Applesauce Crumb Cake with Cinnamon

Cake lovers unite. Skip the pie. An apple pie spiced cake!

Knee deep in book boxes, I decided to bake a cake. Because trying to wrestle gluten-free pie dough for an apple pie just seemed too fussy. Too complicated. Though in all honesty, that isn't the whole, unvarnished truth. The whole, unvarnished truth is, Yours Truly is more of a cake person than a pie person (downright blasphemy this time of year, I realize, as Thanksgiving looms large). But yeah. It's true. Pies have their charm. I've been known to inhale a slice or two of apple pie in my day. But here's the thing.

And I'm going to be blunt.

Gluten-free pastry crust is simply not as flaky and tender and melt-in-your-mouth wonderful as wheat pastry crust. There. I said it. Fighting words, to some. And if you are among those true believers feel free to disagree. And go eat your gluten-free pie. I bless you with a thousand sprinkles of pie fairy dust. With love. And kisses.

And pink ponies.

Respectfully.

Gluten, you see, is more than a pesky protein with a bad rep. Gluten is what makes pastry dough soft, flaky and tender. Gluten is what inspired bakers to bake all those years ago, firing up their hand-hewn brick-lined ovens. Gluten was their muse. Their seductive mistress. Gluten took them beyond three ingredient pancakes and palm-tossed flatbreads. Gluten fed their imagination. Inspired tarts, baklava, cupcakes. Napoleons.

And yes.

Apple pie.

Because gluten is a magical ingredient (despite its bad press these days).

We have to admit it. She's not an easy paramour to replace.

Perhaps some day soon I'll be tempted to experiment with a gluten-free pastry dough. I'll be lured into believing I can recreate such delicate, fragile beauty. But not today. If I do crave pie I'll bake this no apology necessary Apple Crisp and serve it warm with a snowy scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream. Or this vegan Pumpkin Pie with Coconut-Pecan Crust.

And for breakfast, I'll eat cake.

Applesauce cake.

Right now, I can live with that.

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Gluten-Free Coconut Layer Cake

Coconut cake heaven. Gluten-free and dairy-free deliciousness.

Birthdays are complicated when you reach a certain age. Oh, don't get me wrong. You're grateful for another year. I mean. You're still alive and kicking, right? Waking up to a fresh start. Starting a spanking new year on the planet with one more number under your (slightly pinching) belt. A number that grants you a whisker more authority in the world. A tad more wisdom.

If you've been paying attention to the lessons life likes to offer up as experience, and not sleepwalking, that is. Not acquiescing to the expectations of others. Or choosing safety over the challenge of the new. Or worse- finding yourself somewhere, in some situation, or relationship, strictly for the sake of momentum, chafing inside a role you don't remember signing up for.

Birthdays can be markers like that.

Defining where we've been. And how far we've come. Or not.

It was my husband's birthday this weekend. And yes, I baked a cake. And as I stirred the batter and scooped it into cake pans, I thought about the other cakes I have baked for him. The chocolate cake in our first year of marriage. Children beneath our roof. Blue balloons and candles. The newness of each others' dreams. The shine of our ideas. The belief in what was possible.

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Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake with Maple Icing

Tender and moist pumpkin cake with maple icing. 
For nut-free, skip the chopped nut topping.

Today I'm digging into the recipe archives to share an old favorite. My pumpkin cake recipe. We're so busy sorting, bagging clothes and boxing up books for donation, getting ready for the big move to Los Angeles (next Thursday!) that yours truly has not had time to bake.

But if I did? I'd whip up this moist and tender beauty of a cake.

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Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Icing

Lovely and classic gluten-free carrot cake 

with coconut, iced with lemon cream cheese frosting.

Here is one of my most popular gluten-free cake recipes. Something sweet and satisfying to keep your taste buds happy until I return. We're leaving Santa Monica early Thursday morning, you see, driving back to northern New Mexico with an iPod playlist heavy with Neil Finn, Warren Zevon, Fiona Apple, Tom Waits, Suzanne Vega, Crowded House, The Devlins, Jarvis Cocker, Pulp and a liberal sprinkling of Eighties hits. Not to mention a bag of fresh baked Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies for fortification. See you soon!

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