This Decadent Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake is a treat that all your guests will enjoy, just in time for the holidays. Sponsored by The Hershey Company.
Are you starting to think about holiday baking? I am. I don’t bake much during the rest of the year, but once the weather turns cooler and the holidays start coming around, I start baking more. Tis the season right?One of the biggest challenges I faced several years ago when we discovered myson hada wheat allergy was converting baked goods recipes to gluten-free recipes. This was particularly tricky during the holiday season since there wereso many sweet treats around, and the last thing Iwanted wasmychild to feel left out of the celebrating.
A few years ago when we hosted a Christmas party, there were several guests that were gluten-free, so I made sure to make some gluten-free treats that everyone could enjoy. I can’t tell you how appreciative they were that they could partake in the holiday festivities. The key is to make sure whatever you serve tastes as good as the regular stuff. In fact, when I serve gluten-free desserts, I rarely point out that they’re gluten-free except to my gluten-free guests because people who aren’t gluten-free sometimes have pre-conceived notions that it’s going to taste different.
Fortunately, there are a lot more allergy-friendly products available these daysso converting holiday baking recipes to allergy-friendly ones is a lot easier. When I visited The Hershey Company this past summer, I learned that Hershey hasgluten-freeproducts,sugar-free productsand kosher products that are labeled to make it easier for folks tofind products that meet their needs. Allergens are clearly labeled on their products too, so if you are baking for someone with food allergies, read the labels carefully. And if there’s ever a question about what an ingredient is or why it’s used, you can find them in Hershey’sonline ingredient glossary. Whether you have celiac disease, aregluten-intolerant, diabetic, or are looking for kosher products, Hershey offers products thatcan make baking during the holiday season enjoyable for almost everyone.
I first sampledthis gluten-free version of the famous Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake over the summer in the test kitchen at The Hershey Company. It was one of the most decadent, fudgey chocolate cakes I’ve ever eaten, and I made a mental note to make this for the holidays this year. This chocolate cake is super rich and yes it is very chocolatey, living up to its name. Of course, the chocolate frosting just takes this over the top. I used Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix in the recipe and I can honestly say there was no grainy texture, just pure fudgyness. I also made a few substitutions, such as organic sugar, organic milk, olive oil and organic butter from the original recipe.
Just a little bit of this cake goes a long way, so all you need is a little slice to get your chocolate fix while spreading the joy around.
For more gluten-free holiday treats, check out Hershey’s Kitchen’sgluten-free recipe index. It’ll make your holiday baking plans so much easier.
1-3/4cupsgluten free all-purpose baking mixbe sure to use one that has leavening
3/4cupHERSHEY'S Cocoa
1teaspoonsalt
1/4teaspoonbaking powder
1/4teaspoonbaking soda
2eggs
1cuporganic milk
1/2cupolive oil
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
1cupboiling water
"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING
1/2cup1 stick organic butter
2/3cupHERSHEY'S Cocoa
3cupsorganic powdered sugar
1/3cuporganic milk
1teaspoonvanilla extract
Instructions
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round baking pans; dust with cocoa.
Stir together sugar, baking mix, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour into prepared pans.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING.
Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount of additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.
Frost cake with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING.
Inspired by Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake Recipe
Disclosure: This blog post wassponsored by The Hershey Company as part of my participation in their Food Ambassador program. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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Add extra liquid: Gluten-free flours tend to absorb more liquid than regular flour, so you may need to add more liquid to your recipes to compensate. This can help to keep your baked goods moist and prevent them from becoming dry and crumbly.
Gluten-free flour blends don't have the same elasticity as flour containing gluten so often the cakes don't rise as much or will sink after rising. To combat the flat cake problem, I add ½ tsp of bicarbonate of soda to the recipe even when using a self-raising gluten-free flour blend.
2 teaspoons of baking powder per cup of gluten-free flour is necessary to ensure proper leavening. Baking soda and buttermilk can be used to leaven instead of baking powder, but 1-1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar should be added for each 1/2 teaspoon baking soda used.
One of the most common gluten-free baking tips is “let your batter rest”. Letting the batter rest gives the gluten-free flours and starches more time to absorb the moisture. In theory, it will turn your dry, crumbly cakes into delicious, moist masterpieces.
Oat Flour. With its creamy, earthy flavor and delicate texture, gluten-free oat flour is a staple of my gluten-free baking recipes. It bakes up soft and smooth, adding necessary starch to many GF baked goods and keeping them moist and tender due to its high fat content and stable protein structure.
Even the best combinations of gluten-free alternative grains and flour blends can yield a gritty texture. This is remediated by resting your batter for about 30 minutes so the flour has time to hydrate and soften.
Gluten-free baked goods often benefit from extra liquid to hydrate the flour blends, eliminate grittiness, and achieve a less dense or dry texture. However, it's very important to drive off this extra moisture during baking, or you'll wind up with a gummy texture. The best way to do this? Longer baking times.
Gluten-free goods tend to brown faster and take longer to cook through. So they need to be baked at a slightly lower temperature, for a slightly longer time. Every recipe is different, but in general, try lowering the temperature by 25 degrees and baking the item for 15 minutes longer.
Owing to the challenge of gluten-free flours to form a protein network that provides structure and strength to dough, breads produced in the absence of gluten tends to be flatter, denser, crummier, less chewy and less tasty.
However, you can actually mix a batter containing xanthan and/or guar gum to a point of diminishing returns. You can overwork the gums and end up with a stringy cake batter or rubbery cookie dough. (Having said that, doing this takes some work. Just don't take your aggressions out on a gluten-free cake batter.)
Baking soda is a pure chemical compound, known as sodium bicarbonate. It is an alkaline substance and requires an acid to activate its leavening properties. When combined with an acid (such as vinegar, lemon juice, or yogurt), it produces carbon dioxide gas, which causes the batter or dough to rise.
If gluten-free cakes aren't falling apart, they often turn out heavy and unpleasantly dense. That's because gluten creates little pockets of air, so baked goods turn out springy and fluffy; gluten-free flours and grains are lacking this crucial element.
You may not have used enough raising agents. I do recommend experimenting with double action baking powders. Otherwise try using 25 percent more chemical raising agents (baking soda or baking powder) if you're converting a recipe to gluten free.
Fat tenderizes the gluten. Examples of fat are butter, margarine, hydrogenated vegetable shortening, or oil. Leavening agents are added to most shortened cakes to make the cakes rise and become porous and light. Examples are baking powder or baking soda and sour milk.
The simplest version of simple syrup, or soak, is nothing more than equal parts granulated sugar dissolved into water. The basic soak alone will do great things for your cake, especially in terms of moisture.
It's very common for gluten free baked goods to sink in the middle and sometimes it's even gummy or looks like it isn't fully cooked. Here's some ways to help avoid that: -Don't over-mix your dough. Mix it until everything is just incorporated and be done.
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