Rhubarb Streusel Cake

Okay. So it has been awhile. I've found myself content with my existing supply of recipes (my own and others'). Rhubarb cake awoke a wish for an old family stand-by, which we called "rhubarb cake" (imaginative, non?) but which is a rhubarb streusel cake and could, in some parts of the world, be better described as a "pudding." This was my aunt Catherine's staple spring cake. It is alternately too tart, too gooey, too sweet, and too cakey in a way that comes together deliciously.

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup amaranth flour
1/4 cup soy flour
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 slightly rounded tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk
2 cups chopped rhubarb

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup melted butter

Grease a 9x13" pan and preheat the oven to 350F.

Cream butter and sugar for one minute. Add eggs and vanilla and beat for one minute more at medium speed on an electric mixer.

Pour in well-whisked-to-combine dry ingredients. Also pour in buttermilk. Beat well for at least one full minute, until the batter is silky smooth and sticky in the annoying way that gluten-free batter gets sticky and rides up the beaters. Fold in rhubarb.

Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan. Mix topping ingredients and sprinkle them over the top in small streuselly dollops. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the centre tests done with a toothpick.

Pumpkin Roll

A jelly-roll type of deal, with pumpkin in the sponge cake and lots of cream-cheese frosting instead of "jelly." You could put lots less sugar in the frosting, I think, but I recreate the original recipe because I haven't tested a lower-sugar version.

1/4 cup each amaranth, rice, and soy flours
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 rounded tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
3 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup cooked, pureed pumpkin
1 tsp lemon juice

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a smaller bowl; add sugar and lemon juice and stir. Mix lightly into dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold gently into batter.

Spoon out onto a parchment paper-lined jelly roll pan or rimmed cookie sheet (11x17") and spread evenly with a spatula.

Bake at 350F for 15 minutes. Roll in a towel while still hot. Cool.

Spread the cooled pumpkin cake with cream-cheese frosting, blended until free of lumps:
6 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup icing sugar (or less)
. . . and roll up like a jelly roll.

Makes 1 log of pumpkin-cream cheese goodness.

Blackbottom Cups

These rich cupcakes have a chocolate base, a chocolate-chip cheesecakey filling, and a sprinkle of nuts on top! They are ba-a-a-ad for you and have almost no redeeming health benefits, unless you are so deprived of calcium that cream cheese counts as your daily intake. And almonds are reputedly good for us these days . . . Hmm. I've almost convinced myself . . .

For cheesecake filling:
6 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
6 oz chocolate chips

Cream together until well combined.

For topping:
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Mix in a small bowl. Set aside.

For black-bottomed cups:
3/4 cup rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup soy flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp soda
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix well, without overmixing.

Half-fill 18 muffin cups with blackbottom mixture. Spoon some cream cheese mixture into each. Sprinkle with nut and sugar topping. Bake at 350F for 20 to 30 minutes.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This is the time of year one's garden would ordinarily be overrun with zucchini aspiring to the size of small coffeetables, if one's zucchini plants weren't half-drowned by the torrential rains this year, and if one's life-partner had not planted so many "Mammoth Russian" sunflowers that they cast shade in all directions until nightfall. This recipe works very well with grated frozen zucchini, if one has a surplus instead of a crop failure.

1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup amaranth flour (or more rice flour)
1/2 cup potato starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 mounded tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp cocoa

3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup oil
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla

2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini, centre seeds scooped out if excessive
1 cup chopped walnuts, or pecans, if you insist
1 cup chocolate chips

Grease tube or bundt pan. Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, whisk dry ingredients until well-blended.

In a smaller bowl, whisk eggs, oil, sugars, and vanilla.

Beat wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stirring just until blended. Fold in zucchini, chocolate chips, and nuts.

Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out on a rack to cool completely.

When completely cooled, spread with cream-cheese frosting, if desired: Blend 1 pkg (4 oz) cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter, and 2 cups gluten-free icing sugar until no lumps remain.

Marjorie's Blueberry Cake

My mother-in-law asked me to attempt to recreate her favourite blueberry cake in a gluten-free form for blueberry season. The first attempt was good, but the centre was slow to cook, leaving the edges a little browned for my liking. The second attempt was better, with delicate and tender sides and an evenly risen and browned top, but it was definitely a little more finicky. I made sure my butter and eggs were room temperature and I warmed the milk in the microwave. And I used fresh, not frozen, blueberries to reduce the cooking time. And I cooked the whole darn thing in a bain marie. It was nearly perfect cake, but if you really can't be bothered with the fussing, it will still be delicious -- a real, old-fashioned cake to serve with tea.

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch flour
1/4 cup amaranth flour
1/4 cup soy flour
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup warm milk

2 to 3 cups blueberries

Grease and line with parchment paper a 9" square pan.

In a large bowl, whip butter until white. Cream sugar with butter until light and fluffy, several minutes longer than you think is reasonable. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flours and starches, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum.

To the butter mixture, beat in flour mixture alternately with the warm milk. Fold in blueberries. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Place the cake pan in a larger pan; fill the larger pan with boiling water to halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake at 350F for about one hour (definitely a little more for frozen berries). A skewer poked into a crack in the cake's surface should test clean.

Chocolate Pudding Cake

Self-saucing pudding cake that’s easy, rich, and incredibly decadent with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 cup potato or tapioca starch
1/4 cup soy flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 rounded tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/3 boiling water
1/3 cup cocoa

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours and starches, first measure of cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, butter, milk, vanilla. Add the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Stir in walnuts. Spread in an ungreased 8” square pan.

In yet another bowl, whisk brown sugar, second measure of cocoa, and boiling water. Pour over batter in the baking pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a tester comes out with a few crumbs adhering to it. (The bottom layer of the cake will be wet and puddingy.)

Serve hot!

Makes 9 medium servings.

Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake

This is a really special angel-food cake, perfect for the coming berry and fruit season. Tetra-pak egg whites make this easy and don’t leave you with a dozen lonely egg yolks yearning to be made into pudding.

2/3 cup sweet rice flour
1/3 cup potato starch flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp xanthan gum

12 egg whites
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract

3/4 cup sugar

Combine flours, 3/4 sugar, salt, and xanthan gum.

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and vanilla and almond until quite stiff. While beating, gradually add remaining 3/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in flour mixture by hand. Pour batter into an ungreased tube pan. Gently cut through the batter with a knife to break air bubbles.

Bake at 350F for 35 to 40 minutes. Invert immediately on the top of a bottle. Allow to cool completely before turning out.

Everyday Apple Spice Cake

This is a sweet, spongy, puddingy cake good served with ice cream, whipped cream, or butterscotch sauce.

Instead of dried cranberries and/or nuts, it is also delicious with a handful or two of diced rhubarb, fresh or frozen cranberries, or wild blueberries folded into the batter.

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 large apples, peeled and grated
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)

Cream butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.

Combine dry ingredients and add to the butter mixture. Fold in apples and nuts and cranberries (if desired).

Pour batter into a greased 8” square pan. Bake at 350F for 40 to 45 minutes or until cake tests done in the centre.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Like most cakes with fruit or vegetable content, carrot cake adapts very well to gluten-free flour. The carrot adds lots of moisture and evens out the texture. You can also add 2 tbsp flaxseed meal to the recipe. For a slightly lighter cake, there's always the option of separating the eggs, beating the whites until stiff, and folding them in after folding in the carrots.

Gluten-free carrot cake rises best (though still not hugely) in a sheet pan (9x13”) rather than a tube pan.

1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup amaranth flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup potato starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 cups white sugar
2 rounded tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 cups grated carrots

Whisk together dry ingredients. Add oil and eggs and fold until just mixed. Fold in carrots. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake 45 to 50 minutes or until the cake tests done. Allow to cool before icing.

Cream-Cheese Icing:

6 oz cream cheese
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 to 2 tsp grated orange rind (optional)
1 1/2 cup icing sugar

Soften and blend cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and orange rind. Stir in icing sugar until smooth.

Raspberry Cream Torte

I made this cake for Easter, with homemade raspberry/blackberry jam, which I made many jars of in celebration of plumbers who unplugged our deep freeze and didn't plug it back in, causing the defrosting of our frozen berries. I found my sponge cake a bit dry, but that might have been because my Easter brunch got postponed a day due to snowstorm. It might also have been because I got distracted and beat the hell out of the egg whites.

The sponge cake recipe is adapted from Rebecca Reilly's indispensable Gluten-Free Baking.

Dad said his mother called this kind of cake "Washington Pie."

3/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch flour

5 eggs, brought to room temperature and separated
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp grated lemon peel
2 tbsp lemon juice, plus 1/2 tsp
1/4 tsp salt

2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup GF icing sugar
2/3 cup raspberry jam
1/2 cup chopped unsalted pistachios

Preheat oven to 325F. Line two 9" round cake pans with parchment paper and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk flour and starch. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow and ribbons form. Stir in vanilla, lemon peel, and 2 tbsp lemon juice (reserving the 1/2 tsp for later).

In a medium glass or copper bowl, beat egg whites with lemon juice and salt until soft peaks form.

Fold 1/4 of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture, to loosen. Pour remaining egg whites over top and sprinkle gently with flour mixture. Fold until well-blended. Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until surface springs back from a light touch (though this test is tricky because rice flour is crustier than it is springy). Invert pans on a cake rack until fully cooled.

When the cake is fully cool, slice cake layers in half horizontally with a serrated knife, to make four layers in all. Whip cream with icing sugar.

Place the bottom cake layer on a cake plate; spread with 1/3 of the jam and top with 1/4 of the whipped cream. Repeat with next two layers. Top with remaining layer and spread remaining cream on top and sides. Decorate top with chopped pistachios.

Darling Clementine Chocolate Cake

I adapted this, tho' not significantly, from the recipe in Nigella Lawson's "Chocolate Cake Hall of Fame" in her book, Feast. Mostly, I replaced oranges with clementines and adapted the measurements from weights to cups, for those North Americans unequipped with a kitchen scale. (How they survive, I know not.)

With or without a dollop of whipped cream, this cake is even better from the refrigerator the second day.

4 small clementines (approximately 375 g total weight)
6 large eggs
1 heaped tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cups ground almonds (almond flour)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Scrub the clementines and put them in a saucepan with some cold water. Bring them to the boil and then simmer for about an hour, or until soft. Drain and, when cool, cut the clementines in half and remove any seeds. Put whole clementines, peel and all, in a food processor and chop until fairly well pulverized but some flecks of peel remain discernible. Chill until fully cooled.

When ready to assemble the cake, grease a 20cm springform pan. Preheat the oven to 350F.

Transfer clementine pulp to a large bowl. Add all the other ingredients, give a good stir, and then mix well with an electric mixer on medium speed until homogeneous and glossy.

Pour into the prepared springform pan and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour, checking after 45 minutes. The cake is done when only a few crumbs cling to a tester poked into the centre.