Tomorrow is JMU's home opener (so stoked!!!!), which means tailgating prep is underway! One of my good friends/tailgating co-host is allergic to gluten, so I decided that instead of baking my homemade pumpkin bread that has become a staple at our tailgates over the past couple of years, I would embark upon a new baking experiment and attempt to make something gluten-free (from scratch...obviously ;) Knowing very little about gluten-free baking or which ingredients (besides flour) typically contain gluten, I conducted some research via Google (how did people survive before the Internet??? I mean really...I guess I would have had to go to the library and find a book about gluten-free baking...sheesh :P) I also solicited advice from friends via Facebook to see if anyone had recommendations for the best type of GF flour. I got mixed suggestions, so decided I would make a game time decision based on what was available at the grocery store.

So naturally, I headed to my fave spot...Trader Joe's! Surprisingly though, they didn't have any GF flour in stock, but I remembered recently seeing a pretty wide selection of flours in the organic/specialty foods aisle at Martin's, so off I went. There must have been at least 15 different types of specialty flours, and I literally stood there for 20 minutes trying to decide which assortment of flours to try. My initial intention (based on what I read on various food blogs) was to create my own mixture of tapioca flour, potato starch, and brown rice flour...but then I spotted Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose Baking Flour and debated about whether I should take the easy way out and just settle for that. After comparing the labels to learn which flours produce the best texture/taste for baked goods and which are better in soups and gravies, I finally ended up throwing in the towel and going for the easiest option. However, I also learned during my research that GF baking requires the addition of some sort of binding agent to hold the food particles together. Xanthan gum seems to be the standard choice for this, but I just couldn't convince myself to fork over $12 for an 8 oz. package...and goodness knows I'm no tightwad by any stretch (quite the opposite in fact...Isn't that right, Mom? hehe). So, I decided to experiment by using cornstarch in place of the xanthan gum...The result? Well, I guess we'll find out when I witness everyone's reactions tomorrow at the tailgate. LOL. But seriously, the cake didn't crumble to pieces, so at least it served its purpose in that regard. The taste and texture test comes tomorrow, so if you're thinking about trying out my recipe for yourself, you may want to wait until after I post a follow-up with the verdict. :)

I borrowed the base recipe from here, but did some tweaking to make it my own, (namely adding more cinnamon and replacing the xanthan gum with cornstarch)...after all, that's half the fun of baking in the first place! (at least it is for me :)

Gluten-Free Pumpkin-Applesauce Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 cups pumpkin
1 cup natural, unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp pure honey
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract (double check to make sure the label says gluten-free)
4 eggs
2 cups gluten-free rice flour mix (I used Bob's Red Mill All Purpose)
1 tsp cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat eggs in a large bowl until fluffy. Blend in sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, oil, and honey by hand just until combined. Do not overmix! Add all dry ingredients, one at a time, blending together. Pour batter into a greased, large bundt pan.

Bake for 1 hour. Check with a toothpick or fork to make sure the cake is done.

Transfer to a wire rack, let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes, then frost and enjoy! :)