Gluten-free Pumpkin Bundt Cake

As a student I have a massive procrastinating habit.  I've come to terms with it, and still getting everything in on time, so it doesn't bother me in the slightest.  When I'm in group projects, it's a whole different story- especially when my group members are friends.  So for this assignment everyone else spent 2-3 weeks on, I obviously devoted two solid days to, and got it in a whopping two hours before it was due. I felt bad about everyone else spending hours dutifully hunting down data that I just used without having to yell at the internet so I solved this problem with baking! As one of our members has the very sad condition of Celiac Disease (I would mourn the loss of bread/bagels daily), this baking project is gluten-free.  She also LOVES pumpkin- so this is right up her alley.

That said, I want to be clear that I RARELY bake without gluten and am not in any way an expert on this matter.  According to the World Wide Web, some people can't even have their food cooked with utensils that used flour in a previous life, so check with your food recipients on the seriousness of their condition before you give them a bad case of bowel grumpiness.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bundt Cake

This recipe came from The Art of Gluten Free Baking and is well worth visiting.  She has her own combination of flours to accurately mimic the real stuff, and has a jillion recipes including sourdough bread and puff pastries, so your dreams may come true when you visit.

This specific recipe may be found here.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
2 1/4 C gluten-free flour**
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 heaping tsp cinnamon
1 + 1/2 heaping tsp ground allspice
1 + 1/4 C canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
3/4 C buttermilk, well shaken before measuring
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 + 1/4 C granulated sugar
3 eggs (large or extra large)
extra butter and tapioca flour for pan

** For flour I used:
- 3/4 cups brown rice flour
- 3/4 cups white rice flour
- 1/3 cup + 2 Tbs tapioca flour
- 2 tsp xantham gum


Her version also calls for sweet rice flour AKA Mochiko, which I couldn't find.  I approximately replaces that volume of flour with equal amounts of the three I did have.  Xantham Gum is extremely important! Something about consistency/texture/not falling apart, I don't really know, but don't leave it out.

Let's Bake!

First set your oven to 350 and butter and flour your pans of choice with tapioca flour.  You can obviously use a bunt pan, but we don't have one.  I like making my cakes in handy bites so I can give them away, so I used a desert bars pan and a loaf pan.  

Then mix your dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  I generously doubled the amount of spice because I'm obsessed with cinnamon, so feel free to adjust to your taste.

Find a bowl to mix your eggs, butter, and sugar in. 

This can be a challenge, but I found a clean pyrex in the dishwasher!  And don't underestimate how delicious fresh farm eggs are.  These are from the lovely land of Lexington, Ohio where we recently visited Joe's family. Plus, speckled eggs just look great:

I also don't have an electric mixer.  I use this hand crank egg whisk until things get too heavy, and then I use a fork.  I'm sure fancy things work for people with large, spacious kitchens full of storage room, but our galley kitchen doesn't accommodate well. Neither does the fact that neither Joe nor I can reach the top shelf.  Evidence of the crampes-ness- I use the oven as a counter.  Don't worry mom, it's safe because I didn't turn it on yet!

That reminds me, you can totally use all white sugar. My favorite is to pour brown sugar in my measuring cup and make a little bowl in there out of the brown sugar and fill it in with honey.  That way I can use my two favorite sweeteners and don't have to scrape/wash honey out of the cup.  

In bowl number 3 mix your pumpkin and buttermilk.  I didn't have buttermilk, so I attempted to make my own by mixing milk with apple cider vinegar, and then supplementing with sour cream when I still didn't have enough.  I would recommend actually buttermilk, but it turned out fine in the end, so who knows.

Alternate adding the pumpkin mixture and dry ingredients to the eggs-butter-sugar bowl.  Mine looked gross so I didn't take pictures.  Pour it into your floured pans, and put them in the oven!  Cook until your toothpick comes out clean- somewhere between 30 and 50 minutes, depending on your pan type.  Cool for 10 min, and then put on cooling rack (invert if in bundt pan).  

THEN EAT!  I incorrectly followed multiple steps and it still turned out fine, so I'm sure yours will be delicious!  

And finally, my little helper:

The Recipe:

-1 + 1/2 sticks butter, softened
- 3/4 cups brown rice flour
- 3/4 cups white rice flour
- 1/3 cup + 2 Tbs tapioca flour
- 2 tsp xantham gum
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 heaping tsp cinnamon
1 + 1/2 heaping tsp ground allspice
1 + 1/4 C canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
3/4 C buttermilk, well shaken before measuring
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 + 1/4 C granulated sugar
3 eggs (large or extra large)
extra butter and tapioca flour for pan

-preheat oven to 350, butter and flour pans with tapioca flour
-in medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients (flours, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda, baking powder) and set aside
-whisk together pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla in bowl,set aside
-whisk your eggs
-add sugar and beat some more
-add in your soft butter and beat till as smooth as possible
-add flour mixture and pumpkin mixture alternately
-spoon batter into prepared pan, smoothing top. Thump pan on counter to get rid of any lurking air bubbles
-bake for about 30-50 minutes, until tester comes out clean
-cool in pan for 10 minutes then invert onto cooling rack