Both my young grandchildren have been recently diagnosed as gluten-intolerant. I’ve always baked them cupcakes and muffins as treats, so now have to go back to the drawing board, but the amount of advice out there is bewildering. Help!
Sue, St Albans
When it comes to cakes of any sort, it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that gluten-free has to mean a bit “meh” and dry. That’s mainly because many of us – especially those who don’t get adverse reactions to gluten – still believe that gluten-free flour has more in common with sawdust than with regular flour.
Nothing could be further from the truth, says cupcake queen Jemma Wilson, who owns the Crumbs & Doilies bakery in central London. “For things like cupcakes, sponge cakes and muffins, it’s actually very straightforward to make a decent, gluten-free version that bears a remarkable resemblance to the so-called ‘real thing’,” explains Wilson, who as a sideline also runs her own YouTube channel, Cupcake Jemma, which has more than 1.6m subscribers. Who knew that diddy little cupcakes were that popular?
Wilson swears by Doves Farm’s gluten-free self-raising and plain flours and, crucially, uses them in the exact same quantities as you would in the original non-gluten-free recipe. This has the handy side-effect of negating one of all gluten-free bakers’ big bugbears: adjusting the proportions when converting measurements for gluten-free flour from regular flour without having to use a bespoke gluten-free recipe. Wilson does give her cake a helping hand, though: “To give it a lift, we beat the flour in for longer. There’s no danger of the sponge ending up tough, because the flour would have to have gluten in it for that to happen.”
To give her gluten-free cakes a little extra bounce and spring, so they more closely resemble regular cakes, Wilson also adds a stabiliser that will already be familiar to any gluten-free baker: xanthan gum. This helps bind the dough and create a stronger crumb structure, but use only a teeny pinch, she warns: “If you overdo it, the end product will be rubbery.” As a basic rule of thumb, Wilson says an eighth of a teaspoon per dozen cupcakes or muffins, and a quarter-teaspoon for a 15cm layer cake, should be more than enough to be going on with.
More broadly speaking, there are other avenues for Sue to explore in looking to free her go-to recipes from gluten. According to all-round baking Yoda (and former Guardian columnist) Dan Lepard, by far the best strategy with gluten-free flour is to use less butter and more egg, together with ground nuts and other good-quality flavourings. “Fats inhibit starch particles from bonding when they’re heated, in much the same way as risotto rice that’s first been cooked in butter stays al dente,” explains Lepard. And if you’re worried that a reduced butter content means the cake will lose some of its richness, you can always just add more to the frosting, he says.
“Gluten-free flour mixes are more or less blank flavour powders that need help to bind and taste good,” he adds. “While egg white is great at holding mixtures together, and pretty much essential when there’s no gluten, it’s also flavourless and a bit solid, so tweak the recipe to boost the flavour and texture.” In these circumstances, he says, ground almonds and top-notch vanilla are your best friends. Mind you, the same goes for pretty much all sweet baking, really.
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