No need to purchase expensive gluten-free basic flour mixes—not if you know the secret to gluten-free baking! And here it is: For every cup of wheat flour in a recipe for cake, muffins, or cookies, substitute 2/3 cups gluten-free flour (sorghum is my favorite for anything sweet), 1/3 cup starch (arrowroot starch is a bit pricey, but it is easy on the digestion and will not impart an aftertaste; cornstarch or tapioca starch can be used also), and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum. (Note: amaranth flour and buckwheat flour (which is not a wheat product, despite its name), do not require the addition of starch and xanthan gum but can be substituted into recipes without making any other adjustments. Also, do not use this substitution for pancakes; see recipe for Buckwheat Pancakes.

You now can take any recipe and make it work for you. So, dig out your grandmother’s or your great aunt’s recipe cards in that old-fashioned script that you can barely read and transcribe them into gluten-free delicacies. I did exactly that and have recreated the memory and the taste of Aunt Ruth’s Crumb Cake.

Aunt Ruth’s Crumb Cake

Topping and Flour Mixture:
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup arrowroot starch
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
Blend these ingredients with a pastry blender and set aside 1/2 cup of the mixture to use as topping.

Additional Ingredients:
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup heavy cream and 1/4 cup water (or 1/2 cup whole milk)
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 of a large Granny Smith apple, grated (peel can be grated)

Add second set of ingredients to first mixture, after removing 1/2 cup for use as topping. Mix only until blended. Pour into a greased 9-inch round pan. Sprinkle with topping and bake in 350 degree oven for approximately 1 hour (convection oven: 325 degrees for 40 minutes).

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Your family members weren’t bakers? There’s no reason to settle for expensive books about baking gluten-free, which sometimes make it harder than it needs to be. Instead, look at garage sales and flea markets for the time-tested recipes in booklets that might cost a dime or a quarter. Although the pictures of coiffed matrons baking in their skirts with their 20-inch waists are both antiquated and amusing, the recipes are nothing to laugh at. And even though no one was thinking gluten-free when these booklets were published, they provide a great resource for those of us baking in new ways today.

Here’s a recipe for Sour Cream Banana Bundt Cake with a streusel filling that I found in one of those supposedly outdated booklets and changed using the “secret” formula.

Sour Cream-Banana Bundt Cake

Streusel
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Batter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 and 1/3 cups sorghum flour
2/3 cup arrowroot starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 very ripe bananas* (1 cup), mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
*Ripe bananas can be frozen after removing skins, wrapped in plastic wrap, so that you them ready any time.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix streusel and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, arrowroot starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture, along with banana, vanilla, eggs, and sour cream. Mix thoroughly but quickly. Then spoon half the batter into a greased bundt cake pan, followed by the streusel, and then the rest of the batter. Bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees, until toothpick comes out clean (convection oven: 45 minutes at 325 degrees.) Cool slightly before removing from pan.

I baked this for a gathering of my family members, who still grimace a bit at the idea that they are eating gluten-free. Everyone, from my son-in-law the chocolate lover, who is not thrilled about fruit in his sweets, to my 16-month-old grandson, loved the cake, and I was lucky to be able to take a bit home to share with my writing group.

“This is the best cake I’ve ever eaten!” That was a comment at our family Christmas from a person who can eat gluten. Even my ex-husband complimented me on this coffee cake, making me certain that it was as good as I thought.

My great-aunt Ruth was the baker in our extended family. I am fortunate to have a few of her recipes, and this crumb cake is one of them. I had always enjoyed it made with wheat flour, but it is truly better with sorghum flour and with the substitution of cream and water for the milk.

This cake is wonderful for breakfast or for a midafternoon coffee break. Unlike most cakes, it starts with a butter crumb topping, some of which is saved to top the cake. Most of this “topping” becomes the basis for the cake, giving it a rich yet delicate texture and flavor, enhanced by the addition of golden raisins.

Aunt Ruth’s Crumb Cake

Topping and Flour Mixture:

1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup arrowroot starch
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted cold butter

Whisk sorghum flour, arrowroot starch, xanthan gum, and sugar. Blend in cold butter with a pastry blender. Set aside one-half cup of the mixture to use as the topping.

Additional Ingredients:

2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup water
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 of a Granny Smith apple, cored, peeled, and grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add the second set of ingredients to the first mixture (after you have removed one-half cup for use as the topping). Mix with a fork only until blended. Pour into a greased 9-inch round pan. Sprinkle with topping and bake in 350º oven for approximately 1 hour (convection oven: 325 degrees for 40 minutes). Yield: 8-16 servings. Freezes well.

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This cake is best eaten on the day it is made, as it will dry out rather quickly. If you’re baking for a crowd, that shouldn’t be a problem. And if you have a few pieces left, you’ll be glad to find them in your freezer when you want a special treat.

Thank you, Aunt Ruth!