Steak & (gluten free) Cake

The last weekend marked my roommate’s birthday! Andrew turned 23 (yes, that does make me feel old, thanks for asking) and we started the tradition of Steak AND Cake! So basically, every birthday in our house is celebrated with a nice steak dinner and a birthday cake or variations of that. So while Andrew did ask for ribeye and a cinnamon roll layer cake, I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting cheeseburgers and some chocolatey cake, while Justin will probably go for a nice filet cut and a pie. Seeing as I’m responsible for the cakes and Justin usually mans the grill, Andrew sure gets the best deal here. But that’s fine, we’ll just make him clean up when it’s our respective S&C day!

I found the recipe on one of my favorite baking blogs, Cookies and Cups. The original recipe is from the book Simply Beautiful Homemade Cakes. I made a few changes to the recipe, making it GF and cutting the frosting in half. Since I used a GF flour mix, I also added two additional egg yolks because they lend some additional moisture and chewiness (is that a word?).

I also used 6” pans so the cake wouldn’t look so huge for just four people. Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself… See, we have 9” cake pans at the house, but only two of them. The recipe is for a three-layer-cake, so I was one pan short. Of course, just baking them in two rounds would have worked, but who wants to wait that long? So I decided to buy an additional pan. But then I didn’t know which brand and model the existing pans were, and if I now bought a different pan, would I still get uniform results or would the baking time differ? So better to just buy three new pans. But since I’m now buying a complete set anyway, I could just as well buy the smaller pan set, right? I mean, five layers are way more impressive and the cake probably appears smaller, even though it’s the same amount of batter and… I just wanted to buy my own pans, okay?

So without further ado, here comes the cake, GF of course because it would be just mean to keep Justin from partaking in half of the fun…

Gluten free Cinnamon Roll Layer Cake

Ingredients

Cake

• ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• ¾ cup sour cream, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 large egg yolks
• 6 large egg whites, divided
• 2½ cups GF flour, I used Cup4Cup
• 4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (see note)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¾ cup milk, room temperature
• ¼ cup water, room temperature

Cinnamon Frosting

• 1½ cups salted butter, room temperature
• 6 cups powdered sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (see note)
• ¼ cup water or milk, or less, depending on consistency

Cinnamon Sugar Glaze

• 5 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons water

Instructions

Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray five 6” cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Or just spray them, with cooking spray and hope for the best because your lazy.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the sour cream, egg yolks and vanilla and mix until combined. Add 3 of the egg whites and mix until well combined. Add the remaining 3 egg whites and mix until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is combined.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a small bowl combine the milk and water. With the mixer on low speed add half of the flour mixture to the batter and mix until combined. Add the milk mixture to the batter and mix until combined. Add the remaining flour and mix until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
4. Divide the batter evenly among the 5 cake pans. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.
5. Allow the cakes to cool 2-3 minutes in the pan and then remove them from the pans onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Slowly add in 3 cups of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add in the vanilla, cinnamon and water or milk and mix until smooth. Slowly add the remaining 3 cups of powdered sugar and mix until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Cinnamon Sugar Glaze

In a small bowl whisk together powdered sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and water until smooth. Set aside.

Assembly

If you want to go for the extra credit, use a large serrated knife to carefully remove any domes the cake formed when baking, so they’re flat. If you decided this morning that extra credit is overrated and that homemade cakes are allowed to look homemade, don’t. I won’t judge! Place the first cake on a serving plate. Spread 1 tablespoon of the glaze over the cake layer. Allow it to soak into the cake. Spread some frosting onto the top of the cake. Repeat the process with the remaining layers of the cake and frost as desired.

Andrew was quite pleased with the result and didn’t even realize that it was GF until Justin dug into his piece.

And before I get accused of leaving out the other half of the S&C, here’s the steak dinner we whipped up: