Chocolate Mud Cake

Birthdays mean cake!  Chocolate cake seems to be the favourite in the house at the moment. The original recipe came from the Betty Crocker Cookbook.  This recipe makes one 20cm round cake.  I don't claim to be an expert at decorating cakes, but here is a picture of my son's Birthday cake.  He loved it, so that's all that matters!  I made two round cakes for this one.  I found with gluten free baking it is best to make things in small amounts.  I wouldn't try to double this recipe.  Just make it two times.  A bit more of an effort, I know, but I find it turns out better this way.  

You can also use this recipe to make 8-10 cupcakes.  These are my daughter's cupcakes.  We were away for her Birthday this year, so I mixed the dry ingredients together before we left and then added the wet ingredients when it was time to bake them.  Sometimes if I'm making a cake I will measure out the dry ingredients twice, once for the cake I'm making at the time and a second time into a separate container.  This way, the next time I want to bake a cake it saves a bit of time.

Chocolate Mud Cake

Ingredients

1/2 cup rice flour

3 Tablespoons cornflour

1 Tablespoon tapioca starch

1/2 teaspoon guar gum

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons margarine

3/4 cup warm water

1 large egg

Method

1. Heat oven to 180 degrees C.  Line cake tin with baking paper.

2. Measure all ingredients into bowl.  Stir by hand a few times to mix.  Beat with an electric mixer or stand mixer on high for 3 minutes.  Pour into cake tin.

3. Bake for 25-30 minutes.  You can test if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick to the center of the cake.  If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done.  Let the cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan before removing it to a wire rack to cool.  If making cupcakes, they will need to bake for 15-20 minutes.  Let the cake cool completely before icing.

Pumpkin-Spice Cake

Mmmm...the smell of cloves.  It reminds me of my Grandma's house around the holidays.  Today I have a recipe I've adapted from the Betty Crocker Cookbook.  It's called Pumpkin-Spice Bars in the cookbook, but to me it's more of a cake.  The original recipe called for cream cheese icing for the topping.  Years ago I found this mock cream cheese icing recipe.  I found it on the internet, but it was before the days of Pinterest, so I don't remember what sight I found it on.  I tried to make the cake look pretty by piping on the icing, but it would have been better if I had just iced the entire cake and sprinkled the crushed walnuts on top.  

Pumpkin-Spice Cake
Ingredients
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup mashed pumpkin
1/2 cup rice flour (you can use white or brown, or a mixture of both)
3 Tablespoons cornflour
1 Tablespoon tapioca starch
1/2 teaspoon guar gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup chopped dates (or raisins)

Method

1. Heat oven to 180 degrees C.  Line a 9x13 inch pan with baking paper.

2. Beat eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin together until smooth. (I like to use a stick blender for this).

3. Stir in remaining ingredients.

4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until light brown.  Cool completely before icing.

Mock Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups icing sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons margarine

1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1 - 2 Tablespoons water

Method

1. Mix salt and icing sugar together.

2. Stir in margarine.

3. Stir in vinegar and slowly add water until you reach a smooth consistency. 

Apple & Carrot Muffins

Well, actually a cross between a cupcake and a muffin.  There is just something so cute about mini muffins.  My children love them.  Ok, so I love them too.  This recipe is based off of the carrot cake recipe in the Betty Crocker cookbook.  I really, really like carrot cake.  Our wedding cake was carrot cake.  I've had carrot cake for many of my birthday cakes.  The great thing about this recipe was that it was made with oil, so it was already dairy free.  I just had to figure out how to make it gluten free and with less sugar.  The sweeter type of apple you use, the sweeter your muffins will be.

(for some reason there are 2 apples in this picture, but I only ever use one)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup oil

2 large eggs

1/2 cup white rice flour

1 Tablespoon tapioca starch (arrowroot)

3 Tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 large carrot - grated

1 medium apple - grated

Directions:

1.  Mix honey, oil, and eggs in a large bowl until blended.  Stir for 1 minute.  (Do this by hand-trust me, they turn out better) 

2.  Stir in remaining ingredients except carrot and apple.  Stir by hand again for 1 minute.

3.  Fold in carrot and apple.

4.  Spoon into muffin tins.  (This recipe yields 24 mini muffins)

5.  Bake at 180 degrees C for 12 - 15 minutes. 

Yummmmmmm . . .