Editor's Pick
FEBRUARY 17, 2009 12:12AM
Rate: 8
Gluten Free Pound Cake with Berries
Sometimes a girl needs a little bit of pound cake. And if you are a gluten free girl, finding tasty pound cake is like looking for the perfect bra. It just doesn't exist. Unless you learn how to make it yourself.With a little help from Cooks Illustrated, we recreated a simple cold oven pound cake into a cold oven gluten free pound cake that is outrageously tasty.
Cold oven recipes are great because I often forget to preheat the oven. Finally, a recipe that serves the forgetful. Unlike dense pound cakes, this one has a light crumb, but with all the flavor of heavy duty pound cake. And the gluten free version does not disappoint!
A new gadget arrived in Lulu & Phoebe's Gluten Free Test Kitchen this past week. It is called the Sideswipe, a paddle attachment to the Kitchen Aid that actually scrapes the sides of the bowl as it mixes. To bakers everywhere, this could be the holy grail of gadgets. So much of our time using the big stand mixers is spent stopping the thing and scraping the sides. Sideswipe does it for you without stopping. You can see for yourself in the photos below. A miracle I tell you! A miracle. All except for the flour addition.
I added the flour (gluten free, of course) at the slowest speed and it hit the ceiling, my face, the dogs, and the island on the other side of the counter. Apparently all the kinks are not worked out with Sideswipe. Its little fins toss the stuff up and out as you add it.
This is going to be one of my new favorite recipes. It takes minutes to whip up (except for mopping up the floured kitchen ceiling). You can change it up with a little lemon or orange zest, tiny chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or toffee bits if you are 1 Irritated Mother. I bet berries would be great too.
Gluten Free Cold Oven Tasty Pound Cake
cast of characters
Ingredients- 3 cups of gluten free flour*
- 1.5 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (or less!)
- 1 cup of milk plus 2 tablespoons
- 1.5 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, very soft
- 2 1/2 cups sugar (a bit less is fine)
- 6 large eggs at room temperature
Grease and flour (gf) a large bundt or tube pan (16 cups).
Mix the flour, xantan gum, baking powder and salt together in a bowl until combined and set aside. Mix together the milk, vanilla and almond flavorings in another small bowl and set aside.
In a stand mixer, or with a handheld mixer, on medium speed, beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time on medium speed. Really! One. At. A. Time!
Sideswipe in action with the butter & sugar
Next with the mixer on the lowest setting add the flour mixture alternating with the milk mixture until it is all incorporated. Mix it on low until smooth, just a few seconds. You don't want to over mix the batter.
adding in the gluten free flour
and the gluten free flour flies out
Give it one more stir with a spatula or wooden spoon. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and then give it a bang on the counter top to remove any air bubbles.
pouring into the prepared bundt
ready to bake in the cold oven
Place the cake in the cold oven and turn the temperature to 325. Bake for about 16 hours until a toothpick comes out clean. Seriously, it takes a long time to bake, so be patient. Start checking at 45 minutes and anywhere from 75 to 85 minutes it should be done. Keep those toothpicks handy because you want to take it out as soon as it comes out without batter attached to it. 
finally done after 85 minutes!
Let it cool on a rack in the pan for about 20 minutes and then flip it out onto a wire rack to finish cooling, if you can wait that long.
cooling on a wire rack
The cake is great the first day, even better the second and lasts for about 4 days wrapped tightly in foil. I keep mine in the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature to serve. Bon Appetit!
yes, I am eating two slices
* I like to use Authentic Brands Gluten Free flour for cakes, the gourmet featherweight blend. I use the classic blend for cookies.
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Comments
OK ~ that cake is to die for ... look at that crusty edge (my absolute favorite part of pound cake) ... BUT, the most important thing I have to say is this: When I ever see you, I'm going to kiss you right on the lips for showing me the "sideswipe" ... I knew you were a goddess, but I was unaware that you were actually God until right now ...
Save me a slice ~ you know blackberries are my favorite!!!
ps ~ my fromage blanc kit arrived and you were absolutely right ... French perfection and so easy I was embarrassed! Thank you again!~
Save me a slice ~ you know blackberries are my favorite!!!
ps ~ my fromage blanc kit arrived and you were absolutely right ... French perfection and so easy I was embarrassed! Thank you again!~
aw, glad you liked it. I love the sideswipe, but really, the flour just flew out of there before I could do anything. I will use the plastic thing that goes on the rim of the bowl from now on!
enjoy the fromage! it is easy, isnt' it?!
I will save you a slice. The blackberries seem to be pretty good right now. I have no idea where they come from....
saving my lips just for you.
enjoy the fromage! it is easy, isnt' it?!
I will save you a slice. The blackberries seem to be pretty good right now. I have no idea where they come from....
saving my lips just for you.
Looks absolutely delicious. I got some strawberries the other day that were so sweet and tasty and this would be the perfect foil. The Sideswipe attachment looks awesome. Thanks for the pointer.
I've been too germy and low-energy to bake lately. But darned if this cake doesn't make me want to whip up something.... Thumbed for the temptation and the pictures. And the good giggle over them mental picture of the flour shooting out of the bowl. (Believe me, I've cleaned up a lot of kitchen messes.)
This looks so yummy. It sounds like the shield that came with my Kitchenaid might be handy when mixing this up!
I don't eat many sweets at all, but pound cake with fresh fruit on it is something in the spring and summer I will eat occasionally.
This looks wonderful!
This looks wonderful!
Sweeeeeeeet! We can't wait to give it a shot! Also.....I guess all gluten-free flours are designed to create a dense fog every time they are placed in a mixer at any speed!
When I get to heaven, I hope at my welcome reception there is Pound Cake. Because it is the one cake I could not live without!
Thanks
Thanks
Thanks for the gluten-free recipes! The woman in the office next to me cooks gluten-free for her mom - I live in hope of her testing out the recipes and bringing them to work for trial. Oh pleez, oh pleez!!!
Thank you everyone. Pound cake is the best, I agree. And this one is pretty easy and a bit less dense than some others.
Susanne - thank you! I could not remember the name of that silly plastic contraption for anything. shield. how simple was that?! I have one but never use it, but will now because my buddy sideswipe gets a bit enthusiastic with the dry stuff.
Susanne - thank you! I could not remember the name of that silly plastic contraption for anything. shield. how simple was that?! I have one but never use it, but will now because my buddy sideswipe gets a bit enthusiastic with the dry stuff.
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