Gluten Free Goodies

In January I jokingly referred to "Gluten Free Gardening" while explaining the name of my blog. Oddly enough, I'm starting to think of myself as a gluten free gardener, as I have another gluten free goody to share.  

While shopping before Christmas, I had seen a giant cupcake (with yellow cake mix and chocolate frosting with sprinkles on top) sitting in a pastry case at gluten central.  I am not a big cupcake fan, and will admit to being confused by the trend, but sometimes cake has the appeal of forbidden fruit. A few weeks later, my boyfriend surprised me with the gluten free version of those cupcakes for my birthday.

With plenty of frosting left, we decided to make a second batch a few weeks later.

These were made using Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cake Mix (yellow).  I won't type out the recipe since you can follow it from the box.  I noticed that on the side of their box, they say that they started making gluten free recipes because of some co-workers or family members diagnosed as Celiac. Lots of big name baking and cereal companies now offer gluten free versions of their original product. 

Follow the instructions on whatever mix you choose. These cupcakes cook for about 20 minutes then have to cool before frosting.

As you can see, even the frosting is labeled "gluten free".  I would assume this to be the case, but have learned that gluten can show up in some odd places. So it's best to check all ingredients beforehand. For example, this recipe specifies gluten free vanilla.

Our second batch of cupcakes used a few left over cupcake wrappers from Halloween.  Once frosted, I later added sprinkles so that they looked just as great as the cupcake that started it all. These are light and fluffy just after baking, if any are left they seem to lose their fluffiness after a day.

Eating a gluten free diet isn't supposed to be about desserts, but it makes it a lot easier to stick with the program when you can replace one thing you shouldn't eat with one thing you can. 

* I eat a gluten free diet due to wheat sensitivity/allergy, I'm not recommending this to anyone who eats a gluten free diet for a medical condition such as Celiac sprue.  If you'd like more info on gluten free foods from a Registered Dietician who has Celiac, see my sister's site Balanced Body Nutrition.