Sunday, October 17, 2010

King Arthur Flour Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

Although I don't need to eat gluten-free foods, I know quite a few people who do, So once in a while I'll try out a gluten-free product. I reviewed King Arthur's gluten-free brownie mix a while back and I was impressed with it, so I had high hopes for this cake.

The mix requires eggs, oil, water, and vanilla. I thought the vanilla was a curious addition, since most mixes don't require it.

The instructions require the eggs to be added one at a time, and the water to be added in batches, beating in between each addition. It's not difficult, but it's different from normal cake mixes where you dump it all in and mix a lot less.

The mix is supposed to make two layers, but I decided to make a bundt cake instead. I'm not a big fan of frosting, and I've got plenty of pretty bundt pans.

This mix didn't have high altitude directions, so I carried on with the standard directions. Much to my surprise, the cake rose well and didn't do anything strange. It took a little longer to bake in the bundt pan, but that's to be expected.

Flavor-wise, it was a decent cake. For some reason, I thought that it would have been excellent with almond flavoring. Maybe that would have been a good frosting flavor if I had frosted it.

If it wasn't for the texture, there would be no hint this was gluten free. The texture is, for lack of a better term, smooth. Where a normal cake would be craggy, this one cuts very smoothly - a little more like pound cake than a standard layer cake. If you're not looking at it and you're eating it, the smoothness is a lot less noticeable. And even it you do notice, it's not a big deal.

Overall, it's a good cake. Not the best cake I've ever eaten. But for someone who can't have gluten, this would be a great choice. Oddly, I thought the cake tasted better the next day rather than the day it was baked, so that's something to keep in mind if you're making it for company. But that's probably a good thing, since you can have it made ahead and out of the way.
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