GLUTEN FREE FLAN CAKE

Posted by Bryna Bear aka Gluten Free Baking Bear

     Here is another recipe from my dear friend Rita Symczyk.  This cake is not like Spanish Flan; which is custard with caramel sauce.  This is a Scandinavian recipe that is a yellow cake with whipped cream and fruit.  It looks like the cakes they sell in supermarkets next to the strawberries.  The store made ones are always disappointing in taste and are dry.  Homemade Flan Cake is moist and very flavorful.     

     This cake is baked in a special Tiara pan that has an indented central area, which acts as a shallow ‘bowl’ for berries and whipped cream after the cake is baked.  A thin border of cake surrounds this ‘bowl’ of fruit and whipped cream. Tiara pans were very popular for a while in the 1980’s.  Duncan Hines had all sorts of cake mixes for this pan and sold the pan as well.  In fact, my pan says “Duncan Hines” on it.

     The original recipe was a wheat recipe that I converted into a Gluten Free version.  This cake can be made Dairy Free and Vegan. I have made it with a variety of fruits together such as kiwi, berries, mangos and bananas; and also with a single fruit such as strawberries. The fruit can be placed in a nice pattern.

GLUTEN FREE FLAN CAKE

Ingredients

Cake    

¾ cup	Sugar
¼ cup	Butter (for Vegan or Dairy Free use non dairy margarine or apple sauce or soy yogurt or soy sour cream)
3	Egg Yolks (for lower fat can use 3 egg whites; or 1 whole egg and 1 yolk; or 1 whole egg and 1 white) (for Vegans use 6 Tbs. water mixed with 4 1/2 tsp. corn starch, 1 1/2 tsp. oil, 1/4 tsp baking powder and  1/8 tsp. xanthan gum.)
¾ cup	Sorghum Flour
¼ cup	Tapioca Flour
¼ cup	Chickpea or Chickpea/Fava Flour
¾ tsp.	Xanthan or Guar Gum
1 Tbs.	Baking Powder
½ tsp.	Salt
½ cup	Milk (for Dairy Free or Vegans use any non dairy milk such as soy, rice or almond milk.)
½ tsp.	Lemon or Almond Extract

Filling

1 cup	Heavy whipping cream. (For Dairy Free or Vegan use a fruit flavored non dairy yogurt; or puree a block of silken tofu in a food processor with some fruit such as berries or a banana and sweeten to taste with agave or sugar.)
2 Tbs.	Powdered Sugar to taste to sweeten whipped cream.  I use 2 Tbs. of sugar; some people may prefer to make the whipped cream sweeter and use 1 or 2 Tbs. more sugar.
2 cups	Sliced fruit of choice.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour (with GF flour) a Tiara pan.
   My tiara pan is quite old and worn.  I line it with aluminum foil (that I grease and flour) so that the cake comes out of the pan without breaking apart.  You may want to line your pan also to get foolproof results.

Cake

     In a bowl, or in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream ¾ cup Sugar and Butter or butter replacement such as margarine or applesauce.

     Add eggs or egg substitute and lemon or almond extract and mix well.

     In a separate bowl place flours, salt, baking powder and xanthan gum and mix well.

     Add flour mixture alternating with milk to the egg/butter mixture and mix until well blended.  Batter will be thick.

     Place in pan and spread batter out evenly in pan using a spatula or wet hands.

     Bake 25 minutes or until done.  When done cake will spring back when lightly pressed with a finger; or a wooden toothpick will come out clean when inserted in thickest part of cake.

     Cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Filling

     Whip cream until slightly thickened add sugar to taste and whip until desired consistency.

     About half an hour before ready to serve fill center of cake with whipped cream or non-dairy filling of choice.

     Arrange fruit in a pattern on whipped cream.

     Slice and serve.  Enjoy!

  

Tupperware measuring cup with cover

     I love this old Tupperware measuring cup with cover.  It is the perfect size to whip a cup of cream into whipped cream and then you can save it covered in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

GLUTEN FREE FLAN CAKE Ingredients Cake ¾ cup Sugar ¼ cup Butter (for Vegan or Dairy Free use non dairy margarine or apple sauce or soy yogurt or soy sour cream) 3 Egg Yolks (for lower fat can use 3 egg whites; or 1 whole egg and 1 yolk; or 1 whole egg and 1 white) (for Vegans use 6 Tbs. water mixed with corn starch, oil and xanthan gum.) ¾ cup Sorghum Flour ¼ cup Tapioca Flour ¼ cup Chickpea or Chickpea/Fava Flour ¾ tsp. Xanthan or Guar Gum 1 Tbs. Baking Powder ½ tsp. Salt ½ cup Milk (for Dairy Free or Vegans use any non dairy milk such as soy, rice or almond milk.) ½ tsp. Lemon or Almond Extract Filling 1 cup Heavy whipping cream. (For Dairy Free or Vegan use a fruit flavored non dairy yogurt; or puree a block of silken tofu in a food processor with some fruit such as berries or a banana and sweeten to taste with agave or sugar.) 2 Tbs. Powdered Sugar to taste to sweeten whipped cream. I use 2 Tbs. of sugar; some people may prefer to make the whipped cream sweeter and use 1 or 2 Tbs. more sugar. 2 cups Sliced fruit of choice. Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour (with GF flour) a Tiara pan. Cake In a bowl, or in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream ¾ cup Sugar and Butter or butter replacement such as margarine or applesauce. Add eggs or egg substitute and lemon or almond extract and mix well. In a separate bowl place flours, salt, baking powder and xanthan gum and mix well. Add flour mixture alternating with milk to the egg/butter mixture and mix until well blended. Batter will be thick. Place in pan and spread batter out evenly in pan using a spatula or wet hands. Bake 25 minutes or until done. When done cake will spring back when lightly pressed with a finger; or a wooden toothpick will come out clean when inserted in thickest part of cake. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. Filling Whip cream until slightly thickened add sugar to taste and whip until desired consistency. About half an hour before ready to serve fill center of cake with whipped cream or non-dairy filling of choice. Arrange fruit in a pattern on whipped cream. Slice and serve. Enjoy! My tiara pan is quite old and worn. I line it with aluminum foil (that I grease and flour) so that the cake comes out of the pan without breaking apart. You may want to line your pan also to get foolproof results.