Gluten Free Food Reviews

Did you used to love Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls, or Ho Ho’s? Are you annoyed that you can’t have them anymore now that you are gluten free? Well, if that is the case, this is what you have been waiting for! If you are a “foodie,” you might not be that impressed, though. This is definitely a junk food indulgence.

Shabtai Gourmet, a NY based gluten free bakery, sent me a large box of samples to try, and this hefty seven layer gluten free chocolate cake was the first product I tested. I was surprised to see that this one pound gluten free cake is also dairy free, casein free, and soy free.

This gluten free product arrived semi-frozen, wrapped in plastic, and protected in a clear plastic box like you would find most baked goods at any local grocery store bakery. I stored the gluten free cake in the freezer to keep it fresh. This cake is amazingly easy to slice when frozen, or at least semi-frozen. However, if you wait until it is at room temperature, slicing the cake tends to flatten the layers together.

The cake itself has seven thin layers of chocolate cake sandwiched between layers of creamy vanilla filling. The cake is actually slightly dry, but the layers of filling help balance any dryness that is there.  The entire cake is enrobed in a thick dairy free chocolate coating. The combination of the layers, vanilla cream filling, and chocolaty coating seemed almost exactly like a Swiss Cake Roll from Little Debbie. No kidding.  My kids loved this and had no clue it was dairy free or gluten free.

The chocolate flavor is sweet and compliments the filling nicely. I did not notice any issues with texture or flavor. It is a tasty product that one could compare the quality with any other grocery store bakery product.

Pros: yummy flavor, nice texture, freezes well

Cons: a tiny bit dry

Rating: 4 stars

Want to try this for yourself? You may order through the Shabtai Gourmet website.

Right now they are also offering a special “free shipping” promo on all orders!

Ingredients: whole eggs, sugar, potato starch, partially hydrogenated palm oil, cocoa, cottonseed oil, tapioca starch, natural flavor, vanillin salt.

Gluten free Pantry Gingerbread Cake Mix, originally uploaded by Gluten Free Food Reviews.

I used to love warm spice cake in the fall. It just seemed to fit with crunchy leaves and crisp fall evenings. Even though I do not consider it a staple, or favorite dessert, it is nice every so often. When I found this 14 ounce Gluten Free Pantry Spice Cake & Gingerbread mix, I thought it would be fun try it. It cost $4.69 at Nature’s Pantry.

I decided to try the gluten free spice cake version by adding eggs, oil and buttermilk. I mixed the cake by hand and baked the 8 x 8 pan for 35 minutes. Simple prep- just my style.

The cake smelled great fresh from the oven- and looked even better, just like a “real” gluten cake. Yum! I topped it with whipped cream and dug right in.

I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed. The flavor of the cake was quite bland- not the strong spice flavor I was hoping for. However, the texture and crumb was great- no coarse or gritty crumbs. The cake was soft, somewhat moist, springy, and rose nicely in the center. The cake also lasted about 48 hours on my counter top before it dried out. I think by adding just a little more cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves, it would taste just right to me. My sample piece was warm from the oven, sliced easily, and would pair well with a variety of toppings ( whipped topping, cinnamon cream, powdered sugar, apple compote)

I checked out the recipe for the gingerbread on the back of the box, and it looked promising with the addition of molasses and ginger. I think this is a decent, basic mix that has potential - just a bit more spice and it would really be great.

PROS: great texture, minimal crumbs, quick and easy prep

CONS: the flavor is pretty bland, needs more spice

RATING: 4 stars

Want to try this gluten free spice cake & gingerbread mix for yourself?

Click the link below:

Gluten-Free Pantry - Spice Cake and Gingerbread Mix
From: glutenfree.com

Ingredients:white rice flour, sugar, potato starch, brown sugar, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, sodium bicarbonate, cinnamon, salt, xanthan gum, ginger, nutmeg, cloves

Click HERE for more Gluten Free Pantry Reviews!

When our family drives to Virginia to visit family, we try to pick up our daughter’s favorite treat for the ride home- Ukrop’s pound cake. Their bakery- and everything else they make, is simply yummy. We love the smooth, slightly sweet flavor, and I especially like that the pound cake hardly crumbles. This is ideal for a long drive home in the car- the less crumbs the better.

Obviously I cannot have their pound cake anymore, so when I saw that ‘Cause You’re Special made a golden pound cake mix I had high hopes for a yummy, portable sweet treat for myself and my family. This 16.5 ounce gluten free pound cake mix sells for $6.99 at my local natural foods store.

Mixing the batter was a breeze with my Kitchen-Aid mixer. Just combine 3 large eggs and 3/4 cup butter or margarine. If you want this to be dairy and casein free, simply substitute the butter with the baking spread of your choice.

The batter is thick, smooth and very sticky. I used a spatula to smooth it into the pan, but ended up smoothing most of it with my fingers dipped in water because of the stickiness. After baking for 75 minutes and - ta da! The first gluten free pound cake to ever grace my countertops.

This gluten free pound cake has a thick and semi- soft crust. The top of the pound cake is slightly crisp and flaky with an ultra-sweet flavor. The texture is smooth with a few nooks and crannies, and does not crumble or fall apart and slices easily. When freezing slices of this gluten free cake, I would recommend eating it before it completely get to room temperature. I found that when allowed to completely thaw, the texture seemed mealy and mushy. Not good. For best results, I suggest consuming the pound cake fresh within 24 hours.

However, the flavor closely resembles the ‘Cause You’re Special! To me, the flavor is a very sweet rice flour flavor with butter blended in for richness. If you like this company’s other products, then you will probably like the pound cake as well.

Overall, this mix is OK, but not exactly the gluten free replacement for Ukrop’s that I was hoping for.

Pros: dense, smooth, texture comparable to traditional pound cake

CONS: lack of original flavor - tastes just like their biscuits and vanilla cake, so-so results from freezing, strong rice flavor, really sweet

Rating: 3 stars

Want to try this mix for yourself? Click below:

Ingredients:sugar, white rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, salt

Check out my other ‘Cause You’re Special! reviews:

‘Cause You’re Special! Moist Yellow Cake Mix

‘Cause You’re Special Hearty Biscuit Mix

‘Cause You’re Special! Lemon Poppyseed Muffin Mix

‘Cause You’re Special! Famous Pizza Crust Mix

‘Cause You’re Special! Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix

Cheesecake used to be my favorite dessert. I wouldn’t have it very often, but when I did, it was a dessert I would savor. I say “used” to be my favorite because I haven’t had cheesecake in ages, and haven’t taken the time to figure out a yummy gluten free version. Lately I have been wanting to try though, so imagine my delight to find a single serving size gluten free version of cheesecake in the frozen foods section! I tossed the 3.5 ounce box into my cart and barely noticed the $2.99 price tag.

My first mistake: I thawed this Lean on Me gluten free cheesecake on the countertop, just like their carrot cake. Ummm, big no-no. Thirty minutes later I found a warmish pot of custard-like cheesecake. Back in to the freezer it went. Another 30 minutes later I have a firm but slightly icy dessert on my hands. Darn it! I should have read the box- it suggests to refrigerate or keep frozen. Oops.

I must tell you that this cheesecake does not have any type of crust- it is just the filling in a plastic bowl. The consistency resembled a creamy mousse and left me with a strange tangy aftertaste. It reminded me of the “fake” cheesecake dessert in a box mixes they used to make. I’m not a fan, I like a dense and flavorful cheesecake, so mixing cream cheese with cool whip or a packaged mix really isn’t what I prefer. However, this Lean On Me Cheesecake wasn’t even as good as the boxed mix.

However, I liked that the cheesecake wasn’t too sweet. This should not surpise me, though, since it boasts ” No added sugar- only 130 calories” on the box. The flavor also seemed bland to me as it only slightly resembled cheesecake; I was pretty disappointed. I have to say, that I am sure the watery residue and ice crystals at the edges did not help from my thawing and refreezing mistake. I think I’ll pass next time and make one of my own.

PROS: low in sugar and calories, single serving size is great

CONS: bland flavor, mousse like consistency

Rating:Â 1 1/2Â stars

Want to try this cheesecake anyway? Here’s where to shop:

Gluten Free Mall.com: Lean On Me Original Gluten-Free Cheesecake (Frozen - 0.25 Unit)

Ingredients: Cream cheese, fat free cream cheese, light sour cream, half & half, maltitol, egg whites, eggs, natural vanilla

Read what the Jay at glutenfreepost com says about Lean on Me Original Cheesecake

At the holidays, I just love pie- pumpkin pie, key lime pie, buttery southern pecan pie, and my all time favorite- french apple cream pie. Yummmmmm. The only time I make pie is at Christmas and Thanksgiving, so when I make it, it better be good.

When I went gluten free last spring, I panicked- what about my famous holiday pies? I can easily adapt the fillings to be gluten free, what I wasn’t so sure about the crust. (My attempts at a homemade crust were less than tasty.) Since Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I decided to experiment with the Gluten Free Pantry Perfect Pie Crust mix. Since most of the other mixes are decent, I had high hopes for this one.

One mix makes two crusts, or enough for one double crust pie. I decided to make one pumpkin and one lime custard pie, to see how the crust reacted to the different fillings.

I found the mix simple to combine and roll out, even though I had to add seven of my own ingredients ( Gf Baking powder, sugar,10 tbsp. butter, 10 tbsp. shortening, eggs, water and cider vinegar). I have to admit, that was a little annoying. However, when it came time to transfer the pie crusts to the pie pan, it was a bit tricky due to cracking and splitting. However, I fixed the cracking fairly easily with my water-dipped fingertips.

After baking for 45 minutes ( average for both), the crust crumbled profusely when I tried to slice a piece of the pie. Uh-oh, not a good sign.

This is not a light and flaky crust. It is thick and dense (despite the crumble factor), and reminds me more of a shortbread cookie or biscuit. I also thought the crust could use a bit more sweetness; the flavor seemed a bit bland to me.

I did not care for this Gluten Free Pantry pie crust mix with either my lime custard or pumpkin pie. This just wasn’t what I expected or hoped for. I guess I will have to keep looking, since I haven’t found my perfect gluten free pie crust recipe or mix- yet.

PROS: easy to mix

CONS: you have to add alot of your own ingredients, very crumbly, dense and heavy texture- not light or flaky

Rating: 2 stars

You may purchase this mix at:

Gluten-Free Pantry - Perfect Pie Crust
From: glutenfree.com

Ingredients: White Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Corn Starch, Guar Gum, Granulated Honey, Salt.

Read what the following bloggers and forum posters think about this mix: Stephanie from What I Eat, Gluten Free Girl, posters at the Gluten Free Forum, S’Kat and the Miscellania, Sea at the Book of Yum, and glutenfreeworldgirl

Since I was less than impressed with a lot of the gluten free cake mixes out there- especially the vanilla/ yellow cake flavors. I thought I’d provide a few links to some recipes from all the great GF blogs and websites out there! Maybe these recipes will satisfy your sweet tooth and have great texture and great flavor.

Do you have a gluten free cake recipe you’d like to share? Post a link to your site when you make a comment, or email me the link at glutenfreefoodreviews[at]gmail[dot]com, and I will add your link to this post.

These recipes are not listed in any particular order, so take your time and browse a bit!

Gluten Free Yellow Cake from allrecipes.com

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake from recipezaar.com/ Gluten Free Mommy

Gluten Free Flourless Chocolate Cake and Sour Cream Apple Cake from Karina at glutenfreegoddess ( see more of her cake recipes HERE)

Carrot Cake from Taste.com

Bluebery Polenta Cake and Cola Cake from Gluten A Go Go

Honey Cake 2.0 from Gluten Free Bay

Pumpkin Bundt Cake from Mike at Gluten Free Blog

Vanilla Pound Cake from Land O Lakes

Lemon Cake ( 3 variations!) by Mrs. G.F.

Cardamom Date Cake by Brandon at SomethinginSeason.com

Sour Cream Banana Cake, Coconut Cake and Pound Cake by Karen at theartofglutenfreecooking.com

 I think that is good for now . . .

Ok, so It took me longer than a month, but what a month it was! The cakes and desserts category now features the following gluten free cakes and frostings:

Authentic Foods Vanilla Cake Mix

Cherrybrook Kitchen gluten free chocolate cake mix

Cherrybrook Kitchen Vanilla Frosting Mix

Cherrybrook Kitchen Chocolate Frosting Mix

Gluten-Free Pantry Old Fashioned Cake and Cookie Mix

Gluten-Free Pantry Decadent Chocolate Cake Mix

Gluten-free Pantry Angel Food Cake Mix

‘Cause You’re Special Moist Yellow Cake Mix

Dowd & Rogers Dark Vanilla Cake Mix

Bittersweet Bakery Lemon Bar Cake

Bittersweet Bakery Pumpkin Bar Cake

Kinnikinnick Foods White Cake Mix

Gluten-Free Essentials Extreme Chocolate Cake Mix

Gluten-Free Essentials Lemon Poppyseed Bread/ Muffin/ Cake Mix

Gluten-Free Essentials Kids! Bake Speedy Yella Vanilla Cake Mix

Sylvan Border Farm Chocolate Cake Mix ( my favorite!)

Pamela’s Products Lucious Chocolate Cake Mix

Glutino Sans Gluten Cake Mix- Chocolate Flavor

Lean on Me Baking Company Carrot Cake

 If you have tried any of these gluten free products, please leave a comment about your experience! The more comments and opinions that we have for different gluten free products, then better we can determine if a product really is good ( or not!). Especially since different we all have different tastes and preferences. I’d love to read what you think! Likewise, if you have a gluten free cake you would like to see a review for, email me at glutenfreefoodreviews[at]gmail[dot]com or reply to this post.

After having cookie month ( July) and cake month(August) back to back, I am ready for something not as sweet for the rest of September!

I just can’t get over how cute the packaging is for Cherrybrook Kitchen products! It is so whimsical and fun, how can you resist?

This 16.4 ounce cake mix sells for $5.39 and requires oil, water, and gluten free vanilla. ( I used Authentic Foods Vanilla Powder and canola oil)It is simple and easy to mix by hand, and amazingly enough, the batter actually tastes good when licking the spoon! I baked the nine inch cake for 25 minutes according to the package directions, and it seemed perfect. The cake, however, was less than perfect. Grrrrrr.

I found this cake to be borderline moist and smooth, with no graininess. However, the cake crumbled profusely when sliced ( very fine crumb), and was difficult to frost since the top was quite gooey and sticky. The texture of the cake was very strange- this is a sweet, dense cake that left a thick, almost powdery feeling in my mouth. It is quite rich with a dark chocolate taste. One small slice of this cake is definitely enough; it is not your traditional moist and fluffy chocolate cake. I read a review on amazon.com that suggested combining coconut oil and olive oil instead of using canola oil for a moist and yummy cake, That might be worth a try.

My family and I did not care for this cake, and ended up throwing away half of the cake because it just sat on my counter until it wasn’t edible. I was disappointed, but grateful that I at least got to make my yummy butter-cream frosting to go on it! I think that was the best part!

PROS: rich chocolate taste
CONS: dense and thick- be sure to have a drink nearby!

Rating: 2 1/2 stars

Wanna try it? You buy it!

Ingredients: Potato Starch, Evaporated Cane Juice, Natural Cocoa Powder, White Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, Brownulated Sugar, Baking Soda, Xanthan Gum, Sea Salt

Read what AllergicGirl, The Nibble, Rica from AC,and Alison from Sure Foods Living have to say about this mix!

This mix caught my eye when I was searching for the Gluten-Free Pantry’s chocolate version. Since I haven’t found a decent yellow or vanilla cake mix yet, I thought I’d give this a try since most of their products are decent and reliable. I purchased this 15 ounce mix for $3.99, and it makes one eight inch cake.

Mixing this batter was incredible easy. I used my stand mixer to whip up the added butter, eggs, milk, vanilla and mix. The batter was thick and the consistency resembled thick pudding. This made it easy to spread in the pan with little mess, which I appreciated since I can get my kitchen pretty messy when I cook or bake. According to the directions, I baked this cake for the designated 28 minutes, and for once this seemed to be perfect.

The first thing I noticed when cutting this cake it that it is very crumbly and a bit fussy to work with when frosting or serving. The cake was perfectly moist and had a fine texture with a hint of the rice flour it contained ( you know that rice flour taste and texture- if you eat gluten-free, you know what I am talking about). The cake did rise some, but I would not consider it fluffy or spongy.

The flavor is quite neutral with the slightest hint of vanilla, and would pair well with any frosting or topping. It is just sweet enough to be good, but not so sweet you couldn’t smother it in a good chocolate butter-cream frosting if the craving hit you. I used Cherrybrook Chocolate Frosting Mix to make the pictured creation and turned out really yummy. I think this mix would also make a great base for different cake variations since the flavor is so mild. Really, the options are endless!

Although I wouldn’t use this cake mix for a formal affair ( sorry, Kristina, no wedding cake winner here), it would be great for a casual birthday or dessert with a homemade touch. I also plan to try the cookie recipe that is printed on the box- it looks like it would be good.

PROS: moist and not too sweet, pairs well with all frostings & flavors, affordable price

CONS: very crumbly!

Rating: 4 stars

Hey, That looks good! Where Can I Buy this Mix?

Gluten-Free Pantry - Old Fashioned Cake & Cookie Mix
From: glutenfree.com

Ingredients:White Rice Flour, Sugar, Potato Starch, Sodium Bicarbonate, Xanthan Gum, Salt, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate.

OK gluten free food lovers, the cake is strictly optional when it comes to the Cherrybrook Kitchen Chocolate Frosting Mix. Seriously, just get yourself a spoon and you are set.

I have to admit, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to try this mix since the vanilla version was a big buttery flop, and it is pricey ( $3.99). However, I am so glad I did! It was easy to mix up- just add margarine and soy milk ( or butter and milk if you tolerate dairy) and it’s ready! This frosting is great because the chocolate flavor is just right- not too rich or sweet. It is really creamy and easy to spread on cupcakes or cake. It makes a generous amount of frosting- enough for one cake or a dozen cupcakes. This frosting tastes best when used right away. You can store extra in the refrigerator, however, it loses some of the creaminess.

I paired this frosting mix with the Gluten-free Pantry’s Old Fashioned Cake & Cookie Mix with excellent results!

PROS: Great flavor and texture- finger licking good!

( and spoon licking, and bowl licking. . . you get the idea), easy prep

CONS: Price

Rating: 5 stars

Where Can I Buy This Mix?

Cherrybrook Kitchen - Chocolate Frosting
From: glutenfree.com

Ingredients: Confectionary Sugar (Contains Cornstarch), Natural Cocoa Powder, All Natural Vanilla Flavor, Sea Salt.