May 22, 2006

Dowd & Roger's Chocolate Chestnut Cake Mix - Gluten Free

I really needed a successful gluten free baking experience! At my kids insistence, I reached for the Dowd & Rogers chocolate cake mix. Made with rice flour, chestnut flour and tapioca flour, this mix is one even those who have an allergy to nightshade plants can handle. My daughter has an evolving/developing allergy problem with the nightshade plant family. Yep, there goes the potato flour.... The "evil shadow vegetables," as my daughter calls them, will no longer have a place in our evolving gluten-free cooking.

I found my Dowd & Rogers cake mix at our local Whole Foods market in the baking section. It comes in chocolate, dark vanilla and lemon. We have tried the chocolate and dark vanilla cake mixes -- both are delicious. If you can't find it at your local market, Dowd & Rogers does sell mixes over their website.

The box holds enough cake mix for a single layer cake. I bake mine in a 6 inch springform pan which yields a nice double layer height cake. I have sliced the cake in the middle to add frosting, but most often just frost the outside. I line the springform pan with parchment paper (sides & bottom) to make sure the cake comes out of the pan.

Our cake baked up beautifully and didn't make it to the frosting stage before the kids were asking to have some. The Dowd & Rogers cake mix is always moist and chocolately. It doesn't leave a grainy texture in your mouth when you eat it. I used butter cream frosting to top it off. Now I'm thinking that I should have decorated it like Pac-Man.....

The verdict on the taste test? Four thumbs up from the family. This is a keeper.