Are you gluten-intolerant? Or do you have celiac disease? If you can't eat anything that contains wheat, spelt, kamut or any other cereal with this protein, don't lose hope! Because a delicious cake can be made anyway – just experiment and find the right mix between these naturally gluten-free flours!
What is gluten, anyway?
Gluten is a protein found in wheat and other cereals like rye, spelt, barley and oats. The flours made from these cereals in gluten and so is bread… and pizza dough and biscuits and many other baked goods. Gluten can also be found in other foods (such as ham) because it is added during processing. The main characteristic of this protein, in fact, is that it gives elasticity and compactness to the dough. In recent years, there has been a huge increase in cases of intolerance or allergy to gluten and the causes vary: beyond a general increase in wheat consumption, a change in the quality of wheat and gluten present in products has occurred over time, and there is an increasing use of gluten in the food industry because it can be used as an additive or filler for other products. For those who are intolerant to gluten, it may be enough to simply go back to choosing flours made with grains that are less rich in gluten than the more common ones.
Gluten-free flours
Fortunately in recent years, rice flour, cornmeal, potato starch, cornstarch, and quinoa flour are just a few examples of more easily found gluten-free alternatives at supermarkets or specialty stores. These flours are naturally gluten-free, so they are suitable for making cakes – and even bread for those who can’t ingest the protein. There are also ready-made mixtures or gluten-free flours on the market, too. However, we recommend that you try experimenting with them for any recipe to achieve an equally good (and undoubtedly cheaper) result. Ready to try your hand at our recipe for corn cake?
La Cucina Italiana Recipe for Corn Cake
Ingredients:
6 oz cornflour
4 ½ potato starch
4 ½ oz brown sugar
5 oz sheep's milk ricotta cheese
1 single-serving of plain yogurt
Grated rind of one organic lemon
2 oz dark chocolate
2 eggs
6 oz butter
2 teaspoons or a packet of yeast
Method:
First, melt the butter in a bain-marie and let cool.
Whip the eggs with sugar in a bowl.
Then add the ricotta cheese, yogurt and flour mixed with yeast and lemon zest.
Add the lukewarm butter and stir to prevent lumps from forming.
Separately, coarsely chop the chocolate to small pieces to add to the dough.
In the meantime, butter a springform cake pan with a 24 cm diameter.
Dust with flour and pour dough into the pan.
Level with a spatula and then bake at 350°F (180°C) in a pre-heated oven.
Let the cake cook for 35 minutes and to make sure it’s done, use a toothpick. Poke the center of the cake, and if it comes out clean, it’s ready. If not, let it cook a bit longer.
Let cool before slicing and serving.