Wacky Cake

[kbabe1968]

Okay....I'm gluten free....and my friends daughter is dairy/soy/gluten free.

They are coming to our house for the Superbowl. I want to make a homemade chocolate cake I used to make Called Wacky cake.

Right now I have rice flour and brown rice flour....and I'm hoping to find some Xgum (thinking i need it for cake).

ANYWAY....

1 1/2 cups flour (usually AP - but obviously not gluten free)

1 cup white sugar

4 Tbs cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbs cider vinegar

6 tbs canola oil

1 cup water

do you think if I used a mix of brown rice & white rice flour...how much Xgum would I need? Tsp? 1/2 Tbs? Could I use plain gelatin instead?

THANKS!

I'd love to surprise my friend to have a cake (made from scratch, I know I could buy a mix, but I want to show her that it can be done without having to buy mixes that cost $6 a piece) that her daughter can eat and won't get sick from.

[Lisa]

It sounds good. You must be a very thoughtfull friend.

[jayhawkmom]

I've made Wacky Cake for my egg allergic daughter!! Although, I haven't tried since going gluten-free.

I am not yet comfortable with mixing flours - so I use Beth's All Purpose gluten-free flour. It's a mix like what you are describing, but I have no idea what the proportions are.

I found this... don't know if it'll help:

2 cups white rice flour

2/3 cup potato starch*

1/3 cup tapioca starch

Directions:

Stir ingredients together well.

May be used as an equal (1:1) substitution for wheat flours.

Makes 3 cups

* Important: potato starch is not the same as potato flour.

****** But, that's really super nice of you to make a cake that your daughter's friend can enjoy!!!!

[emcmaster]

I think jayhawkmom is referring to Bette Hagman's mix in the above post.

For a cake, I'd use Bette's featherlight flour mix.

1/2 c. Rice flour

1/2 c. cornstarch

1/2 c. tapioca starch

2.5 tsp. potato flour (NOT potato starch)

[jayhawkmom]

I think jayhawkmom is referring to Bette Hagman's mix in the above post.

Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse. I actually use Beth's AP - purchased from the Gluten Free Pantry

(Open Original Shared Link free.com/item_detail.aspx?ItemCode=126013M)

I found the recipe for the flour mix - which is not the same as the mix that I purchased, at a different website)

Again... sorry for the confusion!! =)

[emcmaster]

Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse. I actually use Beth's AP - purchased from the Gluten Free Pantry

(Open Original Shared Link free.com/item_detail.aspx?ItemCode=126013M)

I found the recipe for the flour mix - which is not the same as the mix that I purchased, at a different website)

Again... sorry for the confusion!! =)

Ok, I see the product you're talking about. It looks/sounds like it's just a pre-mixed version of Bette Hagman's mix. You should really start mixing your own - it's so easy and much cheaper (usually).

[larry mac]

KB,

I've got to say, I was a little disappointed when I clicked on this topic. With a name such as "wacky cake", I expected some unusual ingredients. What's up with that? What's so wacky about this cake?

best regards, lm

[Sophiekins]

Larry,

It's called Wacky Cake because of how you make it, not what's in it. Instead of carefully creaming butter and sugar and mixing dry ingredients and yaddah yaddah yaddah, you just dump everything in the pan together, stir and shove it in the oven. Done right, the consistency is kind of like fudge brownies. (And takes less than five minutes to mix, which is the big benefit).

Kbabel - yes, mixing white and brown rice flour should work in this cake. I'd use about a cup of white and half a cup of brown. Yes, you can use just plain gelatin (which will probably work better in this cake than Xanthan gum), use a teaspoon mixed into your dry ingredients. I recommend you mix your wet ingredients together before you mix them with your flours because they will blend better that way. Bake it a little bit hotter (about 10 degrees F. unless you nuke yours) and probably a little bit longer (five minutes?? check carefully though) and use a glass or ceramic pan instead of non-stick (teflon is sticky for gluten, so you shouldn't bake gluten-free in nonstick pans that have been used for gluten baking) and NOT your wooden spoons. . .oh yeah, and add an extra half tsp of baking soda for baking gluten-free. . .it will rise better.

[kbabe1968]

Sophiekins! THANK YOU!!! I've totally hesitated to invest the $10/lb for Xanthum Gum....but the gelatin is relatively inexpensive for the plain (like $1/box or something like that). Thanks for the tip on baking soda. I use stoneware pans (Pampered Chef). SO FAR, I have not had issue with CC. It has not been a problem. IF it becomes, I will need to figure out what to do! I love my stoneware! LOL And for the tips on heat - I wondered that! I made a banana bread the other day that took nearly twice as long to bake thru! I bet if I had raised the heat a few degrees it would have been better!

LarryMac - laughing! LOL It is actually also called "Depression Cake" or "WWII" cake because it was a recipe made during a time of scarcity for things like eggs and milk. This recipe uses NO dairy ingredients at all (granted, the original recipe contains wheat flour). Flour and sugar were, I guess, fairly easily obtained and cheap during those times so they just needed ways to bake it without using real milk or fresh eggs. I would imagine. I think there's actually a folk lore store to how it was created out there! LOL I guess it's also wacky b/c you technically arent' supposed to frost it....you're supposed to glaze it with a powdered sugar glaze.

That brings me to my next question....do you think I could make the glaze with rice milk instead of cows milk? And I'm assuming powdered sugar is okay? Or should I try to make my own (ya know, grinding white sugar?).

Thanks!

[momandgirls]

Powdered sugar is gluten free and mixing it with rice milk works out just fine for a glaze. If you don't want to use the rice milk, you can mix it with water and that works out fine, too.

[2Boys4Me]

I use Carol Fenster's sorghum/corn flour blend for this cake.

Open Original Shared Link has the blend.

[kbabe1968]

Test batch is in the oven as we speak.

I did not have gelatin (or Xgum) BUT I'm trying it without it. Figuring if it's too dry, too dense, etc, I'll add the gelatin next time to see if it's more spongy.

Thanks for the tip on powdered sugar. I think I'll use the rice milk (simply b/c my friend is trying so hard to get it into her daughter!).

I'll let ya know how it works out!

[larry mac]

I use Carol Fenster's sorghum/corn flour blend for this cake.Open Original Shared Link has the blend.

Linda, are you using white corn flour or regular yellow corn flour? Not too many gluten-free recipes call for corn flour and I was wondering why. Even cornbread recipes usually say gluten-free flours and corn meal, but not corn flour.

thanks, lm

[kbabe1968]

failure. Oh well...next time I won't be so impatient. Dense, and grainy. Not inedible...but certainly lacked that "cake" texture.

Will be looking to try again with gelatin or Xgum

(yes, Larrymac - you can laugh at me now! )

Corn flour & corn starch....same thing? yes? No? maybe that would help too....

Does anyone know the "science" behind the starches and gums etc? That's where I need the most help. Each ingredient in breads/cakes/cookies plays a role...what role do each play in a gluten free arena?

Sorry....long time Alton Brown fan....so I need to know the why's while I experiment! LOL

[AmyTopolski]

Sorry I can't explain the ingredients. The only thing I know is that xanthan gum holds things together. This is the mixture I have used with much success! Hope it helps!

Amy

Cake Flour Mix

3 cups rice flour

1cup potato starch

[Sophiekins]

Live and learn. . . (at least it was edible!).

Definitely add the gelatin next time. If it was too dense, I'd add a little bit more soda (yet again! sometimes you have to nearly double to soda, as it is not as efficient as baking powder), and a little bit more vinegar (it is the vinegar that makes the soda work). If you've got corn starch lying around, you can add it to your flour mix and this will lighten it up a bit (not more than 1/3 cup or you'll get a different flavour); a starch will improve texture (absorbs more liquid without being grainy) and lightness (starch has more air to begin with than flour). . .I didn't suggest it before because I can't eat corn, and it didn't occur to me. . .

That said, the texture will probably always be a problem - gluten-free flours are grainier than wheat flour. The mixture of starches and flours is usually used to improve flavour and nutritional value - without gluten, there isn't much of a chemical reason to use a particular flour. . .it's just a substance to catch the liquids and bind them together. In gluten-free baking, you need to add a binder to the flour mix (Xanthan gum, Guar gum, or gelatin) to replace the stickness factor of gluten (which is what allows the flour to hold liquids and still expand. . .mixing activates and stretches the gluten strands and baking freezes them into position, leaving air bubbles and space, and thus fluffiness in your baked goods). These replacements, however, are not nearly as good at it as gluten and thus things don't rise as much and are generally denser.

[debb]

try using Pamela's pancake and baking mix as a substitute for the flour. I have made pumpkin bars with it and petit fours, both were outstanding. Good luck

[Cheri A]

We used to love Wacky Cake when we were only dairy/egg free. It was my favorite cake!

I tried it again with the gluten-free substitutions and, again, it wasn't good.

[2Boys4Me]

Linda, are you using white corn flour or regular yellow corn flour? Not too many gluten-free recipes call for corn flour and I was wondering why. Even cornbread recipes usually say gluten-free flours and corn meal, but not corn flour.

thanks, lm

Yellow corn flour. I have seen white corn flour at the Superstore labelled as Masa Harina, but I used Unico brand corn flour, I bought it at Walmart and it's yellow.

Cornstarch and corn flour are not the same. Don't ask me the difference though, I'll tell you it's because the flour is yellow.

Cornmeal is not nearly as fine, and I have never tried to mix that in instead.

The first time I tried gluten-free Wacky cake I used a Hagman rice blend and I did not like the texture. Too gritty, or sandy or something.

[kbabe1968]

Thanks. I'm thinking of trying again for this weekend for Superbowl. I have a half a box of Arrowhead Mills gluten-free flour mix and half a box of Fearn's Baking Mix too. I think I'm going to use that and maybe cut down the baking soda part of the mixture to about half (both AM and F's have baking soda in them already).

I'll let ya know!

P.S. My friend who has the daughter with a milk allergy - her husband just had a violent almost deadly reaction to dairy this week - had to call 911 and rush to hospital to save his life. He's 30+ years old and JUST developed it. SO STRANGE!!!

[Mayflowers]

Thanks for the recipe Amy

[Cheri A]

I was at SuperTarget yesterday and saw, once again, the cake mixes from Cherrybrook Kitchen. You all have GOT to try it! It's kind of pricey ($5 something), but it came out really well as cupcakes. No more wacky cakes for me. I only wish they had a white or yellow cake that was gluten-free because dd isn't too fond of chocolate.

Cherrybrook Kitchen Gluten Free Dreams Chocolate Cake Mix (Peanut Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Nut Free). Ingredients: potato starch, evaporated cane juice, natural cocoa powder, white rice flour, tapioca starch, granulated brown sugar, baking soda, xanthan gum, sea salt. You add 1/2 c. oil, 1 c. water and 2 tsp. vanilla.

[2Boys4Me]

Cheri, I notice it has rice flour, how does Carleigh tolerate that if she's allergic to rice? Or is there a trick because of the amount of rice, or something?

[kbabe1968]

I've had Cherrybrook Kitchen stuff. VERY good. I love it. Don't love that it's $5 and it makes 12 cupcakes or 1 9" round cake! So it would be $10 for a whole cake! YIKES! I'm sticking with wacky cake.

I WILL however try thier sugar cookie mix someday for my Coconut Macadamia Nut cookies

[Cheri A]

Linda, once in a great while I give Carleigh something with rice in it. She seems to do ok when I give it to her that infrequently. I would never try that with any of the other things in my siggy though.

I'm just SO desperate FOR me, mind you, that she have a cupcake/cake that she likes. I think it's the flour combo after tasting this mix. Maybe the sorghum has too much something that doesn't work.

DH and Nick came home and enjoyed the chocolate cupcakes, but Carleigh decided she didn't like them enough to have more than a few bites because of the chocolate.

She is happy without the cake and just likes to take cookies to birthday parties and such. Like I said, it's ME.