gluten-free vanilla stack cake + strawberry buttercream

The only thing my mom loves more than me is cake.   

It's no wonder at all I turned out the way I did.  To my biggest cheerleader, my most honest voice of reason & my very best girlfriend in the world...Happy Mother's Day!  

This cake is an absolute dream come true.  It's paired with a fresh strawberry butter-free-buttercream and stacked high to allow for extra frosting layers.  You know...priorities.  

 Here's to sharing something sweet with your mom today!  Lordy knows she deserves it.

Pretty Mom & my niece-baby, Ellie!  

gluten-free vanilla stack cake + strawberry buttercream 

For gluten-free cake:

* Yields three 6" layers
1 1/2 cups Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons Earth Balance butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk, at room temperature

Adapted from King Arthur 

For dairy-free frosting:

3 sticks Earth Balance butter, at room temperature
4 ½ cups confectioners sugar
½ cup fresh, ripe strawberries, washed, stemmed, and hulled
1 ½ tsp vanilla

1. To prepare cake, preheat the oven to 325°F.  Lightly grease a 9" round cake pan.
2. Whisk together the flour or flour blend and xanthan gum.
3. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the sugar, soft butter, salt, baking powder, and vanilla until smooth. Add 1 egg, and beat for a minute or so at high speed, until fluffy.
4. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Still using the mixer, beat in the other egg; the mixture should become quite fluffy. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl again.
5. Continuing to use the mixer, beat in the milk, at low speed, alternately with the dry ingredients, adding about 1/3 of each at a time, and ending with the dry ingredients.
6. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for about 25 minutes, about 3 to 4 minutes past the point where the cake springs back when touched lightly in the center, and a cake tester (or toothpick) inserted into the middle comes out clean. 
7. Remove from the oven, and cool for 5 to 10 minutes before turning out of the pan to cool on a rack.
8. To make the frosting, start by pureeing the strawberries in a food processor. Set aside.
9. Cream butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the confectioners sugar about a cup at a time and beat until just blended.
10. Add strawberry puree and vanilla and beat until the buttercream is light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes).  Frost your cake!

citygram :: austin's premier digital lifestyle magazine

I'm so excited to announce the kickoff of a really great-something called Citygram.  It's a brand-spankin' new monthly digital magazine made by your favorite Austin writers, artists, and designers. It's a fully-interactive publication you'll find next to all your other favorite digital magazines in the Apple Newsstand with unique features and rich content you won't be able to find anywhere else.

Citygram focuses on bringing you stories on Austin culture and lifestyle from people who are engaged in those fields every day. A prominent local artist will bring you stories on trends in the maker community. Respected interior designers will bring you practical tips and lessons in responsible design. A doctor and nutritionist will bring you articles on health and nutrition. 

A gluten-free baker (that's me! that's me!) will tell you where she enjoys to eat and exactly what she orders from Austin's burgeoning restaurants. Popular writers will tell you stories about life in Austin that they find the most intriguing.

These people all live and love Austin; they are professionals in their fields, and they'll bring you exclusive stories in these categories first.

Citygram does more than celebrate Austin's creative culture. It lets the world hear our voice through a beautiful, digital, and fully interactive platform. You’ve never seen or used anything quite like it, and I think you'll really love it.


Check out our Kickstarter here, visit the website Citygrammag.com and sign up for our email list to get notified about the first issue release, launch party event, etc.

Like us on Facebook ; Follow us on Twitter ; And Instagram, duh ; And don't forget Pinterest! 

gluten-free king cake

Didn't you kneaux? You have Fat Tuesday duties to tend to.  At the top of your list: A king cake, of course. 

I've been dreaming of a gluten-free king cake for years and decided this year that I'd wait no longer. Clearly, no one had to bamboozle me into working up a gluten-free version of this Mardi Gras-mandated dessert.  This was practically my life's purpose.

Spiced and moist.  Indulgent and lordly. This is that and these are those.

Slightly lemon-y, partly cinnamon-y.  Likely the best smash-bang-fusion that ever happened.  I love when a cake feels like a big ol' party.  

It's true.  This isn't exactly a traditional king cake.  But, rest assure you'll be laisser le bon temps rouler after one slice.

king cake

gluten-free, dairy-free

for cake: 

1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
3 tablespoons coconut flour
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
7 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder

for glaze:

6 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons almond milk

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Grease bundt pan; set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl mix together the oat flour, rice flour, coconut flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and baking powder.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla extract, lemon extract, lemon juice, oil and applesauce.
4. Stir wet into dry, until combined. Do not over-stir.  (It will look slightly lumpy.)
5. Transfer the batter to prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until top is golden brown.
6. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes then allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
7. To prepare glaze, whisk powdered sugar and milk together until smooth.  Let sit 2-3minutes.
8. Glaze when cooled and add sprinkles immediately.

peanut butter bars

I've accepted it as a fact of life.   Peanut butter and chocolate will always charm the pants right off me.  

So what if I've made a thousand-bo-billion-meeeee-my-mo-million peanut butter and chocolate desserts.   It can't possibly grow old, n’est-ce pas? And, as luck would have it, these bars are just as magical as all the others.  You might also love that they're both vegan and gluten-free. 

I was going to do my best to wait until after Thanksgiving... but I just have to spill it.  

DECKTHEHALLSWITHBOUGHSOFHOLLYFALALALALALALALALA.

Guess who's breaking out Hanson's Christmas album early this year.  Sorry neighbors.  

Peanut Butter Bars

vegan, gluten-free 

1 cup Earth Balance, room temperature
2 cups almond flour
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/4 cup peanut butter, divided
1 1/2 cups (v/gf) chocolate chips (I like Enjoy Life brand)

1. Line a 7X11 baking dish with wax paper; Set aside.  Combine butter, almond flour, powdered sugar, and one cup of peanut butter in the bowl of a stand mixer.
2. Spread in the bottom of a prepared baking dish. 
3. Gently melt the remaining 1/4 cup peanut butter and chocolate chips in a sauce pan on low heat until the mixture is completely melted and smooth.
4. Spread over the peanut butter mixture, and then place in the refrigerator to set for at least an hour before serving.  Store covered in the fridge.

*If I could go back in time, I would add a sprinkle of fleur de sel on top of the chocolate layer.  Do it on my behalf. 

gingerbread cupcakes + pumpkin buttercream

Gotta tell you.  I'm prepped, I'm ready, and I hope you are, too.  Be it a brightly colored wig, a  superhuman cape, or perhaps a pair of ears in addition to the pair already affixed headside.  Extra flair on this Wednesday is the name of the game and I'm that sickeningly excited Halloweener who sets the alarm an extra early to make sure time is allotted for costuming.  Before work.  Before 8 in the morning.  Sorry.  I just enjoy the snot out of this day.

My three year old niece has requested that I flank her Halloweening as a cat this year...so a black cat I shall be.   And Griffin Lorraine Simpson?   Well.

Raise the roof, homie.  With a gingerbread cupcake in the other hand.  Wishing a wicked happy Halloween from us to you.  

Gingerbread Cupcakes + Pumpkin Buttercream Frosting

vegan, gluten-free

For cupcakes

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon white rice flour
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon brown rice flour
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg ginger
1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder

3 tablespoons ground flax seed
1/2 cup blackstrap molasses
1/2 cup organic sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
3 tablespoons pumpkin puree
1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 1 tbsp water)

For frosting

1 cup Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks

3 tablespoons pumpkin puree

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups confectioners sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tin with liners; Set aside.
2. Place all dry ingredients (flours, spices, baking powder) in a medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all wet ingredients (molasses, sugar, almond milk, oil, puree and "egg").
4. Drop dry ingredients into wet and stir until just combined. 
5. Pour into prepared tin and bake in preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 
6. To prepare frosting, whip butter and pumpkin until fluffy.  Add salt and slowly add confectioners sugar until desired consistency is reached.  Add to tops of completely cooled cupcakes.