Gluten free adventures!

   I always wanted to try gluten free baking... mostly to challenge myself and to try something new. I heard a lot of negative opinions about gluten free baking goods... that the texture is off, that the flavor is bad, or that it's impossible to make at home. The last one is really what caught my attention and I wanted to put my skills to the test and see if I could make a delicious, gluten free desert. My friend's son (who also happens to be my son's best friend) is gluten free, so she became an expert in gluten free cuisine, constantly testing new recipes for breads, muffins, bagels... you name it, she probably tried it... and I have to say all of her stuff is delicious! So what better way to test my gluten free baking skills than inviting them to dinner and feeding them my gluten free lemon-blueberry cake? Here is the recipe:

 
Ingredients:

*  1.5 cups gluten free all purpose baking flour (Bob's RedMill)
*  1 cup sugar
*  1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temp.
*  1 container (6 oz) lemon Greek yogurt
*  2 eggs
*  1 tsp baking powder
*  1/2 tsp salt
*  2 tsp lemon zest
*  1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
*  1 cup fresh blueberries
*  1 tsp corn starch

Glaze:

*  1 cup powdered sugar
*  1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice


Directions:

1. In a bowl combine and whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and lemon zest. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs (one at a time), add yogurt and lemon juice and mix everything for 1-2 minutes.

3. With mixer on slow, add dry ingredients, a little bit at a time, and mix until combined.

4. In a small bowl, combine blueberries and corn starch and mix until coated.

5. Gently mix in blueberries into a batter, transfer into greased loaf pan and bake at 350F for 50-60 minutes. Transfer onto a wire rack and let it cool.

6. Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice, mix until smooth and pour over the cake to glaze it.

   I have to be honest, baking the cake was a little bit tricky... every time I inserted a toothpick in the middle of it, it came out a tiny bit wet, but after 60 minutes of baking I decided to take it out of the oven and let it sit. It turned out great! There was no under-baked dough, the cake was moist (maybe not as moist as a regular flour cake, but not bad at all) and the flavor was really, really delicious. My "gluten-free expert" friend, who doesn't really have a sweet tooth to begin with, loved it... or at least that's what she said and I take it!

Enjoy,
Magda