First Gluten Free Birthday Cake

 

I had the privilege of making a birthday cake for a fabulous woman, but it came with a tough challenge! This was to be my first gluten free cake. Flourless chocolate cake, cheesecake, no problem but this woman wanted & a deserved cake! I've done vegan cake but never gluten free. I'd heard some of the problems are that they're dry, gritty textured, and have a bad aftertaste. I spoke to a few of the GF people in my office and they gave me some good tips.

 

I feel like it turned out really well. I actually really enjoyed the cupcake that I made to test it.  I took I the extra cupcakes to give to the GF people in my office, who are normally left out of my baking treats, and they seemed to enjoy it too. So here it is- what I consider to be a pretty darn good GF cake recipe. It is key to use the GF flour mix that I've specified as I did a lot of research on which flour to use. I've also used the liqueur in all parts of the cake but it wasn't overwhelming and it keeps the frosting from being too tooth-achingly sweet.

 

GF Irish Cream Cake:

 

1 cup butter; room temperature

2 cups sugar

5 eggs; separated

1 tbs vanilla

2 cups Bob's Red Mill All purpose GF Flour mix

2 1/2 tsp xantham gum

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup Irish Cream Liqueur + more for brushing onto layers

1   preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 8" cake pans with parchment paper and flour them

2   beat butter until light and fluffy, then beat in 1 3/4 cup sugar

3   beat in egg yolks 1 at a time, then add in vanilla

4   in another bowl mix together flour, xantham gum, baking soda, and salt

5   mix on low and add in 1/2 buttermilk, then 1/2 flour mixture and repeat with remaining milk and flour mixture, don't overmix

6   in another bowl beat egg whites until they form soft peaks, add in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until they form soft peaks

7   fold into batter and drizzle in the Irish cream liqueur as you go

8   once it is all incorporated separate into the cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean

9   set aside to let them cool completely

10 using fork tines poke holes gently all over the top of the cake layers, then brush more of the irish cream liqueur onto the top of the cakes to soak in

 

 

 

Irish Cream Ganache:

4 oz semisweet chocolate chips
/21 cup heavy cream
 pinch of  salt

a few tbs Irish Cream Liqueur
2 tbs cup powdered sugar

1   in a double broiler melt chocolate into the heavy cream on low until all the chocolate is melted, stir frequently.
2   remove from heat and stir in salt. Then pour it into a mixing bowl and let sit a few minutes, then stir in desired amount of liqueur. Let sit until mixture is room temp, or put in fridge and watch closely to have it cool faster
3   whip the ganache until it is light and fluffy
4   whip in 2 tbs powdered sugar to get a less runny texture, add in another few tbs if you'd like it a

 

 

Irish Cream Frosting:

1 1/2 cup butter; room temperature

6 cups powdered sugar

4 tbs Irish Cream Liqueur

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

 

1   beat butter until light and fluffy

2   slowly beat in powdered sugar

3   beat in Irish Cream until frosting reaches desired consistency, you can also substitute milk for the tbs if you want less liqueur

4   beat in vanilla and any food coloring you desire

 

 

Assembly:

 

1   pipe a thick boundary around the edge of the bottom cake

2   then fill in the center with the ganache

3   put on the top cake layer and crumb coat the cake, place in fridge for 10 minutes

4   pull out and ice the cake as desired

5   in a double broiler melt about 6-8 oz dark chocolate and put in a piping bag

6   cut a sheet of parchment that is the circumference of your cake and cut it down to the height you desire the chocolate collar to be above the cake layers, then I sprinkled down edible glitter

7   then start creating desired pattern or swirls on the parchment and let sit. You want the chocolate collar to easily come off the parchment but not be totally cooled. (When it is humid this can be hard. To help it cool I've cut the design in half and put each half into the fridge to help it set.)

8 Then once it can start to peel from the parchment wrap it around the cake and press the chocolate collar lightly into the frosting, then place it in the fridge and let the chocolate set completely

9   remove from fridge and remove parchment paper

 

The chocolate collar seems intimidating to make but I promise it's pretty simple and always turns out. If the parchment paper sizes seem overwhelming just cut them into more manageable pieces, most swirling designs hide the seams well.