Let Them Eat Cake!

We all love "forbidden" foods. What could be more "forbidden" to someone who is gluten-free than cake? You don't have to go without, though, if you have a few recipes in your repertoire for that special occasion.

I have two recipes that are good standards for cake recipes. One is a traditional Angel Food, the other a Cream Cheese pound cake. The pound cake calls for using the Featherlite recipe which I include below:

Featherlite Mix
1 part rice flour
1 part tapioca flour
1 part cornstarch
potato flour (1 teaspoon per cup)

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

2 cups Featherlite Mix
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1 rounded teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 rounded teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1 8 ounce package cream cheese ( 1/3 light is preferable)
2 1/2 cups sugar (I use agave 2 cups agave nectar)
3/4 cup buttermilk (decrease buttermilk to 1/2 cup when using agave nectar)
3 whole eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. coat a bundt pan with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour mix, sorghum flour, xanthan gum, and baking soda. In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter, cream chees and sugar ( or agave) until light and fluffy. Beat in buttermilk. Add the eggs and egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the extracts and beat well. Slowly beat in the flours auntil well mixed. Pour batter into the bundt pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a tester inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto the serving plate. Cool cake completely before cutting. Serve plain or with a fruit or sauce topping. Makes 16-20 servings.
288 calories per serving, made with sugar. Less with agave!

Angel Food

1/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup conrstarch
1/3 powdered sugar
12 large eggs
2 tablesppons water
1/2 teasonn sea salt
1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
3/4 cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla

preheat oven to 375 degrees. Have available a large angel food pan with removeable bottom. Sift together 4 times the flour and cornstarch. In the bowl of your mixer, whip the egg whites, water salt, and cream or tarter until foamy. Slowly add the agave, while beating until soft peaks form. Fold in the flour mix, a little at a t time. Add the vanilla (if used) and spoon into the cake pan. Cut through the batter with a knife to emliminate any air bubbles. Bake for 35 minutes. Reverse pan immediatly when taken from overna nd stand on legs or tubular center until cool. Drop the cake, reversed, onto the serving plate and frost with whipped cream or your favorit frosting, if desired. Also serve with fresh fruit compote. Makes 12-16 servings.