Gluten-Free, Failure-Free: Red Currant Thyme Cake

I’ve been experimenting with gluten-free baking for a few months now and have had quite a few failures. I would say maybe one in every ten gluten-free experiments actually turns out to be worth making again. This is one of those experiments, which was enjoyed immensely by both gluten eaters and gluten avoiders.

Red Currant Thyme Cake

Makes one 8″ cake

Ingredients

• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 4 egg whites
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut flour (70g)
• 1 cup almond flour (120g)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 pint red currants
• powdered sugar for garnish

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8″ cake pan with non-stick spray. Place an 8″ circle of parchment paper on the bottom of the pan and spray again. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the thyme, lemon zest and first 1/4 cup of sugar together with your hand, rubbing ingredients in between your fingers, until the zest and thyme are well coated with sugar and fragrant. Whisk in the egg yolks and buttermilk and set the bowl aside.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the coconut flour, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mix to the egg-sugar mix and whisk until well blended. The mixture will be kind of stiff.
4. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the the egg whites on medium-low speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Add the cream of tartar and increase the speed to medium-high. Slowly sprinkle in the sugar and beat the whites until stiff and glossy, about 2 minutes.
5. Scoop about half of the egg whites into the batter in the large mixing bowl. Incorporate it until it is smooth and no lumps remain. Add the remaining egg whites and gently fold them into the batter (the batter should remain light and fluffy-do not overmix).
6. Spread half the mixture into the prepared cake pan. Sprinkle half of the currants over the batter. Top with the remaining batter and sprinkle the rest of the currants over the top. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the edges are golden-brown and a toothpick jabbed into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Flip the cake face-side-down on a plate, then flip face-side-up onto another plate. Let cool completely. Dust with sifted powdered sugar and serve.