It isn't everyday that we have the opportunity to indulge in a sweet, special, gooey treat in the gluten free world. Baking and cooking in the GF lifestyle is difficult at best. Sure there are plenty of boxed items on store shelves that jump out at you with their soft, moist, seductive chocolatey cake photos and promises of tasting just like the original. Unfortunately our family has only come to learn that those promises of chocolate romance and sugary decadence are nothing more than a bad, GF one night stand. We bring our pre-prepared boxed lover home to mix and bake, only to find out that whatever strange flour substitute combination hidden behind that gluten-free pornographic box picture, has a bad after taste, and crumbles in a dry and sandy textured pile of disappointment on your plate. Occasionally a decent box mix can be found in the GF isle of the grocery store, but only after it is met with hesitation and low expectations after all those other bad gluten-free boxed, pick up lines turned bad. Not to mention this take-and-make bakery date is high in price and only allows for a couple servings by the time you are finished.
So in my quest to find a edible and hopefully delicious recipes with few deviations of taste and texture from the original, I have finally hit the jackpot on a few options. I have mastered the chocolate chip cookie and cookie bar, the dark, fudgey brownie, and the vanilla cupcake. In addition to this I have also experimented with other sweet options as a perfect snack on a cold night with a cup of hot cacao (spiked or not), and fire.
But first before I start posting photos of my own Gluten-Free bakery porn, there needs to be a discussion about the ingredients. First, as many of us find out in attempting to make our adapted family recipes from before our GF life, not all flour mixes are created equal. There are numerous recipes out there that allow you to mix and make your own baking substitute combination at home, however, most of us do not have this amount of time nor are we able to always locate the multitude of eccentric ingredients. Not to mention, its FREAKING expensive. So, if you have the time and money to chase down the vast amount of ingredients for your made at home flour substitute, or are lucky enough to have a market that carries the expansive variety of flours needed... then please feel free to mix your own. For our family of five, and two of us officially diagnosed with Celiac Disease, we do not have the access, time, or budget to partake in this process. So we have tested many of the flours out there and I have to say, there is a difference. Our families favorite and best results have come from Glutino products. We are in no way paid by, supported, or sponsored by this company, we simply have experimented with several different flour substitute options, and Glutino has the best texture and no aftertaste when it comes to baked goods. I have found that many of the other brands have a higher brown rice and soy flour content, which bakes funny and gives your foods a strange after-taste.
So now that we have identified our regular GF baked goods walk of shame, it's time to get baking!
