I've always been one of those "Martha Stewart" types who wants to make everything from scratch. (And I REALLY hope you can read the sarcasm in that statement! lol)
Not really. I mean I love making things from scratch, but I work full time. I attempt to keep a house clean (not one of my strong points if you know me and hopefully you love me anyway! lol). I commute to work and therefore I'm on the road a lot. With work, home life, blogging, hobbies, and even our local gluten free support group thrown into the mix... I can't imagine if & when we have kids how life could possibly be any more busy!
So needless to say we all need shortcuts. Especially when it comes to cake. I like cake. A whole lot. I probably shouldn't eat cake. But it's Christmas, which means it's Jesus' birthday and I say that calls for cake!
I've enjoyed using the gluten free Betty Crocker cake mixes, but not only are they expensive (usually close to $5 a box for a batch that makes 12 cupcakes or a one layer cake), they are also hard to find where I live. One of my favorite stores used to carry them, but now all they carry is the brownie mix. As much as I like baking from scratch, it is nice to just pull out a box from the pantry and make a cake.
So here's my homemade version of the gluten free Betty Crocker mix. While I will say that the homemade mix is more healthy than the boxed version... it's still not "health food" by any stretch of the imagination. This mix has much less sugar, uses whole grain brown rice flour, and calls for much less oil than the Betty Crocker version. This homemade mix is also super easy to make! Line up about 5 glass jars on your counter and measure out all the ingredients "assembly-line" style for 5 cake mixes and fill your glass jars. Voila... instant homemade gluten free yellow cake mixes!
*To make a chocolate cake mix just add the dry ingredients of my favorite gluten free chocolate cake recipe to a jar and you'll be ready to go!
They also make really cute Christmas presents! :-)
Homemade Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix Recipe
Makes 1 (8" or 9") round cake or 12 cupcakes
Free of gluten, dairy/casein, soy, (and can be corn free using guar gum and corn free baking powder)
Created by Carrie Forbes @ Gingerlemongirl.com
Printer-friendly recipe
DRY Yellow Cake Mix Ingredients:
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon fine brown rice flour (or white rice flour)
1/2 cup arrowroot starch (or potato starch)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum -or- guar gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
Add all of the above dry ingredients into a 1 pint glass jar or a resealable plastic bag. Close tightly and store in a cool pantry or cupboard. Should keep for up to 6 months.
TO make a one layer cake or 12 cupcakes simply mix in:
1/4 cup oil
3/4 cup non-dairy milk (I like almond)
2 eggs (or equivalent of Ener-G egg replacer or egg replacers in Notes below!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions to make a cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If you're making a round 8 or 9" cake, place parchment paper (cut to size) in the bottom of your baking pan and then spritz with non-stick spray or oil, or line a cupcake pan with paper liners. Pour dry cake mix in a large bowl. In a small bowl mix together all wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix together thoroughly. Pour batter into prepared cake pan or fill cupcake liners
Frost & decorate with your favorite gluten free frosting!
These cupcakes are very moist, so make sure to store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Carrie's Notes:
- The dry mix works awesomely on a pumpkin dump cake or for just about any cake recipe using a store bought cake mix!
- Egg Replacer Options: To make this cake egg free you have several options, each of these options makes the equivalent of 2 eggs in baking: 1/2 cup applesauce + an additional 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder OR 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds + 6 tablespoons hot water + an additional 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder OR 1 tablespoon of Ener-G Egg replacer + 4 tablespoons hot water. I also think it's a good idea to add an additional tablespoon of oil per egg to replace the fat/moisture content from the egg yolk!
- If you can make a small label that includes the wet ingredients needed to complete the cake it looks super cute in your cabinet and also really makes a great Christmas gift!
- Rice Flour: If you cannot tolerate rice flour, I would use millet flour in it's place since it's such a mild tasting flour!
