Gluten Free Yellow Cake

I’ve been on a cake making kick, evidently. A couple of weeks ago I decided to revamp the yellow cake recipe I’ve been using for a while. I’ve actually been a little disenchanted with it, even though I invented it myself. Recently it’s just seemed too…heavy. And the texture hasn’t been quite right. So I compared that recipe with the Vanilla Texas sheet cake that I’ve been making, and ended up with this recipe. Well, actually I ended up with a recipe that didn’t work quite as well as I wanted. So THIS time I decreased the buttermilk and it turned out beautifully. It’s not quite as tall as I’d like it to be, but that could probably be fixed by making a 1.5 times recipe and then baking it a little longer. I’ll let you know how it turns out after I try it :)

Gluten Free Yellow Cake

3/4 c. butter, softened
1.5 c. sugar
3 eggs
2 c. EGF all-purpose flour
1 tsp. xanthan gum
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk (I use just under 1 c. whole milk plus about 2-3 tsp. lemon juice; don’t go crazy, though, or you’ll end up with a lemon cake)
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375°. Prepare a 9 x 13 pan (either by spraying it with nonstick cooking spray or by lining it with parchment paper).

Combine butter and sugar in a stand mixer. Beat on medium to high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix well. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Combine buttermilk and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to the creamed butter mixture, starting and ending with flour and mixing on low to medium speed after each addition until well incorporated. (Don’t go too overboard on the mixing, though. Because we are working with gluten free flours, the cake won’t get tough, but if you incorporated too much air into the cake batter the lack of gluten means the flour has a harder time keeping its structure around the air bubbles and then you’re more likely to get a collapsed cake. And NOBODY wants one of those.)

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 35 minutes (maybe a little less, maybe a little more). The cake will be pulling away from the edges of the pan and the top will spring back when gently touched. (Also a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean. You know the drill.) Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Before frosting - can you tell how the edges have pulled inward a bit? 

I frosted mine with a recipe of Lemon Buttercream Frosting that I found on Sally’s Baking Addiction. I did add  an extra couple of tablespoons of fresh lemon juice because the lemon flavor wasn’t quite strong enough for my taste. Altogether the cake was just delightful - the taste and texture were just like a homemade cake made with regular flour - and super easy to make. I’m excited to try it as the cake part of my Peach Right Side Up Cake, too!

The color is not quite right on this picture as it was taken inside, but you can see how cleanly it cut and how beautiful the texture was. 

Peanut Butter Sheet Cake

So, it turns out I really like these sheet cakes. I’ve done chocolate, vanilla, and caramel sheet cakes, and today I decided to try a peanut butter version. I’m not sure what it is that helps these particular gluten free cakes to be so soft and light (I suspect the boiling water), but they’ve just been delicious. This peanut butter cake was no exception. Everyone liked it, even my daughter’s college roommate who, as a general rule, doesn’t like peanut butter things. Give it a try and tell me what you think!

Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake

2 c. EGF all-purpose flour
2 c. sugar
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter (1 stick)
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1 Tbs oil
1 c. water
1/2 c. buttermilk (I use 1/2 c. whole milk plus about 1.5 tsp. lemon juice)
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

In a large bowl, combine flour mix, sugar, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt. In a medium pan, combine butter, peanut butter, oil, and water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring regularly. (Don’t worry if the peanut butter mixture starts to look separated - it will all mix in well in the end). Pour peanut butter mixture into flour mixture and mix well until smooth. Add buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla and mix thoroughly. The batter will be thin.

Pour batter into a greased (or well-sprayed-with-Pam or parchment-paper-lined) 13x18 sheet cake pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. (The edges of the cake will start to pull away from the pan when the cake is done, and the center of the cake will bounce back if gently touched (don’t burn yourself!).) Remove from the oven and, while hot, top with the following frosting:

Peanut Butter Frosting

1/2 c. butter (1 stick)
1/2 c. peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
3 1/3 c. powdered sugar (just under 1 lb.)
6-7 Tbs. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Place powdered sugar in the bow of a stand mixer. Combine butter, peanut butter, and milk in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring continually, until mixture starts boiling.  (Again, don’t worry if the mixture separates some.) Turn the mixer on low and slowly pour the hot peanut butter mixture into the powdered sugar while the mixer is running.  Mix on medium speed until the powdered sugar is well-incorporated and the icing is smooth, then add the vanilla.

Pour immediately over warm cake and gently spread. (Frosting will firm up quickly and spreads best while still hot.)