My Favorite Cake Mix Is Gluten-Free — and, No, I'm Not on a Gluten-Free Diet
Seriously, it's that good.
We all have that one food we're a total snob about. For some, it's coffee; others, they care deeply about their wine. Me? I’m a hardcore cake mix snob. Though my sweet tooth is not to be denied, I have no interest in mixes full of ingredients I can’t pronounce or understand. (Seriously, what’s actually in “polyglycerol esters of fatty acids?” Anyone?). Plus, I just don’t love the flat, vaguely synthetic taste that’s associated with cake from a box.
Recently, though, I was forced to reconsider my anti-mix views when I tried a gluten-free diet. (Spoiler alert: It didn’t last.) Needless to say, classic cake mix is not approved on a gluten-free diet, and I was craving something sweet and carb-y, but making a compliant dessert seemed like a big project to undertake. Thus, in my quest for an easy and healthy-ish dessert, I found Simple Mills’ Chocolate Muffin and Cake Mix.
This paleo-friendly blend is naturally gluten- and dairy-free and it contains just seven easily-understandable ingredients (think: almond flour, organic coconut sugar, cocoa and sea salt). If you don’t love chocolate, the cake mix is also available in Classic Vanilla. Bonus? According to a rep for Simple Mills, the mixes can easily be substituted in any recipe that call for cake mix — like these loaded cake mix cookies.
The best part, though? Simple Mills’ boxed mix actually tastes good. It’s definitely less sweet than a traditional cake, so the box does include instructions if you prefer to add extra sugar. Plus, Simple Mills also makes a coconut oil-based frosting to go with it (available in chocolate and vanilla). My go-to combination is chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, but I’ve switched it up and the results are equally great.
Since the cake and frosting are preservative-free, the finished product is best stored in the fridge. However, I prefer to bake and frost the cake, cut it into slices and individually wrap each slice to store in the freezer. When I’m craving dessert, I pull a slice out of the freezer, defrost it (a few seconds in the microwave will do the trick) and it’s good to go!
Even though I no longer follow a gluten-free diet, I still choose Simple Mills over any other mix on the shelf. Honestly, I can’t even remember the last time I’ve made a cake from scratch — not bad for a former cake mix hater!
Related Links:
