Part of developing gluten-free recipes is to try other gluten-free products, even box cake mixes. I picked up a gluten-free yellow cake mix from Betty Crocker.
I don't remember exactly, but I think I changed the mixing technique described on the back of the box. I believe I added the butter first, and the flour last. I remember I adapted the mixing method based on what I know about cake mixes. However, all of those techniques assume you are working with gluten and the methods used try to avoid developing any gluten during the mixing procedure. (The mix method is also aimed to incorporate all of the ingredients uniformly.) As I was mixing the cake I realized that none of those assumptions were valid with this recipe, so I really didn't have any guidance as to what the best mixing method was.
I was generally disappointed with these cupcakes. As I tasted the raw batter, it had a very gritty texture, and the batter was quite watery. The batter didn't taste good. The poor taste and texture translated to the final product.
Here's the cupcakes before baking
These cupcakes were filled with pastry cream (gluten-free as I used cornstarch and no flour), and topped with chocolate frosting for a Boston Creme themed cupcake.
I tried to make a whipped chocolate ganache for these cupcakes, but I had a lot of trouble with the temperature of the ganache. It was difficult to get the right consistency to pipe the frosting on, so I ended up frosting these with a silver knife.
In the end, I wasn't happy with how these cupcakes tasted. The ganache and the pastry cream was very good, but the cake was very dry and the gritty texture, present even in the batter, was still detectable. I felt like I could feel the rice flour grinding between my teeth, and the feeling was quite unpleasant.
I'm going to have to experiment with more gluten-free cake recipes.
I don't remember exactly, but I think I changed the mixing technique described on the back of the box. I believe I added the butter first, and the flour last. I remember I adapted the mixing method based on what I know about cake mixes. However, all of those techniques assume you are working with gluten and the methods used try to avoid developing any gluten during the mixing procedure. (The mix method is also aimed to incorporate all of the ingredients uniformly.) As I was mixing the cake I realized that none of those assumptions were valid with this recipe, so I really didn't have any guidance as to what the best mixing method was.
I was generally disappointed with these cupcakes. As I tasted the raw batter, it had a very gritty texture, and the batter was quite watery. The batter didn't taste good. The poor taste and texture translated to the final product.
Here's the cupcakes before baking
Here are the cupcakes after baking. They did rise some and were easy to tell when done using the toothpick test. I took a lot of attention to make sure not to overbake them because my friend, who tried a gluten-free cake mix, told me her mix had come out dry. I took the cupcakes out before the recommended bake time on the box.
After taking the cupcakes out I cored them, so they could be filled with pastry cream. I was very interested to find tunneling in the cupcakes. Tunneling occurs in gluten cupcakes when they are overmixed. So I'm not sure why they can occur in gluten-free cupcakes. Did I mix the batter incorrectly? Or was the tunneling caused by the recipe? Too much Xantham gum?
I tried to make a whipped chocolate ganache for these cupcakes, but I had a lot of trouble with the temperature of the ganache. It was difficult to get the right consistency to pipe the frosting on, so I ended up frosting these with a silver knife.
In the end, I wasn't happy with how these cupcakes tasted. The ganache and the pastry cream was very good, but the cake was very dry and the gritty texture, present even in the batter, was still detectable. I felt like I could feel the rice flour grinding between my teeth, and the feeling was quite unpleasant.
I'm going to have to experiment with more gluten-free cake recipes.
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