Gluten Free Pumpkin and Radicchio Cake (Torta di Zucca e Radicchio)
Description
Ingredients
Cake
Frosting
Instructions
Cake
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Preheat the oven to 350° F with a rack in the center and prepare an 8” cake pan with butter or oil (I use avocado oil spray) and a circle of parchment placed in the bottom of the pan.
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Boil a medium-sized pot of water on the stove, with the juice of the lemon and two tablespoons of sugar. Pull apart the head of the radicchio, and trim off the thicker white center of each leaf. Add the trimmed radicchio leaves to the pot of boiling water and blanch for two minutes. Remove the radicchio and drain well in a colander. Set aside until cooled. Press out any excess water and chop finely.
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Sift together gluten-free flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, allspice, cloves, and black pepper in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
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Sift together gluten-free flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, allspice, cloves, and black pepper in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
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Pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl of dry ingredients. Using a hand mixer on low speed, mix until all of the dry ingredients are combined. Do not over-mix; the batter will be thick.
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Using a spatula, fold in the chopped radicchio; pour into the prepared cake pan and smooth out the batter with a knife or spatula. Let the batter rest on the counter for 15-30 minutes (see note below).
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Place in a preheated 350° F oven on the center rack for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean; cool on a rack for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, run a knife around the edge of the pan and turn the cake over onto the rack and carefully remove the parchment paper. Set aside to completely cool while you prepare the ganache.
Ganache and Assembly
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Place white chocolate (I use chips) in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in a microwave on high for one minute. Remove from the microwave and set aside.
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Place white chocolate (I use chips) in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in a microwave on high for one minute. Remove from the microwave and set aside.
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Whisk ¼ cup of warmed half-and-half into the melted white chocolate. Add more liquid if the ganache is too thick. The mixture should be slightly pourable.
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Place the cake (still on the wire rack) on a counter protected with plastic wrap or parchment. Pour the ganache on the top of the cake until it falls over the edge and coats the whole cake. Let the ganache firm up on the cake for 15-30 minutes, then carefully transfer it to a cake stand or plate using a large offset icing spatula to lift the cake off the rack.
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Dust the cake with powdered sugar using a fine mesh sieve; serve at room temperature.
Note
- Gluten-Free Flour: I use a blend that I have modified, based on a recipe from ATK, The ATK recipe can be found in this cookbook. That blend does not contain xanthan gum, so I add it separately depending on the recipe.
- If you are using a gluten-free blend that is not listed as a one-to-one replacement, it is important to weigh the flour. My gluten-free flour blend weighs 128 grams.
- There are, however, many commercially available gluten-free flour blends at your local grocer or online. Here are several that are available from Amazon:
- All of these flours do contain xanthan gum. So omit the extra xanthan if using one of these blends. All of the manufacturers promote these products as a one-to-one replacement.
- Resting the batter: after mixing the batter, let it rest on the counter for 15-30 minutes. This allows the gluten-free flour to fully hydrate creating strength and eliminating a gritty texture.
