Let Us All Eat Cake Cookbook Giveaway

This collection of delectable cake recipes is sure to please any crowd—and leave them astounded when they learn that each one is gluten-free.

By Elizabeth Bonner

If left up to Catherine Ruehle, our world would be a place where everyone could have their cake and eat it, too. In Let Us All Eat Cake, Catherine works toward this goal, presenting 60 scrumptious cake recipes plus tips and tricks for decorating and plating gorgeous, flavorful—and gluten-free—confections that anyone can enjoy.

A 20-year veteran pastry chef and cake artist, Catherine has always focused on the purity of her ingredients. However, when she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2010, that focus shifted to one of nutrition and holistic treatment for the debilitating disease—eliminating dairy, sugar, and gluten from her diet.

“Being able to control an incurable disease with the right foods brought me to a turning point in my career,” Catherine says. “I knew I could use my culinary background and personal experience to help others.” She became a certified wellness coach and started A Well-Nourished Life, a company that assists people in using diet and lifestyle to improve their health and wellness.

Catherine was also determined to create a cookbook that offered gluten-free variations of beloved classic cakes, along with a few of her own inspired innovations, with no sacrifice in flavor. “The recipe had to taste identical to the conventional cake,” she explains. “I was adamant that readers exclaim, ‘That’s delicious!’—not, ‘That’s delicious, for gluten-free cake.’”

From Southern delights like Texas Sheet Cake and Hummingbird Cake to fun twists like Pink Velvet Strawberry Cake and Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes, Catherine’s recipes offer the rich decadence she promises. She has also filled the book with helpful techniques for icing, piping, and decorating that, she says, “will enable even a novice baker to make their dishes look fabulous.” Catherine shares secrets sure to ease the stress of entertaining, such as make-ahead instructions and tips from her years in restaurant and catering kitchens.

The real worth of her cookbook, says the author, lies in its comprehensive quality. “There’s something for everyone, every skill level, every occasion,” she explains. “I want people who have been frustrated by gluten-free baking and the lack of flavor in recipes to come back into the kitchen. I also want this book to be a staple in home kitchens—even those that are not gluten-free—because the recipes are that good, and the techniques and tips are useful for anyone.”

Catherine, who lives in Fort Worth, says this type of inclusive cookbook is especially relevant in our region. “There’s a real love of food in the South and of sharing food in a warm way that is all about making people feel welcome and comfortable,” she says. Let Us All Eat Cake enables just that.

Get the recipe for Catherine’s classic Very Vanilla Cake with Fudgy Frosting, and enter for your chance to win her cookbook.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Very Vanilla Cake with Fudgy Frosting

2016-02-24 11:57:55

Write a review

Save Recipe

Print

Ingredients

1. 3 cups Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend (recipe follows)
2. 2 teaspoons baking powder
3. 1½ teaspoons xanthan gum
4. ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
5. 1 cup milk or unsweetened coconut milk (from a carton), at room temperature
6. 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
7. 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, optional
8. ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter or Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks, at room temperature
9. 1½ cups organic cane sugar
10. ¾ cup egg whites (about 6 large whites), at room temperature
11. Fudgy Frosting (recipe follows)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil two 8-inch-diameter cake pans with nonstick cooking spray or coconut oil.
2. To make the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour blend, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. In a small bowl, mix the milk with the vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste. Set both bowls aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. While beating on low, add the egg whites. When all the whites have been added, increase the speed to medium, and beat for 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl.
4. Add one-fourth of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and beat on low until almost fully incorporated. Add one-third of the milk mixture, and beat on low until almost fully incorporated. Repeat with the remaining flour and milk mixtures, starting and ending with the flour. When all the ingredients have been added, scrape down the bowl, and beat on medium for 15 seconds.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake in the center of the oven until the tops are light golden and a toothpick inserted into the center tests clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool the cakes on a wire rack for 10 minutes, and then invert onto the rack to cool completely. Meanwhile, make the Fudgy Frosting.
6. To assemble a two-layer cake, spread 3/4 cup frosting between the layers and on the top of the cake, and then generously frost the sides. To create a four-layer cake, split each cake layer in half horizontally. Use 1/2 cup frosting between each layer and on top of the cake, and then generously frost the sides.

Southern Lady Magazine https://southernladymagazine.com/