Some of you may already know from reading my other blogs, that I have multiple allergies and chemical sensitivities. While I don’t generally let them run my life, I do have to watch the ingredients in things I eat.
At the local food cooperative, they have some very nice convenience foods for people like me: dairy-free, vegan, gluten free, kosher… not all of these apply to me, but you get the idea.
I thought other people might benefit from my experience with these products. Here is the first of my “food reviews:”
I find that I do better on wheat-free foods, though I am not gluten-intolerant. So when a new gluten-free cake mix showed up, well, I just had to try it!
Cherrybrook Kitchen
Chocolate Cake Mix
This cake mix is simple, and quick to pull together. Following the directions (except that I used a small rectangluar pan instead of round), the result was moist, very chocolaty and soft. Unlike some rice-flour products, the cake was not gritty. And although the box says there are 8 servings in a package, I think you could get ten or twelve and still leave people satisfied. This was a very rich, decadent-feeling cake! A caution, DO grease the entire side of the cake pan, or you will get something that is very tall in the middle and thin at the sides. The rice flour and baking soda will do a good job of making the whole cake light and fluffy. This is definitely a treat for the whole family — even the ones who don’t normally eat the stranger things!
As a side note, I also used Cherrybrook Kitchen’s Vanilla Frosting Mix. I don’t recommend it. It uses 1 1/4 cups of margarine (or butter) and doesn’t have much flavor beyond a touch of sweetening. It was too greasy-feeling in my mouth. Instead, make up a simple, and lower-calorie, frosting yourself with a smaller amount of margarine, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla flavoring to your own taste, adding extra liquid as needed to gain the consistency you desire.