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!