Category: Sweet Stuff

Product: Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Yellow Cake Mix – $4.49+

So…I made a mistake.

It happens.  What this meant though was I’ve actually sampled Betty Crocker’s Gluten-Free Yellow Cake Mix how it was intended, and then dressed up in a complex recipe, at the request of my roommate for her birthday.  You know what that means?  Double the cake.  And that isn’t always a bad thing.

What I learned from this experience, however, is to read through the directions on a recipe first…otherwise you end up with two cakes when you only need one.

Moral of the story aside, so far, my gluten-free mixes from Betty Crocker have hit it out of the ballpark.  I love the brownies, the chocolate chip cookies and the devil’s food cake.  The only mix I still had in my pantry to try was the yellow cake, and my roommate requested a gluten-free lemon chiffon cake for her birthday.  I set out to do that, and messed up by starting to make a yellow cake with the mix, instead of doing it how my recipe asked…which is not per box instructions or with healthy substitutes I throw in.

So…my first cake batter attempt with this mix was successful, just not what I needed.  So, I sent the birthday girl out to the store to buy a new box (aggravating when you’re on a budget, as these are not cheap!), while I tried to figure out what to do with the batter I now had.  I hated to throw it away, so in the spirit of her birthday, I baked it up the regular way, then melted down some chocolate chips and poured it over the top for a light icing, then brought it to work to share.  More than half the cake ended up in the garbage there anyway, sadly, but…I tried.  Everyone who actually did sample a piece loved it, but it kind of was ignored when other goodies were brought in to celebrate March Madness or something.  Ah well…you can’t say I didn’t try.  And it does make me feel good when those who did eat it, complimented me on it.  *fist pump*

Here is what I love about Betty Crocker’s gluten-free cake mixes – they bake up beautifully.  Light.  Fluffy.  Delicious.  I didn’t realize this until last night when I was working on another cake recipe and used a different brand of gluten-free cake mix…only to have it not bake up as well as Betty Crocker’s.  So, my new cake is this flat little layer cake, where as the layers I created for the cake using Betty Crocker’s gluten-free mixes were fluffy and amazing.  Honestly, until I baked this other cake last night, I wouldn’t have raved this much about it, but the cake mix from Betty Crocker definitely is superior to the one I chose to use in my new cake.

The gluten-free yellow cake mix not only bakes up beautifully, but it is delicious too.  For the second cake, I mixed in quite a bit of flavor, as it was a Gluten-Free Lemon Chiffon Cake.  In went lemon zest, freshly squeezed lemon juice, orange juice, and other ingredients, and nothing changed.  What emerged were two delightfully fluffy, and very yummy smelling, citrus-scented yellow cake rounds.  They came out of the pans clean, they cooled to perfection.  And, when layered and iced, held up to everything.  Nothing crumbled or fell apart.

I couldn’t rave any more about how amazing Betty Crocker’s Gluten-Free Yellow Cake Mix is.  It honestly has impressed me, especially now that I could easily see how well it did against another brand.  I was so happy with the way the cake(s) turned out and loved the flavors and texture of each one.  When Betty Crocker stepped into the gluten-free baking world (due to a couple of employees having to go gluten-free), it was done right and to perfection.

I am, yet again, another very happy consumer and baker.

Thank you, Betty Crocker, for putting delicious cakes back on the menu.

Product: Lärabar Carrot Cake – $1.99+

Some of you may have learned by now, or by reading my sister blog to this one (Chasing Pavements), that I am a runner.  Nothing makes me happier than to lace up my running shoes and head out for a run, or enter a race.  I especially love races.

But with road races comes strange food rituals.  Like, I never have anything more than cereal before a run.  Never.  I know that my stomach can handle that without it being too heavy or too much.  However, this often means that by the time the race starts and I get through it and finish it…I’m starving.  Seriously.  And not every race has something that those with food allergies can eat.  Lots of times it’s donuts, bread, sandwiches…not a piece of fruit (although most races do have at least bananas or apples).  Last Saturday, I participated in a local road race that didn’t provide anything beyond baked goods that I couldn’t eat with my gluten allergy.  So, after running and staying around for the awards and door prizes, I headed home to get ready to head into Louisville where I was going to be trying out a new restaurant…eventually.  There were a few stops to make prior to that.

With that in mind, I reached into my gluten-free goodies drawer and retrieved the little baggie with my snack size Lärabar’s inside.  I got a lot of these little fruit and nut bars for free from a Gluten-Free Expo that I attended in Birmingham, and was now ready to give one of them a shot.  This wouldn’t be my first Lärabar…as I lived off of the snack size multi-pack during my summer of following U2, but it would be my first time trying the Carrot Cake flavor.  Famished, I tore into the little orange wrapper, revealing a little square that was a blend of carrots, cinnamon, dates, almonds, walnuts, raisins, pineapple and coconut.  You could literally see every…yes, every ingredient!  Nothing deceptive about these.

One bite…and I remembered what it was like to eat carrot cake (which happens to be one of my favorite cakes when done properly, despite not being a cake lover, and something I haven’t had in years…and especially since going gluten-free).  I was hooked.  The flavors were perfect.  I could see little chunks of nuts.  I could taste the carrots and citrus.  It was a journey back for my taste buds to my last bite of carrot cake, which happened to be at a birthday party for my roommate’s aunt years ago.  Oh…this was beyond delicious.  This was a dessert in bite-size little bar.  Oh…it was good.  When something that is supposed to be “carrot cake” flavored, to actually bite into it and have it truly remind you of a real slice of carrot cake speaks volumes.

Love at first carrot cakey bite.  Good show, Lärabar.  I wish I had more than one of those in that bag…

Product: Dark Chocolate Dream Pure Dark Chocolate Bar – $3.49+

Chocolate can be tricky sometimes when it comes to gluten intolerance.  Honestly.  I’m not making this up.

So when I find a brand that is clearly labeled gluten-free I try to stick with it.  Not only is the Dark Chocolate Dreams Pure Dark Chocolate Bar gluten-free, but it is also dairy free as well, which is a definite plus with my lactose intolerance.

I am actually surprised this bar of dark chocolate goodness lasted as long as it did in my pantry.  Seriously.  But I had some chocolate to go through before I got to it.  And I blame it on the much too bitter taste of the 100% Dark Chocolate Ghirardelli Baking Squares I had attempted to use in my gluten-free S’mores the night before for breaking into this dreamy bar of dark chocolate goodness.  Using some gluten-free graham crackers, marshmallow fluff, and a square of the Pure Dark bar from Dark Chocolate Dreams, I was in S’morey heaven and it was love at first bite.

Not very many companies out there and guarantee that their chocolate is free of all traces of dairy and gluten, but the makers of Soy Dream and Rice Dream nondairy beverages can.  And that sort of certainty makes a world of difference when it comes to food allergies.

One bite of the Pure Dark bar and I was in dark chocolate heaven.  Honestly, dark chocolate is my favorite type of chocolate in the world, and this was perfection.  Very smooth to taste and it was a nice compliment to the additional ingredients I was using it with.  The chocolate wasn’t too bitter, but just the right level of bittersweet that you need with dark chocolate.  It didn’t overpower anything and it held up to the kitchen torch when I toasted my marshmallow fluff for the Smore’s.

Color me impressed.  For a dark chocolate connoisseur like myself, finding a chocolate that I don’t have to question how or where it was made is a dream come true.  The fact that it is ultimate dark chocolate perfection is the added bonus.  I highly recommend Dark Chocolate Dream’s Pure Dark Chocolate Bar whether for use with dessert or a sweet nibble when a chocolate craving hits.  I know I’ll be buying more of these chocolates now that I know how amazing they are.

Product: Katz Gluten Free Cinnamon Donuts – $6.49 (plus shipping)

I had another “Mmmmm…donuts!” moment.

I admit it.  I’m not ashamed of it.  These things happen.  They happen all the time.  It just doesn’t normally happen to me because normally donuts are off limits.  This isn’t a “OMG…my thighs will get huge!” sort of off limits.  No, no.  This is a…eating that regular donut will hurt me kind of way.

Truth be told.  I have always, always loved donuts and not being able to eat them kind of…well…sucked.

There are gluten-free varieties out there.  They are limited varieties…but they exist.  But none…none have equaled the donuts that I used to be able to indulge in every now and again.  And then…along came donuts by Katz Gluten Free.

First it was the Powdered Sugar Donuts.  I raved about those already, and rightfully so.  I mean…they blew me away.  Light, sugary, delicious…it was love at first (low-calorie) bite.  And then, while minding my business one day an e-mail comes through advertising KATZ NEW CINNAMON DONUTS.  Do you realize the effect my prior experience with their donuts had?  Let me fill you in…

The instant, and I’m not kidding, I opened that e-mail, I was on the Katz Web site and placing an order.  Honestly.  I didn’t hesitate or blink in the process.  I knew I had to try them because…I fell so head-over-heels for the powdered sugar variety.  These had to be good too, right?

Well, let me tell you, when FedEx arrived with my package two days later I hurried up front to the receptionists desk, snatched the box, opened it up, marveled, put them in the freezer, and promised myself donuts for breakfast on Sunday.  I couldn’t do it on Saturday as I had a road race and I have my specific foods I eat those days.

Sunday couldn’t come fast enough.  I thawed out two donuts (one for me and one for my non-gluten-free roommate) and then gave them a quick 10 second buzz in the microwave to add a bit of that ‘freshly baked’ warmness to them.  As I settled in for breakfast, I anticipated my first bite, wondering if it could live up to the powdered sugar variety.

It did just that and then some.  These seem a bit more fluffy than the powdered sugar counterparts, but just as amazing and delicious.  I had to keep myself from scarfing it down, remembering to chew each bite, taste the sweet cinnamon, enjoy the light cake-like texture.  And I managed, but it was no easy task.

These donuts are beyond amazing.  They are one of the best I have ever eaten (and before going gluten-free, I ate lots of different types of donuts).  They are a cake-based donut, but they are so light.  They don’t feel heavy at all when you eat them.  The texture isn’t dense at all, just bite-for-bite delicious.  I can’t wait to choose another morning to indulge because every time I open up my freezer, they beckon to me.

Katz, you have once again outdone your gluten-free counterparts.  The Cinnamon Sugar donuts are, so far, my favorite thing from your lineup that I have tried.  I’m in donut heaven and I have you to thank for it.

And for those of you who might be counting calories, one plump, donut-sized donut will only set you back 160 calories.  How’s that for an indulgence?  Fall in love with donuts again.  And then…go to Katz Gluten Free and place an order for these.  You won’t be disappointed.  The hard part is not immediately ordering more.  Yes…they are that good.

A little sweet, a little spicy, Katz completely captures the essence of the perfect donut with this product.  I’m hooked.

Product: Kinnikinnick Graham Cracker Style S’moreables – $4.59+

Remember those nights in the summer, either at camp or at home, when you’d sit around a fire and roast marshmallows on a stick, layer a graham cracker half with a piece of a Hershey’s bar, slather on the toasted, gooey marshmallow, and smoosh it all together with the other half?  That was the life, yes?

S’mores are every campfire’s guilty pleasure.  But I had to give them up.  Three years ago, when I became a vegetarian, marshmallows were nixed from my diet (they have gelatin in them).  And then, a year ago, when I had to go gluten-free, my graham crackers went bye-bye as well.

I’m not going to lie, it was not easy to give up my S’mores.  Especially when I would attend a bonfire and watch everyone make them.  It was a bummer, for sure.  But, you know, you just get used to it.

Does that mean the craving goes away?  Of course not!

And then grocery store karma happened.  I had one of those magical moments when I was walking through the small gluten-free section of one of the grocery stores in town when I spotted these on the bottom shelf.  Kinnikinnick Foods had come out with a Graham Style Cracker that they were marketing as (ready for this?) S’moreables.  And right there…right on the front of the box, screaming at me from the bottom shelf, was a delicious, ooey-gooey looking S’more made from these gifts from gluten-free heaven.

I was sold.  And so was that box because, budget or not, it found its way into my grocery basket and then in my pantry soon after.

Last night, without a dessert prepared, I decided to bust out my impromptu S’mores as my treat.  But these were not just any S’mores, friends.  Nope…I made mine a Gourmet Gluten-Free Vegetarian S’moreable Treat.  Too much Top Chef?  Perhaps.  But I went all out.

I admit it…I was immediately skeptical about this product after busting open the box and pulling out a cracker for myself and my roommate.  They are much smaller than an actual graham cracker is, and they look like little sheets of cardboard.  Looks can be deceiving though, so I ran with it and prayed that it would be delicious.  After breaking them in half, carefully, with the assistance of a butter knife, I grabbed a Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate Hazelnut square from my chocolate stash and placed them on one side of the cracker.  Because I am a vegetarian, I reached for marshmallow fluff for the marshmallow bit of this treat.  But…how to get that roasted flavor?

Simple.

Kitchen torch.  And I just happen to have one.  (Too many cooking shows bring about spontaneous purchases).

A simple torching of the fluff, and the marshmallow-goodness was roasted as though it had been done over a fire.  AWESOME!  So, it was with great trepidation that I flipped it over onto the chocolate half, and delivered one to my roommate while I toasted up the fluff for the other one.

But when I heard an approving sound from the other room, I knew we hit gluten-free money!  Gone was my concern over the appearance of the product.  With my kitchen torch now stored, I joined my roommate in the other room with my own gourmet s’more.  One bite…and it was better than anything I had before.  The crackers not only smelled like ‘real’ graham crackers, but the taste was so close you’d be hard pressed to tell me these were gluten-free.  Amazing, sweet, delicious and the texture was dead on.  I was beyond impressed.

Even better…only 60 calories a cracker.  Guilt-free graham cracker style dining.  YES!!

Kinnikinnick impressed me once again with one of their products.  I am honestly loving finding brands where every product I have tried has been great.  When I find a name I can trust, I tend to stick with it.  Kinnikinnick is becoming one of those gluten-free brands that I could just go to and find something good without having to worry about it.

If it’s been awhile since you’ve had a S’more due to gluten intolerance…well, those days are numbered.  Find these crackers and treat yourself to that campfire treat…right in the comfort of your own home.  Oh…and if you don’t have a kitchen torch, you can toast up marshmallows (if you aren’t vegetarian) or the fluff in the oven via the instructions on the box of S’moreables.

So here’s to those summer nights filled with a messy handful of graham cracker, chocolate and marshmallow goo.  Because anyway you toast it up…that’s just good stuff.