Coffee Cake Friday: Whipped Cream Cake, Gluten-Free

Today’s cake what something of an experiment. A successful experiment. I was reading through Rose Levy Beranbaum’s new book, Rose’s Heavenly Cakes, and saw the title of this cake and was intrigued. If you don’t know Beranbaum, you should. Her Cake Bible is one of the “must-haves” of the cake baking world. I love going through each book, looking at the pictures and studying the recipes. That’s my idea of a good time.

The Whipped Cream Cake recipe caught my eye for many reasons, one of which was the fact that a little chemistry lesson was going on in the cake. This cake has no butter in it–only whipped cream. And as you may remember, cream is where butter comes from. So, by whipping the cream, you are getting the cream close to its two components–butter and buttermilk. So, with this recipe, you are kind of using butter and buttermilk all in one package. I love stuff like this (I know, I know–I am a food dork of the highest order).

I was eager to see what the texture of this cake would be like. It turns out that it’s a bit lighter and less dense than a cake that contains butter itself. It’s got a bigger crumb than a regular butter cake. At Coffee Hour this morning, I was explaining the cake to everyone who would listen and asked folks to tell me what they thought. Everyone loved it and they liked the crumb. It’s a bit unexpected. It’s not a huge difference (e.g., if you just ate a piece of this cake you wouldn’t think about it). But when you’ve got the crazy baker quizzing you about the crumb, you are made aware of it and notice it. Everyone asked for the recipe. I love that.

One thing I really like about this cake is that it is simple and easy to make, in addition to being really good. Another thing that’s really nice about this recipe is that it’s so versatile. At Coffee Hour I served it without adornment. But, you could serve it dusted with powdered sugar, with a dollop of whipped cream (wow), slathered in jam, or with a light chocolate sauce drizzled on top.

Whipped Cream Cake, Gluten-Free
-adapted from Rose’s Heavenly Cakes, by Rose Levy Beranbaum

Special Equipment Needed
-a stand mixer or a hand mixer are helpful because you need to whip the cream
-a 10 cup bundt or tube pan

Ingredients
2 cups Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix
2 tsp aluminum-free double-acting baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, cold
3 large or extra -arge eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
extra melted butter and tapioca flour for the pan

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
-grease and flour your pan with the melted butter and tapioca flour, set aside
-in a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside
-in the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the cream–start at low speed and increase the speed as the cream thickens. Beat until stiff peaks form
-in a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and the vanilla until combined
-beat egg mixture into cream. Beat at medium-high speed until the entire mixture looks like thick mayonnaise
-gradually beat in the sugar until incorporated
-with the mixer on low, mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated
-with a large spoon or spatula, carefully do your final mixing by hand (being sure to get all the cream at the bottom of the bowl). And be sure there aren’t any flour pockets
-scrape the batter into your prepared pan
-thump pan on counter to release any trapped air bubbles
-bake at 375 F for 25-35 minutes–until a tester comes out clean
-cool in pan set on wire rack for 10 minutes
-loosen the edges of the cake from the the pan and invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely

Enjoy!

Note:  If you use a different gluten-free flour mix, alter the amount of or eliminate the xanthan gum or use a different gluten-replacer, use dairy-free or egg-free substitutes, or change any other ingredients in this recipe, your results may not match my results.

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