A few years ago a doctor misdiagnosed me with celiac disease. (She didn’t take the time to read my test results properly, and it wasn’t until I saw a gastroenterologist a few weeks later that I found out I didn’t have it.) I ate gluten-free for about a month, and I craved bread and cake more than I ever did in my life during those long weeks. My birthday just happened to fall in the middle of that month, and one of my coworkers was kind enough to bake me a gluten-free vegan cake. She didn’t know much about gluten-free baking, so she just replaced wheat flour with rice flour in a recipe she had for vegan cake. The cake turned out really good, luckily, and the whole office enjoyed it. If only Cara Reed’s book Decadent Gluten-Free Vegan Baking had been around back then! My month of eating gluten-free wouldn’t have seemed so bleak!
You may already know Cara from her blog Fork and Beans. She grew up eating the Standard American Diet, and suffered from a whole host of symptoms. After years of feeling miserable, Cara went to the doctor and found out that she had multiple food allergies, with dairy and gluten being at the top of the list. Everything she knew about cooking and baking suddenly changed, and she took to the kitchen to learn how to cook for this new way of eating. Lucky for us, she’s been sharing her recipes along the way.
We all know that gluten-free baking isn’t always that easy as replacing wheat flour with rice flour, as my coworker did in that cake a few years ago. I’ve had my own gluten-free baking failures, making muffins that resembled hockey pucks and cookies that not even the squirrels in my yard would eat. Cara has spent a lot of time in the kitchen perfecting the art of baking without wheat flour, and in Decadent Gluten-Free Vegan, she shares her tips, tricks, and most importantly her recipes.
Decadent Gluten-Free Vegan has recipes for just about any type of baked-good you might be craving, and many more you might not have even thought of. The book starts with a Childhood Favorites chapter which features the kinds of treats we all grew up with, including veganized versions of Girl Scout cookies, which I’m super excited about because I do miss those Tagalongs! From there the book moves into Cookies, Bars and Brownies, with recipes for everything from Grandma’s Chocolate Chip Cookies and Gingerbread Men to Peanut Butter Cup Bars and Key Lime Cheesecake Bars. The Donuts, Muffins, Scones and Biscuits chapter is full of recipes for, well, donuts, muffins, scones and biscuits. But these aren’t ordinary donuts, muffins, scones and biscuits. Here you’ll find Chocolate Indulgence Biscuits, Yeast-Free Cinnamon Buns, and Upside-Down Sticky Pecan Biscuits. The next chapter is dedicated to Cupcakes and Cakes and features such treats as Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes, Strawberry Swirled Cheesecake & Tiramisu. There’s also a chapter full of recipes for Breads and Pastries, with such drool-worth creations as Almond Pocket Pastries, Dark Chocolate Quick Bread, and Sweet Almond Braided Bread. The final chapter is Sauces, Toppings and Frostings with instructions on making your own food coloring and sprinkles. The book is packed with gorgeous photos and just flipping through it will leave you hungry.
If you have friends and loved ones with food allergies, Decadent Gluten-Free Vegan will help you through your holiday bake-a-thons, and it also makes a perfect gift! This Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake is perfect for nibbling on on Christmas day, in between opening presents from Santa.
Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake
This is a recipe of my childhood. Of course the only baking from scratch that I ever did as a teenager was from a mix, but nevertheless, coffee cake was my specialty. I was darn good at opening that box and mixing in oil. It must be the cinnamon and sugar that hooks me every time, but in my opinion the higher the streusel is stacked, the better!
Makes 8 squares
Ingredients
FOR THE CINNAMON STREUSEL FILLING
- 1 ¾ c/289 g Cara’s All-Purpose Blend (see below)
- 1 c/220 g brown sugar, packed
- 1 ¼ tsp/3 g cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ c/168 g vegan butter, cold and cut into small pieces
- 1 ½ c/180 g chopped toasted pecans
DRY
- 2 c/330 g Cara’s All-Purpose Blend
- ½ c/73 g lightly packed brown sugar
- 3 tsp/11 g baking powder
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- ½ tsp salt
WET
- 1 c/240 ml nondairy milk
- ¼ c/60 ml vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp/15 ml apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
FOR THE GLAZE
- 1 c/120 g powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp/30 ml nondairy milk
ADD-ON
- ½ batch Royal Icing (see below)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease an 8 x 8-inch/20 x 20-cm square pan.
For the cinnamon streusel filling, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Cut in the cold vegan butter and pecans and blend into the mix until small crumbles form. You might have to use your fingers to blend. Sey aside.
In a large bowl whisk together all of the dry ingredients for the cake. Make a well in the center and pour in all of the wet ingredients. With a wooden spoon stir until just combined. Spoon half the batter into a greased pan. Sprinkle half the streusel filling mixture evenly over the batter. Top with remaining batter and spread evenly. Sprinkle remaining streusel topping mixture evenly over batter.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until knife comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Cool the pan on a wire rack and let it sit for a few minutes. Drizzle the top of the cake with half a batch of the Royal Icing and serve.
Cara’s All-Purpose Blend
This is the all-purpose blend I use for practically everything. It is perfect for substituting regular flour on a one-to-one basis.
Makes 9 cups/1498 g flour blend total
Ingredients
- 3 c/480 g superfine brown rice flour
- 3 c/538 g superfine sorghum flour
- 1 ½ c/288 g potato starch, not flour
- 1 ½ c/288 g arrowroot powder
Preparation
With a spoon, scoop the flours into a measuring cup. Level with a knife and throw everything into a gallon-sized plastic baggie, seal tightly and shake vigorously until well combined. Keep stored in an airtight container.
Royal Icing
Makes 1⁄2 cup/100 g of icing
Ingredients
- 1 c/120 g powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp/15 ml nondairy milk
Preparation
In a small mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in a dash of nondairy milk until well blended and thick. If too thin, add more sugar by the teaspoon. If too thick, add another teaspoon dash of milk until desired consistency is achieved.
Yum! I’ll try this with organic vanilla bean powder instead of extract. Health and peace.