Have Your Cake and Vegan Too Read Free

less gluten than all-purpose because it’s chlorinated. Again, with the chemical baked goods, just say no.
    SELF-RISING FLOUR Some cookbooks call for this white flour that has baking powder and salt added. It’s hard to find unbleached self-rising flour, and in addition, there’s no way of knowing how fresh the flour is and therefore how fresh the baking powder is. We don’t want our cakes depending on questionable baking powder. Also, the baking powder used in most self-rising flour is double-acting, which means that it reacts initially when the liquid and dry ingredients make contact and again when exposed to the heat of the oven. It does this with the addition of aluminum, whereas regular baking powder made without aluminum is single-acting. Why do they want to put all of these chemicals in our cakes?!

    Long story short, unbleached all-purpose flour is your friend. If you try your hand at some of the gluten-free recipes, you’ll have a whole group of new buddies, too.

GLUTEN-FREE BAKING
    So, protein in flour (gluten) and protein from eggs traditionally provide baked goods with structure. And we’re taking away the gluten and the eggs? Are we crazy? Absolutely not. Vegan, gluten-free baking may seem impossible, but rest assured that thanks to the boundless sea of grains in the world, a tasty gluten-free vegan cake is easy to make and even better to eat.
    Gluten-free baking relies on flour blends, as using one flour alone is not entirely possible. The bulk section of your grocery store can often supply these grains, but they are also readily available online. Look for the Bob’s Red Mill brand, which not only bakes well but also has very high standards for the quality of production for their gluten-free flours.
    BROWN RICE FLOUR This is a very common flour for gluten-free baking. It’s light in texture and mild in flavor, exactly what we want in replacing all-purpose flour. It is also easily digestible.
    SORGHUM FLOUR Milled from an ancient grain that lends a pleasant mouth feel to gluten-free baked goods, this flour has a very mild flavor.
    OAT FLOUR AND OATS These grains can be used in gluten-free baking, but not all oats are created equal, so be sure the oat products you are buying are labeled gluten-free.
    TAPIOCA STARCH OR TAPIOCA FLOUR These are actually one and the same. Adding starch to our flour makes it lighter and more cake appropriate.
    POTATO STARCH Potato flour is dehydrated potato, essentially instant potatoes, but we want the starch. This is nice and mild and helps make things fluffy.
    GUAR GUM AND XANTHAN GUM These are common ingredients you may have noticed when reading labels. They’re used as thickeners to help certain products (like nut milks) have a nicer consistency and mouth feel. In baking, they’re used in tiny amounts to help replace the binding we would otherwise get from gluten. Guar gum is significantly less expensive than xanthan gum, but some people prefer one over the other. The amounts used are so tiny, that even a spendy bag of gum goes a long way.
    OTHER GLUTINOUS SUBSTANCES Some other items to verify gluten-free are your baking powder and vanilla.

CAKE BAKING TIPS FOR TURNING OUT A PERFECT CAKE
    FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS Seems like a no-brainer, but it’s easy to assume you know the next step in a recipe, and nothing is worse than realizing, too late, that you guessed wrong. Be sure to read through the whole recipe before starting out.
    MIND THE TIME The first time through a recipe, check your cake 5 minutes before you think it’s supposed to be done. Variations in altitude and oven temperature, as well as the kind of pan, can affect the speed at which your cake bakes. This will help you learn the nuances of your unique kitchen set up.
    AFTER CARE Just because it’s out of the oven doesn’t mean it’s done baking. Some cakes need to cool in the pan, and some cakes need to be inverted soon after exiting the oven so
they don’t