Let Us All Eat Cake – Book Review

From time to time I get cookbooks to review. A few months ago I received a copy of Let Us All Eat Cake by Catherine Ruehle. It is a gluten free cookbook “for everyone’s favorite cakes”.

A review of the gluten free cake cookbook by Catherine Ruehle.

This is another beautiful cookbook. My copy is hardback bound and full of lovely pictures of delectable cakes of all kinds. Some of the recipes in this book include Angel Food Cake with fresh berries (p. 11), Texas Sheet Cake (p. 32), German Chocolate Cake (p. 55), Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes (p. 88),   Baked Alaska Bombes, (p. 103), and a whole section of amazing frostings,  buttercreams, and ganaches. 

My oldest daughter chose to make a birthday cake for 2 family members recently out of this book. I have to say I am and was very impressed with how lovely the cake turned out. This is no throw together book or set of recipes. She chose to make the Chocolate Peppermint Cake on page 64.  Here is the description from the book. “Rich chocolate cake is studded with chocolate chips, filled with a smooth chocolate and peppermint ganache, and then slathered with a sweet and refreshing peppermint buttercream. Red and white peppermint candies dot the top- making this cake a festive centerpiece on a holiday buffet table.” Ummm, yeah. It sure did. I have to say this is probably one of the loveliest cakes we have had in my house and that includes the days when we didn’t have to navigate gluten free.
I am very impressed with the quality of recipes in this book.  Much time was put into putting them together so they will come out just so. This is a book for serious cake bakers. That said the corollary is also true. If you are not serious about cakes this is not the book for you. The recipes do take time to come out just so. And you need to listen to the hints given of how to make a cake. The recipe my daughter made turned out beautifully, but it did take her all afternoon. I am grateful that we own this book as it will be the basis for many more holiday and special occasion cakes. I look forward to trying some of the other recipes in the book, realizing that not all of them require that much time and attention. This book is a keeper.

I have permission to share the recipe for the Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake from the book. I have not tried this yet but hope to soon. It looks amazing. 
“This beautiful Bundt was the first cake I hoped to make deliciously gluten free.
I began by layering in the lemon flavor, using fresh juice and zest in both the
batter and the glaze. Don’t even think about using bottled juice here: the fresh flavor, aroma, and oils of fresh lemon are crucial to the success of this cake.

Lemon Blueberry Bundt
with Glistening Lemon Glaze

Lemony Blueberry Bundt
3 cups Gluten-Free Whole Grain Flour Blend (page 191)
2 teaspoons baking powder 
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup milk or unsweetened coconut milk (from a carton),
at room temperature 
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon organic lemon zest 
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks, at room temperature
2 cups organic cane sugar 
2 eggs or Flax Egg Replacer (page 194), at room temperature
1 cup frozen organic blueberries

Glistening Lemon Glaze
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped organic lemon zest
4 to 6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar (to make your own, see page 192) 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 10-inch-diameter Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray or coconut oil.

To make the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour blend, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. In a small bowl, mix the milk with the lemon juice and zest. Set both bowls aside.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl and beat again for 15 seconds. Add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl and beat for 15 seconds. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 20 seconds and scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the milk mixture to the batter and mix on low for 30 seconds, and then on medium for 30 seconds. The batter will look separated at this point.

With the mixer running on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, about 1 cup at a time. Scrape down the bowl after the second and third additions. When all the flour has been added, mix on medium speed for 30 seconds.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the blueberries using a rubber spatula.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the cake
is light golden brown and set to the touch. (Don’t use a toothpick test: this cake is very moist, and the blueberries may make the toothpick appear wet when the cake is actually done.) Transfer the cake in its pan to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, and confectioners’ sugar. Use the smaller amount of sugar for a thinner glaze, and the larger amount if you want it thicker. 

When the cake is cool to the touch, remove the cake from the pan to cool on a wire rack set over a parchment-lined baking sheet, referring to page 172 for guidance if necessary. When completely cool, pour the glaze over the top of the cake.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days. Or you can freeze it, tightly wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap, up to 2 months; thaw at room temperature before removing the plastic and serving.”

Excerpted from Let Us All Eat Cake by Catherine Ruehle with Sarah Scheffel. Copyright © 2014 by Catherine Ruehle with Sarah Scheffel. Excerpted by permission of Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

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