Gluten-free baking:  Cinnamon Tea Cake

Hello! Sorry it’s been so long between drinks. These days, I have so many recipes in my head but so little time to develop them. C’est la vie, as the French say. Although life is hurtling along, but it’s nice to be able to get back to blogging. I’ve been laid up with a very sore back these past few days, so it’s an ideal time for me to catch up.

There’s been a few changes for me recently. In March I finished up a two-year stint as a Content Manager for a local law firm. Now I’m back to freelance writing, and am enjoying the chance to write on a wider range of topics. I’m planning a bit of further study as well, so interesting times lay ahead!

Always, always baking

These days, my recipe development tends to be spontaneous – if I have a cook-up, sometimes a new recipe results. Actually, this Gluten-free Cinnamon Tea Cake is a product of that spontaneity, and it represents a milestone for me.

Why?

Well, you may have noticed that many of my gluten-free baking recipes contain a fruit or vegetable to lock in the moisture. This is especially important in baked goods that need to rise. I’ve tried and failed to successfully bake goods that are mainly flour-based. For example, bread. I’m hopeless at bread. I’ve created a successful scone recipe in the past, with apple to lock in the moisture. And wow, those scones worked so well that I put them in my eCookbook! Check it out if you’re looking for a scone recipe.

Recipe success

Anyway, this is the first time that I’ve successfully made a cake without including a fruit/vegetable. Not only did it work, but it’s good! It passed the family test, too. #winning

I slice the cake into individual serves, wrap them and freeze. I can then defrost as required for school lunchboxes.

The key ingredient here is ricotta cheese. It’s a great replacement for moisture-rich fruit and veg. Greek yogurt is good too, just quietly, and I’ve used that pretty successfully in other recipes, for example my Gluten-free Lemon and Poppy Seed Cupcakes.

And the other advantage is that without fruit or veg, this cake is really quick to make. The bundt tin is essential to ensure the cake cooks evenly. If you don’t have one, consider making a purchase – it’s a great investment in successful gluten-free baking.

Enjoy!

Gluten-free Baking – Cinnamon Tea Cake

Ingredients

Cake

2 eggs

50 g tapioca flour

70 g sorghum flour

60 g brown rice flour

5 g psyllium husk

30 g baking powder

165 g brown sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

250 g ricotta cheese

1 tsp vanilla essence

125 ml oil

Icing

50 g butter

100 gluten-free icing mixture

1 tsp milk

Method

Cake

Preheat oven to 180° Celsius (conventional) or 160° Celsius (fan-forced). Grease a 24 centimetre fluted bundt cake tin.

Then in large bowl of electric mixer, beat eggs on medium speed for 5 minutes.

Sift into the bowl the flours, psyllium husk, baking powder. Add sugar and cinnamon. Add ricotta cheese, vanilla essence and oil.

Mix until well-combined.

Pour evenly into cake tin. Bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer, when inserted, comes out clean.

Leave in tin to cool.

Icing

In a small bowl, melt the butter. Then sift in icing mixture and add milk. Stir to combine. Once cake is completely cooled, turn out of bundt tin and spread icing evenly over cake.

Makes 10-12 slices.