6.10.2010

Delicious Gluten Free Pound Cake

Okay, I know that a lot of you have no interest in gluten free foods. Bear with me as I share with my gluten free buddies. I have to follow a gluten free diet. When I heard the doctor say that I had celiac disease in November 2007 it really shocked me. Not the disease so much as what it meant--I could no longer eat anything containing gluten. I saw that as meaning never another delicious chocolate chip cookie, slice of moist pound cake, wedge of yummy homemade pecan pie, fabulous pizza dripping in mozzarella cheese, etc, etc, etc. Not even a simple turkey sandwich or Chick-fil-a for lunch! In some regards this has been true. However, there are many wonderful products and recipes out there that use ingredients that do not contain gluten that allow me to still indulge when I have a craving.
Twitter has been such a helpful resource when it comes to learning about gluten free products. Recently someone tweeted about free shipping for products from The Pound Cake Lady's website. I immediately ordered a Very Vanilla Bean poundcake. One of the downsides of many gluten free products is that they are not widely available and therefore must be ordered online, and the shipping costs can be prohibitively expensive. I was thrilled to be able to try a new product without paying the shipping!
The packaging was beautiful and made me excited to open it. I had a birthday coming up, so since I am the only gluten free person in my house, I wanted to put this in the freezer. I felt like I was getting to open an early birthday present!
Even the inside packaging was lovely--this would be a very special gift to send someone you know who is gluten intolerant or has celiac disease. I couldn't wait for my birthday to get here so I could enjoy it!
As you can see from the ingredient label, the ingredients are pretty much like a normal pound cake except for the flours used--I was amazed when I began educating myself about gluten free diets. There are so many flours out there!
I thoroughly wrapped the cake in plastic wrap and placed it in the freezer for two weeks until my birthday. Oh, the excitement when I finally got to take it out to thaw! I made sure I had fresh strawberries on hand to serve with this beautiful cake. A small part of me was afraid that I might be disappointed--so many GF products that I have tried are not at all worth the purchase price. At $24, I knew this would have to be delicious to be worth it.
Well, I wasn't disappointed! It was so close to the magnificent pound cake that I remember from my pre-celiac days. Such a wonderful summer treat! I highly recommend this cake to anyone.
Thank you, Pound Cake Lady! You have made me very happy!

4 comments:

  1. Stacey-

    Thank you so much for the wonderful and kind review!
    Happy Belated Birthday!
    The Poundcake Lady

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  2. Did that seriously come wrapped in a bandana??!! Or is it bandana-esque tissue? The packaging is adorable!!

    Okay, I'll move away from the fantastic present that arrived at your doorstep! :> I hear you on gluten free! Our son is gluten free as well as casein & soy free (among other things such as preservatives & dyes). And yes, it definitely changes how we shop & cook! We have probably at least ten different flours in our cupboards and while the rest of us are not gluten free, we removed all flours containing gluten as they get in the air and contaminate our gluten free stuff. Consequently, we've had to learn how to bake and cook differently....including birthday cakes! And even though there are three of us who are not gluten free, when it comes to bday cakes, we only serve gf/cf/sf cakes to each other and the guests at our kidlets' bday parties and they've come off really well every year! That pound cake looks DELISH (and if it didn't have buttermilk & butter, I'd be all over it!)!!

    I found you via Twitter! I've just signed up there and it never crossed my mind to look for GF resources....thanks for the great heads up!

    Hope your week is going well! :>

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  3. Thanks for the heads-up on the cake, I'm going to have to try that. I'm not gluten-free, at least not yet - but I'm trying to go that route to see if maybe gluten might be the source of some of my problems.

    My biggest issue is that I live in an area that isn't exactly gluten-free-friendly... and on top of that, I'm most of the way toward being a vegetarian, in a state that celebrates the heck out of their meat-and-three (Georgia). If Whole Paycheck- oops, Foods would open a store down here, it might make things a little easier. *sigh*

    Anyway, sorry to make this so long. This is my first time to your site, but it sure won't be the last. :)

    - Nikki

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  4. I know exactly how you feel when it comes to eating. I was diagnosed not too long ago with having insuline resistance so I have to stay away from all foods containing sugars and flowery starches. For a pasta/bread/muffin-lover this was devastating news. It totally helped explain some crazy issues I was having though. I've learned to deal with it but it wasn't an easy task. I'm kindof the oposite of you though. I'm supposed to get my daily dose of carbs from whole wheat and oats. The more whole wheat for me the better. Great thing about my diet is that I've lost about 10 lbs. I'm back to the weight I was when I first got married. Very exciting.

    xo, Cristi

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