Gluten Free Food Reviews

This is the last of my Shabtai reviews! This is the final product I tested. Too bad I didn’t save the best for last.

This gluten free cake is a loaf style cake that comes packaged in a foil pan. It slices fairly easily and looks really good; the swirls of chocolate are quite pretty in the white cake. The almond flavor comes through quite nicely, but is subtle enough that it is not overpowering.  Strangely enough, I couldn’t taste much chocolate flavor and the swirls seemed more decorative than anything. This cake would be great topped with flavored whipped cream or fresh berries.

However, I just couldn’t get over the texture and consistency. Because this cake is made with potato starch, and not with any type of flour, it is definitely different. It is incredibly light and spongy with almost a powdery undertone. Honestly, it is hard for me to describe because I have not had anything like it before.

This was my least favorite Shabtai Gourmet product that I was asked to try out. I simply prefer a more traditional cake texture than what this marble cake had to offer. If you do wish to try this gluten free product, I would suggest pairing it with some sort of topping or a heaping scoop of ice cream- or a soy milk based ice cream if you want to keep your dessert dairy free as well.

Pros: nice flavor, slices easily, freezes extremely well, attractive appearance

Cons: unique texture

Rating: 2 stars

Ingredients: eggs, sugar, potato starch, cottonseed oil, cocoa, tapioca, natural flavor, salt

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For more of my Shabtai Gourmet product reviews, click HERE

If you want to try this gluten free marble cake for yourself, please visit the Shabtai Gourmet website and enjoy free shipping!

Ahh, more gluten free junk food!  Just what I need! Ha ha, just kidding.

Shabtai Gourmet sent me these gluten free Ring Ting chocolate snack cakes to try out. They are supposed to be the gluten free version of Hostess Ho Ho’s, or like chocolate cupcakes with a vanilla flavored creme filling. They are also casein free, dairy free, soy free and kosher. Nice!

These fresh baked snack cakes really look homemade, like something I would make in my own kitchen. In fact, they look like a chocolate cupcake that has been flipped upside down and enrobed in a chocolate flavored coating. They are quite large and are packaged six to a box.

Unfortunately, the gluten free chocolate cake inside is a little dry and somewhat powdery. The flavor is great though, I just wish it had a bit more moistness. Each Ring Ting has a vanilla flavored frosting-like creme filling that is smooth and tastes great if you like vanilla frosting. The amount of filling varied greatly in the centers of these gluten free treats- some of the cakes had no more than a marble size, others had more than double that amount inside. The texture of the cake was smooth and not coarse or gritty, I really appreciated that.

Overall, these are fairy tasty treat, just be sure to have a tall drink nearby to wash it all down.

Pros: nice chocolate flavor, allergen friendly

Cons: dry

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Enjoy free shipping from the Shabtai Gourmet website on all orders! Please visit their site if you wish to try these snack cakes for yourself.

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If you want to read more of my Shabtai Gourmet product reviews, click HERE

Shabtai Bakery, otherwise known as Cinderella Sweets, sent me these meltaway gluten free cookies to review. They arrived fresh baked in a 12 ounce box, ready to eat. The packaging described them as “streussel crumbs, artfully crafted into scrumptious, finger friendly morsels.”

These Meltaway cookies are square shaped shortbread-like cookies encrusted with almonds, pecans and chocolate chips. I found that they were very crisp and crumbly with no “melting” going on in my mouth, at all.  The flavor of chocolate and almond was pleasant, but the coarse texture really didn’t appeal to me. They would be great with a cup of steamy hot chocolate or coffee, though. These gluten free cookies would actually make a tasty pie crust (in place of a graham cracker crust) if they were crushed.

The cookies look really yummy, but I just didn’t care for them with my simple glass of milk. I would suggest having these with a hot beverage for maximum flavor and enjoyment.

Pros: chunky nuts and chocolate, looks great

Cons: too crumbly and crisp, the “meltaway” name is a bit deceptive

Rating: 3 stars

Ingredients: potato starch, sugar, cocoa, almond, cashew, cottonseed oil, pecans, apricot kernel, eggs, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, cinnamon, salt

To purchase these cookies, please visit Shabtai’s website and enjoy free shipping on all orders!

Yum!

These gluten free “cookies” from the Shabtai Gourmet Bakery come in a 12 ounce box, and are more like mini pieces of cake than a cookie. You would never guess they are gluten free. Ever.  Each piece is just big enough for two bites or so.

These gluten free cookies are very moist, soft, and enrobed in a dairy free chocolate icing that really adds a sweet finish.  The texture of the center is very smooth and not crumbly.The soft cookie (or cake) layer colors are vibrant and cheerful and have a pleasant almond flavor.  These gluten free treats are supposed to have apricot and raspberry flavor in them, but I honestly could hardly taste it due to the strong almond flavoring.

Overall, this gluten free treat is a winner at my house!

Pros: moist, sponge cake center has great texture and is really yummy!

Cons: almond flavoring masks other ingredients

Rating: 5 stars

To try this product for yourself, please visit the Shabtai Gourmet website for more information (their free shipping promo is still going on- free shipping on all orders- nice!)

Ingredients: sugar, eggs, partially hydrogenated palm oil, apricot kernal, almond, cocoa, potato starch, raspberries, pectin, natural flavor, emulsion, artificial color (FD&C yellow #5, red #3, blue #1), salt.

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Click HERE for more of my Shabtai reviews!

Wanna cookie? Click HERE for my other gluten free cookie 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.