Having baked our way (or semi baked as was my case) through the Sweet Melissa cookbook, the consensus among the SMS bakers was that we were having too much fun baking and blogging to just stop The call was put out, the challenge was accepted and we have now begun our journey through "Baked Explorations."
I actually hadn't heard of the book before that. But I am nothing, if not flexible, when it comes to needing to buy a new baking cookbook especially when it is right at the time where I have a Barnes and Noble Gift Card burning a hole through my pocket. So it was with some happiness that I realized the first cookbook was a coffee cake considering how readily I will leap at the chance to attack any baked good with an obscene amount of streusel topping.
But to be on the safe side, I halved the recipe and hoped for the best. I used an odd little pan I'd bought a few months back that was touted as a mini monkey bread pan. Why I bought this, I'm not sure as I have never made monkey bread and probably never will, but it worked perfectly for this cake. Even with halving the recipe I still managed 5 of these mini cakes, one of which left me blissfully full.
This recipe adapted very well to gluten free flour, and was wonderfully moist when I baked it. Given the smaller pans, I cut the baking time back to 30 minutes which worked out well. And even though I did not wait nearly long enough (or anywhere near it ) to let this cool, it still held it's shape as I popped it out of the pan and began to devour it.
I would like to say that I shared this but can't. I did however freeze a couple of the mini cakes for a future sugar fix and am hoping to have one soon.
Please check out Karen's blog over at Karen's Cookies, Cakes and More for the recipe and swing by our Club Baked Blog when you have a chance to see how the other bakers fared with our inaugural recipe.
Glad you're baking along with me! I have no idea what a monkey bread pan is! I didnt even have a chance to freeze any!
ReplyDeleteI love the shot of your mini cake cut open. It looks perfect and delicious! I don't blame you for not sharing!
ReplyDeleteThat looks soo good. Can I ask what type of GF flour you used? I have several family members that can't have gluten and am always looking for ways I can accommodate them. Did you have to add in any other ingredients like xanthum gum?
ReplyDeleteJess..I use King Arthur Flour's gluten free blend which has all the components mixed in: rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch and whole grain brown rice flour. It has worked really well for me with baked goods so far. Only not so good is that it can be expensive if you do a lot of baking..the price is around 6.99 for a 24 oz box.
ReplyDeleteJess - forgot to say, no I didn't use xanthan gum...the potato starch and tapioca starch act as binders for the flour as far as I can surmise.
ReplyDeleteImpressive! It is great that it is gluten-free! It looks so tasty. Let us know how it does in the freezer. That is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteMinicakes are wonderful! Gluten-free? I'm impressed!
ReplyDeleteThe mini cakes look so delicious!! Gluten - free, too! WOW!
ReplyDeleteI would like to say that we shared our muffins too, but I couldn't get my husband to take them to work :) It was great!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of the book before this group was mentioned either, but I am excited for the rest after this recipe!