Gluten Free Food Reviews

I think I am on a chocolate kick. Why is it I am baking all my chocolate cake mixes first? I have a slew of chocolate cake reviews, waiting to be posted. I better get my act together so I can share them with you. And maybe, just maybe, one of them will be good enough to make for my sister’s cupcake tower wedding cake. Is that a fun idea, or what? I love it! It is creative and original, just like she is.

This Glutino chocolate cake mix makes an 8×8 square or one round 9 inch cake. After adding eggs, butter or margarine and milk, this mix combines easily with a hand held or stand mixer. Mixing by hand might be a little trickier since the butter should be fluffy before adding the mix and other ingredients. The cake batter ends up quite thin, not your traditional consistency.

After baking for 35 minutes and cooling for 10 minutes, I notice that the cake really rises in the center, despite my efforts to evenly spread the batter into the pan. It is on the spongey side, with no graininess. The texture is fairly smooth and crumbles into smaller pieces when eaten with a fork- not unlike any traditional gluten cake. The flavor is a sweeter, traditional chocolate and would pair well with a variety of frostings. The cake is dense enough to slice cleanly and support a healthy helping of frosting on the top, but not so dense that it tastes or feels heavy when consumed. This mix is also moderately moist; I think baking closer to 31 or 32 minutes would produce a better product with just the right “moist” balance. My cake baked at 35 minutes was just a touch too dry for my taste. This is a good, solid mix that is a great option for a chocolate cake attack. However, it lacked the “wow” factor that would urge me to purchase it on my own somtime soon. ( Thank you Glutino for sending me the mix!)

PROS: balanced, sweet flavor; cuts cleanly, not gritty or grainy

CONS: mix only makes one 9 inch cake

Rating: 4 stars

Where Can I Buy This Cake Mix?

Glutino - Chocolate Cake Mix
From: glutenfree.com

Ingredients:Sugar, White Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Cocoa Powder, Tapioca Starch, Sodium Bicarbonate, Salt, Guar Gum, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate

This mix was graciously sent to me from Gluten-Free Essentials to review. I haven’t had any form of lemon poppyseed anything for ages, so I looked forward to trying this mix. Initially I thought this was a muffin mix, but the final product ended up as a lemon poppyseed tea cake. So, viola! The next installment for gluten free cake month!

Preparing the batter for this mix turned out to be quite interesting, thanks to the poor packaging and mix directions. First, the front of the package inidicates that this is a bread and muffin mix. However, when you look on the back for prep directions, it lists the ingredients for “Lemon Poppyseed Tea Bread.” Huh? Where did the “tea bread” description come from? A little confusing.

Second, it specifically says you will need to add butter, applesauce and eggs. Yet, as you read thr0ugh the directions, it also requires club soda, water or milk. Why isn’t this listed in the “You will need” portion of the directions? Because I didn’t have milk or club soda on hand, I used water, although it would have been fun to experiment with the club soda. Third, there are baking directions for two loaf pans or a 9×13 cake pan- NO MUFFIN BAKING DIRECTIONS, even though it claims it is a muffin mix on the packaging. There is also a recipe for a lemon glaze under the directions that I used for my 9×13 pan of tea bread, although to me it seemed more like a cake.

Anyway, I easily prepared this mix by hand and the batter had the consistency of cool whip when it was ready for the pan- very light and fluffy. Fresh from the oven after 33 minutes and topped with the very tangy and sweet lemon glaze, this product looked amazing- the light lemon cake was speckled evenly with poppyseeds. The cake itself is not very sweet and boasted a mild lemon flavor. Immediately upon testing, this cake seemed to be very spongey and squishy- way too moist for my preferences. I think a longer baking time would suit this product better- closer to 37 minutes would be idea, depending on your oven. It had a medium density that gave it substance without feeling too heavy. I also noticed that after cooling for a few hours, the texture seemed to improve and wasn’t as spongy, and tasted even better the next day. My gluten eating husband and family especially liked this mix, so much so that there were no leftovers to be found 24 hours later.

This mix would make a great loaf pan of lemon poppyseed bread, and could be successful as a muffin ( no glaze) or cupcake ( with glaze), just be careful to watch it since there isn’t a muffin baking time listed on the mix.

PROS: subtle lemon flavor, not too sweet, easy to mix by hand, low sugar.

CONS: Prep directions are confusing, be careful not to underbake

Rating: 4 stars

You Can Buy This Mix at:

Gluten-Free Essentials.com

Ingredients: rice flour, sorghum flour, sugar, cornstarch, GF baking powder, guar gum, baking soda, poppy seeds, lmeon juice powder, maltodextrin ( from corn), salt.

Gluten Free Essentials- THANK YOU for sending this vanilla cake mix my way to review- I just adore it! This mix is specially marketed to children-smaller portions and simple prep makes for a fun and kid friendly product. Go Go Gluten Free!

This mini mix makes one 8×8 cake or six cupcakes- just add applesauce, butter and an egg and you are ready to go. The package even has instructions for a toy oven! Any Easy Bake ovens out there? I opted to make the cupcakes version and used White House natural applesauce in this recipe with fantastic results. The batter was easy to mix and prepare and was an average consistency. I had no problem scooping spoonfuls into the cupcake liners. After baking 30 minutes, the tops of the cupcakes seemed “firm to the touch” so I took then out and let them cool, as instructed on the package.

When cool, these cupcakes were super moist- almost too moist, in fact. I don’t think they would t0lerate any type of frosting without crumbling and rippling the smooth cupcake tops. As I took a bite, the cupcake couldn’t hold it’s shape and somewhat collapsed in the cupcake liner; that is how moist it was. I think baking for 2 or 3 minutes longer would help reduce this problem and produce a firmer product.

The texture was identical to a “regular” gluten cake; it was very light, smooth and flavorful. The applesauce added a mild pleasant sweetness, and masks any vanilla flavor that might be in the cake. Now, the cake doesn’t taste like applesauce, but it is not a true vanilla flavor, either.

This mix is so good, I enjoyed it without any type of frosting or topping; it is perfect as-is. These are great as a dessert, snack, or even breakfast item, and could pass as both a “cake” mix or a “muffin” mix. I will definately buy this mix again.

PROS: excellent flavor and texture, not too sweet, kid friendly in every way

CONS: not a true vanilla flavor, too moist- add a few minutes to the bake time for best results

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Where Can I Buy This Mix?

Gluten-Free Essentials.com

Ingredients: sorghum flour, rice flour, sugar, (GF) baking powder, guar gum, baking soda, cornstrach and salt

Read what Jay at the Gluten Free Post.com has to say about this product line!

I picked up this mix on my last trip to the midwest. I did not recognize the brand or packaging of this Sylvan Border Farm chocolate cake mix, and promptly purchased it with a promise from my mother that our family would help me sample it. Ok, twist my arm mom! The helfty 1 lb 12 ounce mix makes a 9×13 pan.

Initially I was impressed with the packaging. Inside the unassuming earthy white bag, the mix was double bagged for freshness, accompanied by an insert of recipes. What a nice surprise! I mixed it in a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer and added oil, milk, eggs and boiling water. I found the batter to be very thin and sloshy when I added the water, so much so that some of it sloshed over the edge of the bowl. Helpful hint: be sure to mix at a lower speed when adding the water. I tasted a fingerswipe of the batter and it was just awful- very pasty and tasted like rice flour. I kept my fingers crossed that the final product would be worth my time; I was not disappointed.

This cake was baked in a 9×13 pan for 40 minutes and perfectly rose up above the pan in a reddish cocoa mound.This baking time was perfect, and I would suggest baking at the low end of the suggested 40-45 minute window to prevent overdrying.

The cocoa smell was divine! After letting the cake cool completely and topping it with my famous homemade chocolate truffle frosting, it was ready for consumption by my gluten consuming family. It was amazing! The texture of the thick slices of cake was soft, fluffy and smooth, not a bit grainy or pasty. The cake tasted like a real cake-a real gluten cake- and very moist with average crumbling. The chocolate taste is a slightly sweet cocoa flavor, almost like a german chocolate cake; I loved the chocolate flavor without feeling like I was in for a sugar high. My entire family raved about this cake, and I plan to make it again.

I stored this cake covered on my countertop, and it remained perfectly moist and tasty for a whopping 3 days. Yet another reason to love it.

PROS: Excellent flavor and texture, tastes like “regular” cake, makes a large 9×13 pan

CONS: be careful- sloshy batter

Rating: 5 stars

Ingredients: Sugar, White Rice Flour*, Potato Starch, Cocoa, Brown Rice Flour*, Amaranth Flour, Quinoa Flour*, Baking Soda, Xanthan Gum, Aluminum-free Baking Powder, Salt, White Cornmeal*, Garbanzo Bean Flour*, Soy Flour*; *Organically Grown

Read what Alisa from Moove over Milk has to say about this mix!

Are you ready for this? Get out your forks and loosen those belt buckles, and let them eat cake!

This month’s theme is in honor of my dear, sweet, funny and crazy little sister who is most likely getting married this Chrismas season. She also happens to be celiac and has been gluten free since early childhood. One of her first questions was “What do I do about the wedding cake?” My sister does not want a cake that tastes “different,” she wants a cake that tastes delicious to everyone, including her gluten consuming hubby-to-be. So, to show my dear sis that yummy gluten free cake is out there, I am letting loose my reviews I have been collecting on gluten free cakes- all flavors, not just the wedding-appropriate variety.

Yes, I know I am a bit crazy for focusing on cake in August, after a month long cookie blitz last month. I promise my sweet tooth isn’t that big! I guess I will get good at sharing and make some extra room in my freezer. As always, If you have a brand or flavor you want to read about, feel free to comment to this post and share the details.

I hope this past month was helpful to some of you gluten free cookie lovers out there! I found some great cookies & biscotti I hope you enjoy, as well as some products you can probably walk on by in the grocery aisle and save your $$. 

 If you have other cookies or brands you have wondered about, I would love to hear about them! Just leave a comment to this post and I’ll see about getting a review done soon.

In the cookies & biscotti category there are 28 different sweet treats for you to consider. Check it out!

Visit this site tomorrow to see what the theme is for August!

I have tried Namaste’s brownie mix, and since I loved it so much I was really excited to see if this mix was just as good. I purchased the mix at Nature’s Pantry for $5.99 (gulp!). At this price, I really hoped it would be worth it. This mix makes 2 dozen medium sized cookies.

Mixing the cookie dough was downright disastrous. Upon adding the oil, water and eggs, I found the dough to be very thick and oily, and hard to handle. I ended up using my hands to rolls small balls of dough since the drop cookie method was not an option. Ugghhh, what a mess! I had to keep washing my hands because the oil felt disgusting on my hands. I ventured a taste of the dough ( as always), and instantly regretted it. It tasted AWFUL- very gritty with a bitter aftertaste, like it had too much baking powder in it.

Ok, time for the ultimate test- baking. Initially I baked 6 cookies plain, with no added ingredients; and another 6 cookies with added bittersweet chocolate chips and walnuts.

Fresh from the oven, the plain cookies had a strange grainy texture and crumbled when I took a bite. The cookie seemed to be dry with a bitter aftertaste; the same taste as when I sampled the dough, only it was not as strong. The cookies with added chocolate and wlanuts were only slightly better in flavor, since the added ingredients masked the bitter aftertaste a bit.

Overall, I was dissappointed, and felt like I had wasted $6. I hope that others out there had a better expereince, because I really do like this company and many of their other products.

Pros: free from many common allergens

Cons: bad aftertaste, dough is messy to work with, higher price

Rating: 1 1/2 stars

Hoping you’ll have a better outcome?

Here is where you can buy this cookie mix:

Ingredients:Evaporated Cane Juice, Sweet Rice Flour, Tapioca Flour, Rice Milk Powder, Cream of Tartar, Baking Soda, Salt, Xanthan Gum and Vanilla.

A Gluten free mint oreo? This, I had to try.

Since I already reviewed Mi-del’s chocolate sandwich cookies, I thought I knew what to expect-a fairly crunchy cookie, but with a mint twist. However, I knew I was in trouble from the first bite.

I took a bite, and thought I would break a tooth- I couldn’t even bite through this cookie it was so hard! This cookie was so crunchy it was diffiucult for me to even evaluate texture and flavor. A good soaking in a glass of milk helped somewhat, but held it’s shape despite a good 5 minute soak. The mint filling inside was thin, but thick in consistency and had a strong mint flavor that actually tasted decent. Overall, I can’t buy these cookies again, way too hard and crunchy to even enjoy.

PROS: Nice mint flavor, keeps shape when dunking

CONS: Way too hard!

Rating: 1 1/2 stars

Ingredients: Cookie: Gluten Free Flour (Contains Corn Flour, Soya Flour, Potato Flour, Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Xanthan Gum), Organic Dehydrated Cane Juice, Canola Oil, Cocoa, Egg, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Starch, Natural Flavor, Sea Salt, Soybean Lecithin (Used as an Emulsifier), Baking Soda. Creme Filling: Fructose, Canola Oil, Natural Flavor, Soybean Lecithin (Used as an Emulsifier).

Feeling brave and have strong teeth? You can buy these cookies at:

food4celiacs.com

See what Racheline from gather.com has to say about Mi-del cookies!

I was very curious about these cookies. How wonderful would it be to have a ready made gluten free chocolate chip cookie that was soft and yummy? I hoped this was the answer.

I purchased these cookies at a local grocer near my parents home the last time I was there for a visit. I paid $3.99 for a package of 12 very small cookies. Inside, the cookies were encased in a plastic sleeve to protect from mashing together ( I assume). The packaging worked! The cookies made it to my home, intact, separated and ready to eat.

I found these cookies to be very soft, but dense; a cookie you can really sink you teeth into. They hold their shape with no crumbling or graininess with just a hint of dryness. The cookies are dotted with miniature chocolate chips. Unfortunately, the chocolate chips looked and tasted stale, and the cookies had a strong date flavor that added a fruity sweetness to the cookies.I was disappointed at the lack of chocolate chips, despite the box boasting of “more” chocolate chips. I started to wonder if this cookie even tasted like a chocolate chip cookie! In reality, it tasted OK, but not quite the traditional tasting soft baked C.C. cookie I was hoping for. I am starting to think I am just too picky. I am not sure if that is good or bad!

Pros: soft and chewy, naturally sweetened

Cons: not a traditional chocolate chip cookie flavor, strong date/fruit flavor

Rating: 2 1/2 stars

Where Can I Buy These Cookies? Click the link below:

Enjoy Life Foods Soft Baked Chewy Chocolate Chip Gluten-Free Cookies at GlutenFreeMall.com

Ingredients: Sorghum Flour; Grape, Apple & Pear Juice Concentrates; Pure Cane Brown Sugar; Date Paste; Expeller Pressed-Safflower Oil; Chocolate Chips(sugar, chocolate liquor, and non-dairy cocoa butter); Water; Natural Rice Dextrin; Xanthan Gum; Baking Soda; Salt; Vanilla; Rosemary Extract.

Read more Enjoy Life product reviews:

Enjoy Life Soft Baked Snickerdoodle Cookies

Enjoy Life Very Berry Granola

Hmmm, after by disappointing experience with the vanilla KinniToos sandwich cookies, I was hoping these cookies would make up for it. There has to be at least one good GF sandwich cookie out there, right? I just remember having these types of cookies when I was growing up- there’ s just something comforting about a childhood memory of dunking sandwich cookies in a cold glass of milk.

A package of these cookies costs $4.69 in my area, but Glutino was generous enough to send me a sample to review for this site. Thanks Glutino! My favorite feature of these cookies is the packaging- the cookies are twin wrapped to preserve freshness. Smart call Glutino, because these cookies go stale in the bat of an eye if left unsealed. I love the little twin wrapped packs- they are the perfect size for snacking. Each box contains 5 wrapped twin sets for a total of 10 cookies.

These “cookie” part of these cookies have a nice crunch to them but are not hard, and have a pleasant texture that isn’t too gritty or crumbly. The vanilla flavor is mild and has a slightly processed taste that left a residue in my mouth. The filling is like a thick slab of gritty sweetness. It is not fluffy or smooth, but manages to blend well with the cookies surrounding it.

If you want a decent cookie that will fulfill your sweet tooth craving in a hurry, this cookie is your ticket. Just be sure to have a glass of cold milk nearby.

Pros: twin wrapped for freshness, perfectly sweet

Cons: filling is somewhat gritty and thick

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Find these cookies at these sites:

Glutino - Dreams - Vanilla
From: glutenfree.com

Ingredients: Ingredients: Corn starch, vegetable fats (palm and palm kernal oils), evaporated cane juice, maltodextrin (corn), fructose, soy flour, xylitol, sea salt, vanilla, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, citric acid, beta carotene. May contain traces of tree nuts and milk.