My latest adventure in the kitchen took me to my cousin’s home. My daughter, Anna, 3, and I spent the day with my cousin and her youngest, Katelyn, who will be celebrating her sixth birthday this month.
Our original plan was a play day for the girls and a day of cooking for myself and my cousin. My cousin likes to cook and I like to bake so we make a nice duo.
It was fun talking food and sharing tips. We both learned a lot, particularly when cooking for a special diet. She cooks gluten free and dairy free and I cook dairy free, egg free for Anna.
My cousin made gluten free pasta with shrimp and leeks using a garlic and oil sauce, plus other ingredients I didn’t get a chance to see go into the bowl while I was checking on Anna playing in another room. The end result was delicious! And healthy.
Then, it was my turn to bake. We asked the girls if they wanted to help. Anna was more interested in Katelyn’s toys but Katelyn was more than eager to help. I had some pumpkin puree left from Anna’s pumpkin spice cake the previous week so I suggested a gluten free dairy free egg free pumpkin spice cake. Turns out everyone loves pumpkin!
Using my pumpkin spice cake recipe with modifications, Katelyn helped measure and stir until the batter became too tough for her to stir any longer.
We discovered that the gluten free flour made the batter dryer so we had to find something to create more moisture without adding an egg. I also didn’t want to add more oil, fearing it would become, well, oily.
Typically I’d add applesauce but we didn’t have any but there were apples. Using the food processor, my cousin pureed an apple with a little water. We added that to the batter and, like magic, our batter was the perfect consistency. Katelyn scooped the batter into the mini pans already greased and floured (yes, both were dairy free and gluten free).
The oven was heated to 350 degrees. Unsure how long to bake the mini cakes, we started out at 20 minutes and checked every 5 minutes after that. When the cakes were finally done, they were dense and moist and a big hit! Two little cakes disappeared quickly.
I had a great day cooking and baking with family, evidence that food is more than something we eat, food connects people.
Pumpkin Spice Cake (gluten free, dairy free, egg free)
Ingredients2 cups gluten free flour
1 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon1/2 tsp. pumpkin spice
1/16 tsp. clove1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup white sugar1 cup pumpkin puree
1 apple pureed with little water
DirectionsPreheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 6-inch round pans with nonstick cooking spray and flour.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Alternately add flour mixture and pumpkin puree and blend in, starting and ending with flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated. Add apple puree until batter is good consistency for cake.
Scoop batter into prepared pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for five minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Lisa Mitchell is an editor for Berks-Mont Newspapers. Share your questions and recipes with Lisa at lmitchell@berksmontnews.com.
