Inspired by my recent purchase of the Babycakes cookbook and a sneaking suspicion that I may be sensitive to more than just wheat, I’ve been experimenting more with gluten-free baking lately. And thanks to some great recipes, careful measurements, and a bit of luck as I’ve swapped around ingredients, they’ve been turning out great. Here are two that I’ve pulled out of the oven recently – both feature in-season fruit!

Summer Plum Cake (vegan, gluten-free, soy free, refined sugar-free)

A slight variation of the Peach Cake recipe found on the Gluten-free Goddess blog, this cake turned out fantastically well. I baked it in the morning and had to wait until after know the results…what torture. Anyway, the only shame was that I should have made two, given how quickly it was devoured at tonight’s dinner party. I had to set aside pieces for fellow sensitive foodies to make sure they got some! For the friends who thanked me profusely tonight, this one’s for you:

I’ve copied the recipe from Karina’s Kitchen and written the changes I made in brackets [like so].

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and dust a 8 or 9-inch round cake pan with gluten-free flour. I use a 9-inch Chicago Metallic pan. [I used an 8" spring form pan]

First, prep 2 cups peeled, sliced organic peaches. Set aside. [used unpeeled prune-plums, prob 1.5c]

Whisk together the dry ingredients:
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup buckwheat or millet flour [buckwheat]
1/2 cup tapioca starch or potato starch [potato starch]
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Beat to combine:
2/3 cup light olive oil or Spectrum Organic Shortening [coconut oil, melted]
3/4 cup organic light brown sugar [coconut sugar]
1/4 cup pure maple syrup or agave [agave]
1/2 teaspoon light tasting vinegar [apple cider]
1 tablespoon bourbon vanilla extract [regular vanilla extract]
1 cup organic peach juice [almond milk]

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredient mix. Add an egg replacer for two eggs (if you can do eggs- use two large organic happy eggs). My egg replacer is Ener-G Egg Replacer.

For two eggs:

1 tablespoon Energ-G Egg Replacer
4 tablespoons warm water

Whisk till frothy.

Add to the batter. Beat until smooth. I recommend using an electric mixer with gluten-free batters. Beat for about two minutes.

A reminder on gluten-free vegan batters:

Gluten-free vegan batters do not behave like wheat batters. They are often stiffer at first, then they get rather sticky and stretchy as the xanthan gum and egg replacer do their vegan g-free thing. If the batter climbs the beaters, slow down the speed and slightly lift the beaters to encourage the batter to migrate back down into the bowl. Move your beater around the bowl in figure eights, at a slight angle.

Scoop the cake batter into the pan and spread evenly. Place the peach slices into the batter in a concentric pattern (or any pattern you prefer).

Make a cinnamon brown sugar topping:

4 tablespoons organic brown sugar
2 tablespoons gluten-free sorghum or rice flour [sorghum]
2 tablespoons Spectrum Organic Shortening [coconut oil]
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Rub these ingredients together till a crumbly mixture forms. Sprinkle on top of the peaches.

Place the cake into the center of a preheated oven and bake until firm and golden, and a wooden pick inserted into the center emerges clean- about 30 to 40 minutes. If your peaches were cold (or frozen) the cake will take longer to bake. [Mine took 30 min]

Cool the cake on a wire rack. [I used a spring form pan and just let it cool in the pan. GF goods often need to cool before you remove them or else they fall apart, so just use your best judgment]

This cake was especially good warm. I wrapped leftover slices in foil and bagged them to freeze for future treats.

Serves 8.

Chef’s Notes:

Sour cream, yogurt, coconut milk, or a non-dairy milk could be used instead of the peach juice.

If the center is not done when you test it, lower the heat by 25 degrees F and continue baking the cake for 5 minutes. Check again. If there are a lot of fruit slices in the center, the center area of the batter may take longer to bake.

This cake would work well with pears/apples/apricots too. Next time I will try folding the fruit into the batter as well as on top for extra moisture in the cake.

Leftover Plums? No Problem! I tossed the leftover plum slices I had with some of the sugar mixture, and popped it in the oven along with the cake, for about 1/2 the time. Served it up with some homemade coconut milk ice cream….life is good.