will stay good for up to 3 months.
Grease 2 9″ cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper; set aside. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the rice milk and cider vinegar to create “buttermilk” and set aside. In a small bowl, use a spoon to combine the cocoa powder and food coloring. (Keep in mind that 1 ounce is a full-sized bottle of food coloring). It will form a paste:
In a large bowl, combine 2-1/2 cups of the baking mix, salt, and xanthan gum. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the sugar and palm oil shortening. Add the applesauce and vanilla and cream everything together until mixture is light and creamy. Add the cocoa paste and mix well.
Alternately, add the dry ingredients and the “buttermilk” mixture to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Pour the white vinegar into a small cup and sprinkle the baking soda over it. Immediately pour the fizzing combo into the cake batter and thoroughly mix it in. Evenly divide the batter into the two cake pans.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely on a rack before turning them out of the pans.
Once cooled, turn over the pans and remove the parchment paper. Take a large plate and place it upside down on the bottom of one of the cakes (that will be upside down on the rack). Flip over so the cake is face up on the plate.
To make the frosting cream the margarineĀ until smooth. Little by little, add the confectioner’s sugar. Add the vanilla rice milk 1-2 tablespoons at a time until you reach a thick consistency.
Frost the top and sides of the cake that is on the plate. Lay it pretty thick, especially on the top. Carefully place the 2nd cake on top and frost that one.
Slice and enjoy! Cover the leftovers and store in the refrigerator.
Recipe source (cake only): Living Without
- 1 C gluten-free vanilla rice milk
- 1 tsp cider vinegar
- 2-1/2 C Betsy's Baking Mix (recipe below)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- ½ C palm oil shortening
- 2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 oz red food coloring
- ¼ C + 3 Tbs unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 Tbs distilled white vinegar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 recipe butter cream frosting (below)
- Betsy's Making Mix: this makes 7-1/2 cups--remember, use just 2-1/2 cups of it.
- 3-3/4 C garbanzo bean flour
- 2-1/4 C potato starch
- 1-1/2 C tapioca starch/flour
- Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 C vegan margarine
- 4 to 4-1/2 C confectioner's sugar
- Vanilla rice milk
- Preheat oven to 350. Make your baking mix first: Combine all the flours in a large zip-lock bag. Using a whisk, blend them well. Then seal tightly and shake it vigorously for 1 minute. This mix will stay good for up to 3 months.
- Grease 2 9" cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper; set aside. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the rice milk and cider vinegar to create "buttermilk" and set aside. In a small bowl, use a spoon to combine the cocoa powder and food coloring. (Keep in mind that 1 ounce is a full-sized bottle of food coloring). It will form a paste.
- In a large bowl, combine 2-1/2 cups of the baking mix, salt, and xanthan gum. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the sugar and palm oil shortening. Add the applesauce and vanilla and cream everything together until mixture is light and creamy. Add the cocoa paste and mix well.
- Alternately, add the dry ingredients and the "buttermilk" mixture to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Pour the white vinegar into a small cup and sprinkle the baking soda over it. Immediately pour the fizzing combo into the cake batter and thoroughly mix it in. Evenly divide the batter into the two cake pans
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely on a rack before turning them out of the pans.
- Once cooled, turn over the pans and remove the parchment paper. Take a large plate and place it upside down on the bottom of one of the cakes (that will be upside down on the rack). Flip over so the cake is face up on the plate.
- To make the frosting cream the margarine until smooth. Little by little, add the confectioner's sugar. Add the vanilla rice milk 1-2 tablespoons at a time until you reach a thick consistency.
- Frost the top and sides of the cake that is on the plate. Lay it pretty thick, especially on the top. Carefully place the 2nd cake on top and frost that one.
- Slice and enjoy! Cover the leftovers and store in the refrigerator.
Hi There – that cake looks soooo yummy
can you please tell me what brand of red food colouring you use ?
Thanks so much
Wendy
Hmmm…I don’t have the packaging or the bottle itself since I used it all, so I can’t be sure. It was either McCormick brand or Kroger.
I don’t usually use red food coloring because it tastes bad to me, but the rest of the recipe looks awesome. I’m glad you had a “do-over” after the first time!
Oh gosh, I’ve never noticed red food coloring had a taste. I suppose you don’t have to color it at all–it can just be “velvet cake!” š
wow, this looks delicious! i’m going to have to try it soon. i wonder, can betsy’s baking mix be used in place of wheat flour to make other recipes gluten-free as well?
That’s a good question. The recipes the magazine featured using this baking mix are all either cakes or cupcakes. The article doesn’t mention whether or not it can be used for other gluten-free recipes. I don’t see why not though. I wish I could be of more help, but I’ve never attempted anything other gluten-free recipes with this mix.
Thanks – I’ll have to experiment with it. š I’m just getting into gluten-free baking and looking for some simple substitutions for the recipes I already have.
Oh yum. When can we expect you to serve this at critique group?
My cousin was just asking for a yummy gluten free cake recipe. I can’t wait to send this! Thank you for sharing this treat with me tonight. I’ve missed you and your lovely blog! I hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow. Love from Austin.
Can this cake be made with regular but sifted wheat flour?
Well, I’ve never tried that, so I can’t say with certainty that it would…I don’t want to give you bad advice and have you end up with an inedible cake, so I’m sure what the proper conversion would be. A friend uses 7/8 C + 1 tsp of xanthum gum per cup of flour for GF recipes, so I suppose you could try that conversion, but otherwise, I’m not sure.