Red Velvet Cake

Here is another Pioneer Woman recipe that I have converted to make a gluten free treasure.

GF Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients

• 1 cup Shortening
• 1-3/4 cup Sugar
• 2 cup Coconut Flour
• 1/2 cup Tapioca Starch
• 1-1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1 cup Buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Vinegar
• 1-1/2 ounce, fluid Red Food Coloring
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Cocoa Powder

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 330 degrees. Thoroughly spray a large (18 x 12) sheet cake pan (or you can use a slightly smaller jelly roll pan) with nonstick baking spray. Be sure to get in all the corners of the pan.
Sift together flours and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, stir together buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda. Add vinegar and stir. Set aside.
In a separate small bowl, mix together cocoa and red food coloring. Set aside.
Cream together shortening and sugar until fluffy. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk/egg mixture until all combined. Pour the red mixture in and beat until combined.
Pour batter into prepared sheet cake pan. Use a large offset spatula or knife to even out the surface. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven and allow cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Place a large cutting board on top of the cake pan, then invert the cake, allowing it to turn out onto the cutting board. Allow cake to cool completely before icing.

Cream Cheese-Sour Cream Frosting1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup sour cream

Beat sour cream, confectioner's sugar and cream cheese in a large bowl until well blended. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake.

Keep cool.

This was a huge forth of July hit. I hope enjoy it as much as we did.
-Kenan

Chocolate Cake - Gluten Free Perfection :)

One of the hardest things to wrap you head around when you go gluten free is "How on earth will I ever go to a party again?"

Gluten Free means eating ahead of time so you don't arrive at a party hungry. It also means always having a stock of cupcakes baked in the freezer. That way you always have a little something to take to a birthday bash. With a gluten free little one, parties are the hardest.

Cross contaminating food is so common. When was the last time you needed just a little more peanut butter on that sandwich? Did you use the same knife to spread as you did to get seconds? Sure you did! We all do! But, you just contaminated the peanut butter. That goes for the jelly, mayo, sour cream and anything else you can think of.

Parties are hard!

But this is one of my favorite take with you cake recipes. I love this one. I even passed it on to a bunch of teenage boys and they LIKED it. Now I know they are teenage boys and they will eat anything. But these were awesome.

GF Chocolate Cake

1 cup Coconut Flour

 1/2 cup Almond Flour

 1/2 cup Tapioca Flour

 1 Teaspoon Zantham Gum

2 cups Sugar

1/4 teaspoon Salt

4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa

2 sticks Butter

1 cup Boiling Water

1/2 cup Buttermilk

2 whole Beaten Eggs

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Vanilla

Preparation Instructions

Note: I use an 18x13 sheet cake pan.
In a mixing bowl, combine flours, sugar, and salt.
In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.
Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.
In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 330-degrees for 20 - 30 minutes.

*This recipe is an adaptation from www.ThePioneerWoman.com . Love her site and recipes.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/02/devil-dogs/


Cream Cheese-Sour Cream Frosting
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup sour cream

Beat sour cream, confectioner's sugar and cream cheese in a large bowl until well blended. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake. 

Keep the cake refrigerated since the frosting is made with perishable items.

I have to say this cake eaten cold tastes wonderful. I can't describe it.No pictures on this one b/c I was to busy licking my fingers :) Check out Pioneer Woman to see what they looked like. :) They didn't last long at all!

3-2-1 BLAST OFF!

What an absolutely awesome weekend we had! Cole, the girls, myself, and Libby (the bulldog) joined my Mom, Dad, and Patton (their bulldog) on a weekend RV trip to the great state of Florida for the very last shuttle launch.

My parents always tried to take us to historical places as kids. I guess Cole and I are alot like them. We are so grateful that they opened their traveling home to our crazy crew.

The girls did GREAT. They sat in their carseats for 8+ hours there and back. And they did NOT have a tv. We did cheat a little and let them play with the iPhones. But they pretty much entertained themselves with coloring and reading stories. I love their little imaginations. And we even got to read a chapter book. I guess that is what happens when they are strapped in their car seats and don't really have a choice. I think they, actually, did like chapter book. :)

We got there late on Thursday night and the girls were so disapointed that we were not going to see the "rocket ship" that night. However, they were up bright and early ready to watch it on Friday. We did not get as close as we would have liked. But we were there. Some people had been there for days camping to make sure they got to see it. We were not that die hard.

What an awesome experience. It is hard to even describe it. The shuttle is HUGE! But when I watched it ascend into space I understood exactly how small we are. We were miles away from the shuttle but the nervous energy was all around. Most of the people I talked to had a hard time putting the experience into words. The crowd did a countdown and everyone cheered. The cheering was coming from miles around. It was absolutely awesome. Even made me a little teary.

Do you know how hard it is to take pictures

with a 2 year old on your hip screaming in your ear?

I do!



Some of the people I met came as far as Iowa (27 hours in the car with 2 kids...brave lady!).

The cool thing about the experience was there was all type of people! Families, motorcycle gangs, rich, poor...it was a huge mix.

It was also awesome to know that we experienced history! My babies (even though they will never remember it) can say that they were there.

Once they saw the "rocket ship" the girls were ready to come home.



Why? Because their school books were scheduled to arrive while we were away.

Ansley screamed and jumped up and down when I got the arrival notice from Fedex.

Once we got back home, Ansley ran into the house begging to open the box.

We got unpacked.

And Daddy-o did the honors.

 They were really excited. Just look at their faces!

 Daddy-o pulled out the Bible curriculum and began reviewing it.

 Ansley was glad it came with some "toys for Charlotte".

And guess what was printed on the inside of the box!

A shuttle to put together!

Daddy-o saved the day with his mad construction skills.

What an awesome way to end our weekend!