Glutten free desert?

[Josephhgoins]

I have a friend who has a birthday dinner today. I want to make her a desert. She can't have glutten and I have no experiance with this.

Anyone got any suggestions? I would prefer something that is naturally glutten free.

[pollypurebred39]

Flourless Chocolate Cake II Recipe - Allrecipes.com

Chocolate Almond Torte Recipe at Epicurious.com

Almond Torte Recipe | MyRecipes.com

Chocolate Cracked Earth (Flourless Chocolate Cake) Recipe : Tyler Florence : Food Network

17 flourless dessert ideas | smitten kitchen

Meringue Cookies (Forgotten Kisses) Recipe : Emeril Lagasse : Food Network

Flourless Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe @CDKitchen

[Josephhgoins]

THANKS POLLY!!

Just so I understand is Sugar ok but grain products out? I can never understand what has gluten in it.

[pollypurebred39]

Yes, sugar is fine. There are many grain products that bother people who are gluten free. It's best to err on the side of caution till you understand her limitations better. If she is super sensitive even extracts can bother her.

You do always have the option of purchasing a gluten free cake mix from the grocery or health food store. Stick with real butter and use lemon rind and fresh juice for the frosting. A lot of the prepackaged mixes will tell you to add extract, I've done it without and saw absolutely no change in taste. Making a lemon curd with eggs and sugar to fill the cake makes the dessert really special.

Perfect Lemon Curd Recipe - Allrecipes.com

So you're aware, if you do go the box cake route, you'll need 2 boxes to make a regular size cake.

Good luck and be sure to post on how things went.

[Josephhgoins]

Thank you so much!! I have vanillar extract that says it is gluten free, so I should be fine if I use that.

I have tried the boxed Betty Crocker mix for the brownies and they were horrible! Very gritty.

I am thinking the meranges (sp) will be great. I have everything I need on hand and they are fairly easy to make.

Thanks for your help and clarification, I can never remember what to do for gluten free.

[pollypurebred39]

Oh, I'm sorry about that. I've used mixes from the health food store. Pretty pricey, but they are very good quality and produce a fine textured airy cake. I guess it's better not to experiment with brands on the actual birthday.

[MomToTwoBoys]

I always made a chocolate cake that was gluten free for my boys and they loved it. There are many scratch recipes out there that incorporate things like sweet rice flour, amaranth, oat, etc that are helpful in baked good recipes. I used to make homemade danishes that used yeast, rice flour and homemade jam and they were the most delicious things ever.

If you aren't sure what has gluten in it and what doesn't, I'd suggest checking out a gluten-free website that lists all ingredients that contain gluten and the ones that don't. I have a book by Elisabeth Hasselbeck about the G-Free Diet that also has a comprehensive list of GF products.

Rice flour is considerably cheaper than amaranth, quinoa, etc. You'll find rice flour at local supermarkets, while the others are more discovered in health food stores and stores that tailor to people with Celiac disease.

[shoiji]

You can also make a sorbet with some fruit thrown in a blender. Even use blended fruit as a sauce with the cake.

[Nishu]

I have made the flourless chocolate cake in Polly's first link many times and it always comes out amazing. You can make a glaze for it or dust it with powdered sugar, maybe over a stencil? It's fine with nothing also. A glaze might even be a little too rich.

That's what I'd recommend for a birthday. The only thing is it doesn't make very much so you might have to make 2 or 3 if you're making it for a party.

Some vanilla extract (the fake stuff I think) has carmel color in it. Although current thought on the caramel color is that it's okay for GF diets, a lot of people still think it's not okay so I would make sure you don't have any in your extract just to avoid any issues. It's the only thing in the recipe you need to worry about.

I wouldn't bother with anything that has to have a GF flour in it. You can't really exchange any one GF flour for baking flour, instead you have to mix up 2-3 different kinds of flour. Generally premade gluten free flour mixes aren't very good, and mixing one up yourself is going to be more trouble than you really need to go to.

[mndtrp]

Hmmm... I seem to recall liking some of the Betty Crocker mixes.

My wife likes to make cheesecake, but uses a food processor to grind up gluten-free gingersnap cookies for the crust. You could do this with any gluten-free cookie, I imagine.

[Saule]

I realize this has already been answered, but this is a great brownie recipe - just make sure you use gluten-free baking powder - the container should say whether it is or not. These tasted great. I like it because it does not call for xanthan or guar gum - I do not have these around, as I am not sensitive to gluten. I use rice flour in baking, so have that around and it's cheap. From food.com

Rice Flour Brownies

By rachelcreative on January 18, 2011
1 Reviews

timer
Prep Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
Servings: 12

About This Recipe

"Delicious sweet brownies that don't use wheat flour"
Ingredients

2/3 cup rice flour
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ounces chocolate
1/3 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

Melt the chocolate and butter then leave to cool.
Meanwhile beat the eggs then add the sugar, vanilla and cooled chocolate mixture.
Add the flour and baking powder and mix well.
Put in greased brownie pan (around 8 inches square).
Cook for 30-35 minutes at Gas 4,180c. (350 deg F)
Allow to cool a little in the pan then cut into squares.
If you don't have chocolate you can substitute for 6 tablespoons of cocoa and 2 tablespoons of butter.