Aching for cake

One of the worst parts of being gluten intolerant is not being able to have a piece of cake when you want it. (Or brownies, cookies, muffins. Can't even have an ice cream cone or ice cream sandwich.) Having something like that is a true luxury which takes forethought, planning, research, effort and higher than average thought. Even then, quality or quantity is still commonly lacking. There are some premade items available but the prices are rather high. Too high for me to have risked for the amount of product. So the only other choice is to make things for yourself. I'm still searching for mixes which are worth buying.

Betty Crocker markets a gluten free cake mix which is decent quality. However, it's rather expensive and only makes a single layer! The picture on the box is intentionally deceptive. It does show a single layer cake but at an angle which makes it appear like two layers. To make a two layer cake would cost over $10.

Today, I had a great urge for cake. So I bought a Hodgson Mill cake mix. It does make two layers. Already made it but haven't tried it yet. Texture seems good. Down side is the ingredients you must add. It requires eggs, butter, buttermilk, vanilla extract and almond extract. Since I had most of the ingredients, it was worth the price, which was under $4 for the mix. And luckily I like buttermilk, so the remainder didn't go to waste. If you don't like straight buttermilk, you could make salad dressing or biscuits with the rest.

Just tried it and here's the verdict- Flavor is good. No bean or rice flavor like some products. It tastes like cake! Texture is smooth but a little dry. Like most gluten free products, it didn't rise much but did rise enough to be light and have proper texture. I will buy this brand again but replace about 1/3 cup of buttermilk with vegetable oil. That should cure the dryness issue. For now, it shouuld go well with milk. At least Hodgson Mill has the idea right concept and understanding. Gluten intolerance does not equate to a weight loss diet. Those of us with true gluten intolerance do not need all of our food to be reduced calorie and low fat. We want something that tastes decent. Real food.

They're not producing anything yet but I have lots of cucumber plants coming up and maturing now. On looking closely, I found a few green bean plants starting to form small first leaves. Still, I planted more tonight.

Planted bush beans and more pumpkins in the area near the fence. Watered heavily and hope some portion of them grow. Like each other section of the garden before this, there's a breaking point. If I can get a few things to grow, later more will grow and so on. Rest of the garden isn't ragingly fertile yet but keeps improving.

Going to get to bed soon. Been a surprisingly long week.