Easy Gluten Free Sponge Cake Using Rice Flour

I wanted to do something which I had never tried before for this challenge. Dealing with a lot of allergies in my family I am always in search of new recipes which can be included in their diet. So here I tried a Gluten free cake using Rice Flour and other easily availalble ingredients in the pantry. You can use rice flour to make cakes. It’s true! I modified my sponge cake recipe using All purpose flour and converted it to a rice flour cake. The texture is cottony soft and fluffy. So all those who have Celiac disease or those who are avoiding gluten due to any other dietery restrictions can enjoy a piece of cake! Even those without any dietery restrictions can enjoy this cake as there is not much difference.

• In addition to being gluten-free, rice flour is also high in fibre and low in saturated fat. There is not difference between this rice flour cake and a regular gluten Sponge Cake.
• Made with easily available ingredients. Rice flour can be found in almost any major supermarket in the gluten-free aisle and baking aisle. We are not using any special ingredients like xanthan gum.
• Simple to make and quick to mix together.

I have added the instructions as to how to make Rice flour easily from Rice grains at home. It is simple. In case you are not getting fine rice flour from the stores then you can easily make rice flour at home.

In this instructables I have given the steps in detail with videos. In a few easy steps we can bake a delicious and tender cake. So, lets get started....

7" cake pan

hand mixer

spatula

balloon whisk

large mixing bowl

Ingredients

1 cup short grain/ medium grain rice

Method

Take 1 cup of rice. Rinse in water a couple of times till the water becomes clear. Then soak for 2 to 3 hours in enough water. After 2 to 3 hours, drain all the water. Soaking for more time helps the rice grains to grind well.

Now place a large clean kitchen towel. Spread the rice on the kitchen towel and pat dry.

Let the rice grains dry for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Do not dry in the sun.

Add the rice grains to a mixer blender.

Grind to a fine powder.

Take the ground flour in a sieve and sift it.

After sifting, you may see small granules of the rice grains in the sieve. You can add these back to the grinder jar, grind and sift again.

Use this rice flour to make cake.

100 gms or 3/4 cup Rice flour

80 gms or 1/2 cup Castor sugar

4 eggs at room temperature

40 ml or 2 tbs+2 tsp Milk

30g or 2 tbs+2 tsp flavourless oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

Substitutions

Sugar

The sugar in the cake recipe can be replaced with other sweeteners like cane sugar.

Oil

The oil can be replaced with melted butter to give a different flavour to your cakes.

Dairy free

You can use soy milk to make it dairy free.

Preheat the oven to 150 C/ 300 F.

Take a 7" cake tin and place a round parchment paper at the bottom.

Add oil to milk and mix well. Warm this mixture in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Keep it aside.

Take 4 whole eggs in a clean bowl.

Whip the eggs using a hand mixer or stand mixer till frothy on low speed.

Add the sugar.

Keep whipping on high speed till the egg mixture increases in volume.

Keep whipping the eggs for about 4-5 minutes till thick and pale.

To check if the batter is correctly whipped stop the mixer and lift it and draw a number. If the number easily disappears, continue to use low speed to beat again till you get delicate foam.

Keep whipping patiently till the number doesn't disappear easily as shown in the video. This is the correct stage. This step is very essential for the fluffy structure. Also we are not adding any baking powder here. So ensure that you whip up the eggs well to ensure a no-fail cake.

Add flour to the whipped eggs in 3 batches using a sieve. Slowly incoporate the flour into the mixture each time using a balloon whisk. Scrape the sides of the bowl using a spatula to ensure everything is mixed well.

Add vanilla extract to the warm milk and oil mixture. Add a little egg batter to the milk mixture and mix well. Then add it back to the egg batter. Use a spatula and carefully mix in the milk-oil mixture and incorporate it thoroughly. Ensure it is thoroughly mixed in without deflating the batter as shown in the video. If it is not mixed in well the oil tends to collect at the bottom while baking.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin.

Bake at 150 C/ 300 F for about 30 min. Each oven may vary. So check if the sides are slighly leaving the tin and cake has browned on top. Also a toothpick inserted at the centre should come out clean.

As soon as you take the cake out of the oven tap the cake tin on the counter a few times to release hot air. Place the cake tin uupside down to cool as shown in the picture.

Add fruit crush / compote and whipped cream and enjoy the cake.

Since cakes using rice flour might come out a bit dry, soaking the baked cakes with milk or any other sugary syrup can help in keeping the cakes moist.

Hope you try this and enjoy it as much as we do.

I will be delighted to know your comments and suggestions.

If you do make this please share your experience here.