Gluten Free Brownie Cake (lactose Free, Sugar Free, Nut Free, Gum Free, Fructose Free)

A few years ago I discovered I was lactose intolerant. And fructose intolerant. And sorbitol intolerant. These multiple food intolerances resulted in a very strict diet where I couldn't eat sugar, nuts, honey, fructose, almost any fruit and vegetables, any kind of beans, xylitol, maltitol, sorbitol (and a lot of other sweeteners derived from them) and of course any kind of dairy was forbiden (no butter, no milk, no cheese).
To add some drama, cooking and baking is one of my main hobbies. Yeah, I know, it sucked. As you may imagine, this restrictions made very difficult for a food lover finding substitutes, since I basically had to learn to cook again in a healthier and more natural way. After some time, I managed to find the correct amounts and mixtures to make recipes that tasted as well as my normal ones. And then, when everything seemed to be "fine" again, I was diagnosed with a gluten intolerance. So I had to start all over again! *Nightmare*

How was I supposed to make shortbread cookies, without butter, shortening or margarine? How was I supposed to cook macaroons if I was unable to use nuts and sugar? And the most terrifying...How was I supposed to make my good ol' brownies??

But FINALLY......many attempts and a hundred mixtures after, I came up with a recipe of a cake that is not just healthy and allowed into an intolerant diet, but also tastes just like BROWNIES *_*

This cake can be doubled easily, and the recipe turns out in a beautifully moist, tender, decadent cake with the perfect taste of the best brownies you can imagine <3

This recipe is super easy to make and you will need just a few Kitchenware items. The ingredients can be found in any grocery store (and if not, just go to a vegan-vegetarian-bio-organic king of supermarket and you will find whatever you need).

For the cake you will need:

Dry ingredients

- 2c dextrose (you can use 4-5 tbsp of rice syrup, but have in mind the texture will change)

- 1c white rice flour

- 1/4c sweet rice flour

- 1/4c tapioca starch

- 1/4c potato starch

- 1c unsweetened cocoa powder

- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp Psyllium (also known as psyillium husk)

- A pinch of salt

Wet ingredients

- 2 large eggs

- 1c Gluten free oat drink

- 1/2-1c warm Gluten free oat drink

- 1/2c vegetable oil ( I used olive oil)

- 2 vanilla beans (you must scrape them and use what is inside)

Kitchenware

- 1 Mixing bowl (medium-large)

- Whisk

- Spatula

- Oven + Oven pan

- Measuring cups and spoons

Let's get down to business! It's time to bake ourselves our deserved brownie cake!

- So, first things first! We are going to preheat the oven to 180ºC (350°F); It needs to be at the right temperature once our batter is ready to be baked.

- In our mixing bowl, we are going to whisk together the dry ingredients. This step is important because of the rising agents (baking powder and baking soda) and the psyillium present. You want them to be evenly distributed throughout the dry ingredients before you add the wet ingredients. This will prevent any clumping or uneven rise when baked.

- Once they are evenly mixed, it's time to add the wet ingredients, and mix until a smooth batter forms, with no pockets of dry ingredients. The final batter will have a slightly thick consistency.

- Now it's time to prepare the pan. With some olive oil, grease the pan inner surface, just leaving a thin layer of oil. Then, dust some rice flour onto that thin layer of oil. This will prevent the batter from sticking to the pan, and it will make easier to get the cake out of it! Then, proceed to pour the batter into our pan.

- We will bake the cake for 35-40 minutes. Then, we will check, inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake; if it comes out clean, the cake is ready; if not, add 5-10 minutes to the timer and repeat the toothpick test until it comes out clean.

- Once the cake comes out of the oven, allow it to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool, this prevents a gummy cake.

Once it's cold, it's time to decorate it!

I love how this tastes with some chocolate truffle and fresh picked strawberries! For the chocolate truffle I use:

- 250ml of lactose free whipping cream

- 3tsp of dextrose

- 10tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder

I just whip the whipping cream with an electric whisk until it gets firm, and then I add the dextrose and the cocoa powder! it's super easy to make and reeeaally good!

It's time to eat our cake!

I hope you liked my recipe and loved it as much as I do! The cake can last a week when kept in the fridge, although I can assure it will be gone before! Once you taste it, you won't be able to stop eating it!

Thanks for reading!