Gluten Free Ginger Cake with Raspberries

This past week I experimented with ginger and gluten free ingredients to make this gorgeous birthday cake.  When I think of autumn and winter flavors ginger often comes to mind and it was a fun chemistry project to incorporate this spice.  It is a dense cake so a light Italian buttercream pairs nicely as a filling and frosting.  

Gluten Free Ginger Cake

Celebrating a birthday during the holiday season can inspire wonderful combinations like red raspberries with white chocolate fondant.  Complete with a chocolate bow this wrapped confection is ready to sing to your tastebuds!

The following Gluten Free Ginger Cake is adapted from Antionette Savill's "The Gluten, Wheat and Dairy Free Cookbook".

Recipe

1/2  cup + 2 tablespoons butter (5 oz.)

         (can use vegetable shortening)

3/4  cup brown sugar, packed (5 oz.)

2  large eggs

3/4  cup rice flour (4 oz.)

3/4  cup potato flour  (4 oz.)

         (can substitute tapioca flour)

3/4  cup dark molasses

2  heaping teaspoons ground ginger

1  tablespoon chopped stem ginger (can be from jar)

1  tablespoon ginger wine (from ginger stock or jar)

1  teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease a 9" square pan or (2) 6" rounds and line the bottom with parchment.

Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy.

Add the eggs, beating to just blend, then add the flours, molasses, ground ginger and chopped ginger.  Add the wine and mix thoroughly.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour.

Leave the cake in the pan for about 20 minutes, then turn out, upside down, on a wire rack to cool completely.  When the cake is cold, peel off the parchment, wrap the cake in foil so that it is airtight and it will keep for a week.

Wait at least one day before icing the cakes.  After the cakes have been filled and stacked, roll out a thin sheet of fondant.  The dimensions of the rolled fondant should be the circumference of the cake by the height of the cake plus 1/2" to create a lip around the top edge of cake.  Once the fondant has been attached around the edge fill the top with raspberries.

Decorate the outside fondant as you choose!

more fun fondant shapes...

piped flowers...

hmmm...

Or not at all.  Just let the raspberries shine.