The Best Gluten Free Funnel Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Which is the best gluten-free flour for cakes? ›

Sorghum flour: great for cakes

Because sorghum is often processed on shared equipment with wheat products, you need to be careful about finding a product that is certified gluten free. Sorghum flour is a great option for cookies and cakes, but it is best combined with other gluten free flours because it is so heavy.

If the flour you are using doesn't already contain xanthan gum, combining quarter of a teaspoon to every 200g/7oz of gluten-free flour will help to improve the crumb structure of your bake. You can also use guar gum or a combination of the two.

2 teaspoons of baking powder per cup of gluten-free flour is necessary to ensure proper leavening. Baking soda and buttermilk can be used to leaven instead of baking powder, but 1-1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar should be added for each 1/2 teaspoon baking soda used.

A funnel cake needs to be drizzled with portions overlapping so that when it puffs up and cooks, the streams of cake hold together. If your funnel cake is falling apart, try overlapping the drizzle as it falls into the hot oil.

Add some gum

Adding xantham or guar gum can be a great way to replace the structure lost by omitting gluten. The exact amount of gum needed for each recipe is worth experimenting with, but generally we add ½ teaspoon per cup of flour blend.

Brown rice flour is about as close to a 1:1 substitute for all-purpose flour as it gets since it provides structure and a “wheat-like” flavor.

Gluten-free batters need to rest.

Right after mixing comes a step you don't always consider with traditional baking: letting your batter rest. Even the best combinations of gluten-free alternative grains and flour blends can yield a gritty texture.

The primary tenderizing ingredients are sugar (which draws water away from the flour, so less gluten can form) and fat (which interferes with gluten development).

Over-mixing can beat too much air into the batter and cause it to collapse. Less is more with mixing a gluten free cake batter — try to blend the batters for less than one minute.

Using xanthan gum helps provide some of the stickiness that gluten free goods lack, replacing some elasticity. Xanthan gum mimics some of gluten's most essential properties by sticking to flour and its moisture. This helps create moist goods that hold their shape after being baked.

How to keep gluten free cake moist? ›

Moisture – for some reason gluten-free cakes tend to get a little dry. Any gluten-free cake will dry out super-fast and get hard on the outside if it's not properly refrigerated and covered. I swear by always using buttermilk and adding a little more fat into the batter to compensate for the dryness.

Whisk in water and vanilla until smooth. Batter should resemble the thickness of cake batter; It should form thick ribbons as it falls when lifted out of the bowl with whisk. If needed, add 1 tablespoon of additional water at a time to reach proper consistency.

Some extracts will contain sugar or syrup, and while these still work well, I think you'll find that the best vanilla extracts are those that contain just vanilla bean, water and alcohol. Vegetable Oil: Use a neutral oil for frying these funnel cakes—vegetable oil is a classic pick for me, and what I use here.

It's important to keep to a frying temperature of around 375 degrees. Any higher than that, and your funnel cakes will brown before cooking through. At too low a temperature, the batter will absorb excess oil, resulting in a greasy, limp funnel cake.

Most gluten-free cookie and cake recipes use white rice flour as the foundation. I use it in almost every Easy, Tasty, Gluten Free recipe.

Gluten is a protein and is found in all standard flours used for cake making. It gives cakes their structure and moist texture. Without gluten, cakes are drier, crumbly and have a shorter shelf life but there are a number of ways you can use to try and counter this.

If the original recipe calls for 260 grams of all-purpose flour, substitute with 260 grams of your blend. Beat the batter more. Because gluten-free flours provide less structure than all-purpose, the batter or dough you make with them may require more beating than that which you are accustomed.

Gluten-free baked goods have earned the reputation of being dry and gritty. That grit—that evil grit! —is the result of gluten-free flours that are often high in starches and rice flour, which take longer to absorb moisture than regular “gluten” flour.