Flourless Gluten Free Chocolate Roll Cake - Roulade | Gluten Free Recipes | Gluten Free Recipe Box (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to baking with gluten-free flour? ›

Gluten-free flours often contain fine starches, so they absorb more liquid than conventional flour. To address this, gluten-free recipes usually call for more liquid and produce looser batters. They may also call for a larger quantity of leavening, like baking powder, to help add volume and lighten the texture.

Longer baking times. Some of our gluten-free recipes even instruct you to bake beyond the time that a toothpick inserted into the baked good comes out clean. We found that whole-grain coffee cake, below, is such a recipe; if you pull this cake out of the oven too soon, it will have a very mushy texture.

The good news is that you can also use plenty of naturally gluten-free flour alternatives (rice, soy, chestnut, buckwheat, corn, potato and chickpea flour) for cakes, breads and pastries. And there are many recipes to show you how.

Moisture – for some reason gluten-free cakes tend to get a little dry. Any gluten-free cake will dry out super-fast and get hard on the outside if it's not properly refrigerated and covered. I swear by always using buttermilk and adding a little more fat into the batter to compensate for the dryness.

In contrast to tapioca flour, which is made from a starchy liquid extracted from the cassava root, cassava flour is made by grating and drying the whole root. This flour is gluten-, grain- and nut-free. It's most similar to white flour and can easily be used in recipes calling for all-purpose flour.

Add extra liquid: Gluten-free flours tend to absorb more liquid than regular flour, so you may need to add more liquid to your recipes to compensate. This can help to keep your baked goods moist and prevent them from becoming dry and crumbly.

2 teaspoons of baking powder per cup of gluten-free flour is necessary to ensure proper leavening. Baking soda and buttermilk can be used to leaven instead of baking powder, but 1-1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar should be added for each 1/2 teaspoon baking soda used.

Baking soda is a pure chemical compound, known as sodium bicarbonate. It is an alkaline substance and requires an acid to activate its leavening properties. When combined with an acid (such as vinegar, lemon juice, or yogurt), it produces carbon dioxide gas, which causes the batter or dough to rise.

Gluten-free flour blends don't have the same elasticity as flour containing gluten so often the cakes don't rise as much or will sink after rising. To combat the flat cake problem, I add ½ tsp of bicarbonate of soda to the recipe even when using a self-raising gluten-free flour blend.

Oat Flour. With its creamy, earthy flavor and delicate texture, gluten-free oat flour is a staple of my gluten-free baking recipes. It bakes up soft and smooth, adding necessary starch to many GF baked goods and keeping them moist and tender due to its high fat content and stable protein structure.

Why do gluten-free cakes fall apart? ›

Xanthan gum (along with other thickeners like guar gum and arrowroot) acts like a binder in gluten-free baked goods to maintain their structure. Without it, there's a good chance that your brownies or muffin will crumble and fall apart.

Is There a Difference Between Flourless and Gluten-Free? Flourless does not always mean gluten-free. Gluten-free means no gluten – which is the protein that can be found in many other ingredients beyond flour.

The dessert contains no gluten which makes it acceptable for those with celiac disease, gluten-free diets, and during religious holidays in which gluten and grains are not permitted.

When the cake bakes the air will expand and cause the cake to rise in the oven. However as the cake doesn't contain any gluten there is not stucture to keep the cake risen once it comes out of the oven. So as the cake cools, and the air bubbles contract, you should find that it will sink back.

Substitute by weight, not volume. Moreover, because they are finer, they weigh less than all-purpose flour, so it is a good idea to substitute your blend for the all-purpose by weight, rather than by volume. If the original recipe calls for 260 grams of all-purpose flour, substitute with 260 grams of your blend.

These breads take longer to bake because the gums and fiber in Gluten-Free Bread Flour hold onto water more than gluten (which is typical of gluten-free flour), so they take longer to fully bake and “dry out.” If you have a digital thermometer, the internal temperature should be between 208°F to 212°F.

One of the most common gluten-free baking tips is “let your batter rest”. Letting the batter rest gives the gluten-free flours and starches more time to absorb the moisture. In theory, it will turn your dry, crumbly cakes into delicious, moist masterpieces.