This summer, I realized that I could not tolerate gluten. I was constantly sick to my stomach, my chronic pain disorder was in full swing, and I had no energy. I tried so many different things until I decided to try cutting out gluten from my diet. After about a week, I started to feel so much better. I no longer needed to take note of where the bathroom would be when I planned trips out with friends, my pain was under control, and my energy had spiked.
Giving up gluten is actually not as hard as I thought it would be! There are many substitutions offered, but one thing that is lacking is good gluten free desserts. I love dessert and I love baking, so I decided to take the challenge to find some gluten free recipes and test them.
The first thing I decided to try was a chocolate cake. I know I could’ve just made a flourless chocolate cake, but I’m not a fan of their texture and I wanted to try using a gluten free flour. I used this recipe:
I used to love baking the regular Hershey’s chocolate cake when I was younger, so I had high hopes for this cake! The brand of flour I used for this was Cup4Cup flour blend. While making this cake, it’s really important to not stir the batter too much. Gluten free batters tend to get very gummy and chewy if you over-stir them. This cake turned out really well! It is a very dense cake—which I personally like—and it definitely tastes like chocolate. This recipe was one of my favorites.
The next recipe I made was gluten free chocolate chip cookies using this recipe:
http://mygluten-freekitchen.com/the-best-chewy-gluten-free-chocolate-chip-cookies/.
I used the Cup4Cup blend as well, and it worked very nicely. At first the cookie dough seemed like it will be too dry, but the cookies did stay together after a little bit of squishing them together. The one problem I had was that it was really hard to tell when they were done. The cookies cook a little bit after you take them out of the oven, so at first when you take them out they still look undercooked. This is normal, and the cookies will solidify after about five minutes. These cookies tasted just like normal chocolate chip cookies, and it was probably my favorite recipe!
The third recipe I made was this gluten free pumpkin bread:
http://simplefood365.com/gluten-free-pumpkin-bread/.
I used a different flour, the Bob’s Red Mill brand. Unfortunately, this recipe did not turn out well at all. I might have done something wrong, the flour might have been too different, but the bread turned out completely flat, squish and gummy inside. It also had an extremely strong pumpkin taste. I know, it’s pumpkin bread, but the pumpkin flavor was so overwhelming that you couldn’t really taste anything else. I would definitely try this recipe again, perhaps with the Cup4Cup blend, a bit less pumpkin, and more spices to see if it turns out differently.
The fourth recipe I made was gluten free lemon muffins:
I used Bob’s Red Mill brand, and the muffins turned out great! The Bob’s Red Mill brand worked fine with this recipe, but as with most gluten free recipes, the muffins are rather dense. They aren’t too hard or heavy, and the taste is very light. If you prefer a more lemon-y taste, I would suggest using two more tablespoons of lemon. This was another favorite recipe.
The fifth and final recipe I tried was actually a combination, of this gluten free pie crust:
http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/extra-flaky-gluten-free-sour-cream-pie-crust/
With a regular pumpkin pie filling:
https://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18470/libbys-famous-pumpkin-pie/.
The crust acted just like a regular pie dough! It was shaggy and came together nicely when raw. It rolled out flat and smooth, and was extra flaky and delicious. The one thing that someone might be picky about is that the pastry is not sweetened at all. If you like more of a sweet pastry, you may want to add some sugar to the dough.. The filling is delicious as well. This recipe is technically gluten free, but you want to be extra careful that you use gluten free ingredients. The filling and the pastry work very well together, and they all baked together nicely!
Overall, baking gluten free was a really good experience. All of the recipes came out well, and the one that didn’t end up being great was probably due to me being careless and not the fault of the recipe. All of these desserts are definitely worth a try!