Gluten-Free Bakery in NYC

If you can’t visit Babycakes in SOHO, then you can ask them to deliver or fedex some yummy cupcakes. Babycakes bakes gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free and mostly agave-sweetened delectable desserts. Founder and baker Erin McKenna has written a cookbook available from Amazon.com called, yep, you guessed it, Babycakes.

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Karina’s Chocolate Cake- gluten free

Okay, okay, you asked for it, so here is what I cooked: I adapted Karina’s recipe. She is the Gluten Free Goddess. In 2005 she launched her popular food blog Karina’s Kitchen- Recipes from a gluten-free goddess, you can read on her site that she was “featured in Newsweek magazine as the go-to on-line source for “creative recipes and cooking tips from an experienced gluten-free chef” and chosen as one of Delish.com’s “Best of the food blogs- top 50”.”

My only problem is that although she has eliminated the gluten in very creative ways, we still have sugar in the guise of brown, white and confectioner’s. So, with gratitude to Karina, here is Karina’s Mexican Chocolate Cake with my humble adaptations (in bold type). It is yummy served with Rice Dream or Coconut Milk Ice Cream!!!!

Karina’s Kitchen Recipes

Karina’s Kitchen recipes to save and print- all are gluten-free, with many vegan, vegetarian and allergy-free recipes. Autism diet friendly.

Mexican Chocolate Cake

 The sweet potato in this cake brings a silky tenderness to the crumb (and no, you don’t really taste it- the chocolate, vanilla, coffee and cinnamon flavors dominate). Using your food processor makes this as easy as uno, dos, tres.

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and dust a 9-inch cake pan or Springform pan with gluten-free flour.

 Measure your dry ingredients into the food processor bowl (use standard blade).

 Dry ingredients:

 1 cup buckwheat flour- or a mix of buckwheat, sorghum and rice flour/I used all purpose gluten free flour

3 tablespoons tapioca starch (or arrowroot, or potato starch)

1/2 cup organic brown sugar/ I skipped this and the cake was still sweet!

1 tablespoon dry Ener-G Egg Replacer/I used a real egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Scant 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon instant coffee or espresso powder (decaf is fine)/I didn’t have any in the house ,so skipped it

 Pulse on and off to distribute.

 Add in the wet ingredients:

 1/2 cup sweet potato puree (canned organic sweet potato is what I used)

4 oz. melted Belgian dark chocolate (use unsweetened for less sweet) I used unsweetened

2 tablespoons Spectrum Organic Shortening You can also try coconut oil

1/2 cup honey- or use raw agave nectar to keep it strictly vegan

3/4 cup chocolate hemp milk- or non-dairy chocolate milk of choice/I used regular soymilk

2 teaspoons vinegar-; lemon or orange juice will work/I used rice vinegar….

3 teaspoons bourbon vanilla extract

 Cover and process the ingredients until a smooth batter forms.

 Scrape and spoon the batter into the cake pan. Bake in the center of a preheated oven till firm- about 30 to 35 minutes. Please keep an eye on the cake and check it for doneness- I bake at high altitude; your mileage may vary. Cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill. Slice and serve with powdered sugar, fruit or chocolate sauce. I served Rice Dream

 

Makes 8 to 10 generous servings.

 

Karina’s Notes: This isn’t a super sweet cake- though I used unsweetened Belgian baking chocolate from Trader Joe’s. If you prefer a sweeter cake, use sweetened dark chocolate and up the sugar a bit, to taste. This recipe pairs chocolate, cinnamon, coffee and vanilla for a Mexican chocolate taste. If you’d rather go a more straight-up-chocolate route, eliminate the cinnamon. 

Custom Cereal

 

 

IMAGINE THIS: You get up for breakfast and in your kitchen cabinet is your very own special cereal blend. Yes, you no longer have to add in your flax seeds or remove the raisins. It’s all there there the way you want it. Josh just sent me the best breakfast cereal link: (me) and goji an innovative site where you can design your cereal mix by simply following the prompts to choose a base, add seeds and nuts and more by dragging and dropping your choice into the bowl, and it is mixed and priced as you choose your ingredients, packaged, you can even name your mix and it’s sent to you.

As you add your choices the “nutritional counter” adds the goodness all up for you. Some, but not all, ingredients are organic and one of the cereal bases is gluten free as are the organic cornflakes that you can choose as an add-on; I have already sent them a recommendation to go all the way… I love that it was invented by 3 entrepreneurial guys – two of them didn’t feel nourished by the cafeteria food at college, the third brought muesli expertise.  The site is clean and easy and if for any reason you don’t like the combination you’ve created you can sent it back and make another combo which will be sent to you free! Can send this as a great gift, too. Let me know how it works for you.