“This is the first gluten-free food I’ve eaten that tasted good!” I received this complement yesterday at a baby shower where I shared these goodies. The woman who spoke was supposed to be eating gluten-free, but when she had made a sandwich with gluten-free store-bought bread, she had spit it out. And, as she explained, “I don’t spit out food.” I completely understood, and I shared with her how to substitute flour, starch, and xanthan gum into just about any recipe that contains wheat flour.
All of the 12 cupcakes were gone by the end of the shower, with some people having had two. You, too, will love these sweet and delicious cakes that are gooey with their orange-sugar glaze.
Poppy Seed Cake
Cake
2 cups sorghum flour
1 cup arrowroot starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons poppy seeds*
3 eggs
3/4 cup cream + 3/4 cup water (OR 1 1/2 cups whole milk)
1 1/8 cups oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease pans. I prefer to make 24 cupcakes in muffin tins, which are easier to freeze individually. Or you can makes 2 large 9 x 5 x 3 loaves or more, smaller loaves.
In a large bowl, place dry ingredients, followed by wet ingredients. Using an electric mixer, blend all ingredients for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour into pans.
Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick at the center comes up clean (convection oven: 325 degrees). Large loaves take about one hour (convection, 50 minutes), while smaller loaves might be done in 30 minutes; cupcakes take 25-30 minutes (convection, 22-25 minutes). Allow to rest in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove and glaze while still warm.
Glaze
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup sugar
Mix all ingredients, preferably in a measuring cup to facilitate pouring. Stir to dissolve and fully combine sugar. Stab cakes repeatedly with a fork (about 4 punctures per cupcake) to allow glaze to enter the top of the cakes. Drizzle glaze slowly onto cakes. Any spilled glaze will also absorb through the bottom of the cakes.
Yield: 24 cupcakes or 2 large loaf pans. Freezes well.
***
Poppy Seed Cake has always been one of my favorites. I’ve had this recipe (which originally used wheat flour) for over 30 years, and I can still see its handwritten image in my mind. For years, at the end of each semester, I would bake a number of poppy seed cakes for my students at Lincoln University in Missouri, despite how messy they are due to the orange juice glaze. I gave the students the recipe (copied on a ditto) to students as a small present.
Fortunately, this recipe loses nothing when transformed to its gluten-free cousin.
*Note: Poppy seeds can cause a false positive for opiates in a drug screening.
All of the 12 cupcakes were gone by the end of the shower, with some people having had two. You, too, will love these sweet and delicious cakes that are gooey with their orange-sugar glaze.
Poppy Seed Cake
Cake
2 cups sorghum flour
1 cup arrowroot starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons poppy seeds*
3 eggs
3/4 cup cream + 3/4 cup water (OR 1 1/2 cups whole milk)
1 1/8 cups oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease pans. I prefer to make 24 cupcakes in muffin tins, which are easier to freeze individually. Or you can makes 2 large 9 x 5 x 3 loaves or more, smaller loaves.
In a large bowl, place dry ingredients, followed by wet ingredients. Using an electric mixer, blend all ingredients for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour into pans.
Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick at the center comes up clean (convection oven: 325 degrees). Large loaves take about one hour (convection, 50 minutes), while smaller loaves might be done in 30 minutes; cupcakes take 25-30 minutes (convection, 22-25 minutes). Allow to rest in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove and glaze while still warm.
Glaze
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup sugar
Mix all ingredients, preferably in a measuring cup to facilitate pouring. Stir to dissolve and fully combine sugar. Stab cakes repeatedly with a fork (about 4 punctures per cupcake) to allow glaze to enter the top of the cakes. Drizzle glaze slowly onto cakes. Any spilled glaze will also absorb through the bottom of the cakes.
Yield: 24 cupcakes or 2 large loaf pans. Freezes well.
***
Poppy Seed Cake has always been one of my favorites. I’ve had this recipe (which originally used wheat flour) for over 30 years, and I can still see its handwritten image in my mind. For years, at the end of each semester, I would bake a number of poppy seed cakes for my students at Lincoln University in Missouri, despite how messy they are due to the orange juice glaze. I gave the students the recipe (copied on a ditto) to students as a small present.
Fortunately, this recipe loses nothing when transformed to its gluten-free cousin.
*Note: Poppy seeds can cause a false positive for opiates in a drug screening.
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