You will love this cake. This is the cake my family loves to make during the holidays. It’s the cake I turned into cupcakes for Ben’s 40th birthday last year. It is one of the few cakes guaranteed to taste delicious without gluten or eggs. It’s full of pureed pumpkin, pineapple, flaked coconut, and wintery spices, all topped with a butter and cream cheese frosting.
ben’s 40 cupcakes
I used to love baking, but when I was diagnosed with celiac I had no idea how to bake without wheat. Going gluten free inspired me to learn about a wide variety of flours. Each flour has its own flavor and texture, and therefore it’s own ideal uses. Tapioca flour is sweet and chewy, which makes it great in brownies. Chickpea flour adds earthiness to savory dishes, especially Indian foods. Potato flour is a great thickener (sometimes too great!) Almond flour makes delicious crusts for pies and cakes. There are pros and cons to each of these flours and learning how to use them can be an incredible asset to your baking, but none of them can be used as a cup for cup substitute for wheat flour. Most gluten free baking recipes require a mixture of three or more flours plus xanthan gum to achieve a result akin to wheat flour.
And that brings me to Cup4Cup. My aunt told me about this all-purpose gf flour designed by a chef at the famed French Laundry. Thank you, Aunt Therese! I’ve made this cake before with another all purpose gf flour and of course it was delicious, but between the cup4cup was definitely better. I’m also a fan of flax eggs as my egg substitute instead of powder egg replacements. I find that it does a better job as a binder and doesn’t leave an aftertaste that some egg replacers can have.
brown flax seed
This cake is a little time consuming, but it’s not too difficult. It’s significantly easier as cupcakes because it’s not necessary to butter and flour two cake pans and frost both layers. The layered cake is more impressive, but the individual cupcakes are pretty sweet, too! In my oven the cupcakes take 15-17 minutes per dozen and the recipe makes about 2 ½ dozen cupcakes. The frosting recipe makes way too much, so this time I cut it in half. It’s a rich frosting and a thin layer on this dense cake is all you need.
pumpkin coconut currents
pre and post oven
One of the best things about this recipe is that it just gets more decadent after it’s been refrigerated. If you’re looking for a special dessert this holiday season and want to prove that gluten free pastries can satisfy everyone, this is your best bet. Enjoy!
Spiced Pumpkin Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting via Epicurious
November 2009
gffriendly 
These are the best and never would guess they are gluten free. So good you can enjoy even without the buttercream icing. Now I wish I had brought some home before we left!
Thanks! I wish you had, too, because Ben and I keep eating them!
where’s the recipe?? am i missing it? these are so delicious, I’d like to try making them myself.