Cake Shop by Rebecca: Happy (gluten free) Halloween!

Hello readers!

I'm sorry for the lack of posts in these special days! I do hope you had a lovely Halloween. Got a lot of candy? Went trick-or-treating? Partying? :)

The last time I told you about the busy times in the Cake Shop. As we speak, I am trying to bake gluten free cupcakes. I have to admit, I thought I had seen and done a lot in baking. None of that matters when you're baking gluten free.

Gluten free logo!

Gluten are in the most common things, like bread, crackers, anything with wheat or rye, but also a lot of candy! I always thought: oh it must be so hard for kids, that they can't eat normal things. But the thing is: lots of kids with gluten allergies are used to the gluten free food.

When I was a lot younger, a boy used to come over to play and he had a gluten allergy. I remember tasting a piece of bread he ate and I couldn't swallow it. It was so dry! But he loved it. The girl I'm baking the cupcakes for now, has had a gluten allergy since she was four years old.

Flour and cornstarch :)

Gluten free products are surprisingly easy to find in supermarkets these days. You can search for the grane icon on products to find out if there's gluten in the product :) in Holland, supermarkets like Albert Heijn or stores like Hema have their own shelves with gluten free products. I can still remember the times where people had no idea what a gluten allergy was. I read that now 1% of all western people have a gluten allergy. Can you imagine how many people that is?

In the baking world, gluten are EVERYWHERE. Take your everyday flour for example. Can't use it. Baking powder? Can't use it. Yeast? Nope. Colouring? Not safe. Butter? Check it on the packet! But not being able to use those ingredients.. Is it hard to bake? NO. Because, there is special gluten free baking ingredients!

Mixing flour and baking powder.. Funny looking huh!

The consistency of these products is very different from regular baking ingredients. The baking powder for example has the consistency of salt. Weird, don't you agree? Flour usually doesn't have a strong smell. This kind of flour does.

As a baker, I believe that you should always taste the batter before you pop it into the oven or fridge or likewise. Tried the gluten free batter, and the first thing that popped into my mind was: this is so powdery and dry! The trick with gluten free baking is: make it airy and moist. Add a tablespoon of jam or chocolate paste. Separate your eggs so you can create the ultimate light, bubbly and airy batter. Also, fruits are natural sweeting ingredients. Also moist, if you use strawberries or bananas!