Gluten Free Flour Substitutes For Baking

[Guest VictoriaHoke]

I am trying to get my carrot cake recipe to be gluten-free but am having trouble finding the right substitute for regular flour. Any suggestions? Here is the current recipe:

3 cups Wild Veggie Carrot

2 cups organic cane sugar

4 eggs or 1 cup egg substitute (if I'm making it vegan)

2 cups flour (basic white all purpose flour)

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp gluten-free vanilla extract

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Thanks for any input!

[ravenwoodglass]

You could try Pamela's Baking mix it already has baking powder and baking soda so you would leave those out. Tom Sawyer makes a good flour mix also without the rising agents. I use that for stuff like scalloped potatoes and the Pamela's for everything sweet.

[Darn210]

I like Pamela's but it makes for a tasty but (IMO) dense product. Might be OK for carrot cake. For cakes, I use a combonation of white rice flour and potato starch . . . two parts rice flour to 1 part potato starch. I don't like tapioca starch in my cakes, it gives them a spongy texture that I don't care for in my cakes (flavor is OK). I get my white rice flour from an Asian Market. It's cheaper and it's a finer ground product which produces a less gritty baked good.

I usually try things a couple of different ways and the kids will always give their brutally honest feedback whether I've asked for it or not.

[ElseB]

Does it have to be that recipe and can you tolerate nuts?

Here's an amazing carrot cake that uses ground almonds instead of flour. I've only made it once, but I can tell you that the gluten eaters in my life loved it! The whole cake was devoured within minutes! I'd suggest increasing the spices a bit, but other than that, it was perfect. I also made a basic cream cheese icing for it.

Flourless Carrot Cake

Its important to grate the carrots on the fine holes of your grater, or else theyll remain too crunchy. For best results, wrap the cake tightly in plastic after it cools and serve it the next day. It will keep for five days in the refrigerator if wrapped airtight.

1 1/2 cups (1/2 pound) unsalted toasted almonds

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

4 large eggs

1/3 cup organic white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups finely grated carrots (about 10 ounces)

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the middle. Oil a 9-inch springform pan, and line it with parchment. Lightly oil the parchment.

2. Combine the almonds and the turbinado sugar in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Blend until the almonds are finely ground. Add the baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest, and pulse together.

3. Beat the eggs until thick in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or with an electric beater. Add the organic sugar, and continue to beat until the mixture is thick and forms a ribbon when lifted from the bowl with a spatula. Beat in the vanilla. Add the almond mixture and the carrots in three alternating additions, and slowly beat or fold in each time.

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan. Place in the oven, and bake one hour until firm to the touch and beginning to pull away from the pan. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan, and carefully remove the spring form ring. Allow the cake to cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic.

[Diane-in-FL]

I haven't tried a carrot cake yet, but have had good luck substituting Bob's Red Mill gluten-free All Purpose flour in other recipes. It tells you on the package how much Xanthan gum to add per cup of flour.