Monica says:
Mother’s Day is coming up this weekend and when I think of my Mom, I recall her either baking or sewing…..and did I mention that she was great at both?
Well, she was!
That’s me and my Mom circa 1961
This brilliant seamstress could sew anything….from curtains to fully-lined coats; she did it all. Having four daughters to keep clothed, she was forever in her “sewing room” cutting, pinning, and stitching. She was so talented that she could make a dress without a pattern…all you had to do was describe it to her and off she went.
One of my biggest regrets in life is not making the time to learn to sew when she wanted to teach me. Being the youngest of the crew, I was not interested in learning anything so domesticated…and because I went to Catholic school for 12 years, we did not have Home Economics class, so I slipped through the cracks!
When I did try my hand at sewing many years later, I basically taught myself and with some help from my oldest sister, I was able to make some simple curtains, pillows, and what I call “nonsense” items….but never took on a clothing project!
If only we could have do-overs!!
Baking on the other hand, was something that I was interested in, and I did get bake with my Mom. She spent countless hours in the kitchen making braided bread, cookies, nut rolls, and more! Our home always smelled incredible and was always so clean and tidy.
She had a talent for making food into beautiful presentations and just enjoyed making people happy, as do I. She loved to “fuss around” and make life a little grander and I know that I definitely inherited this from her!
As you can imagine, my Mom’s baking was legendary in our church parish and school. The nuns who taught at our parish school LOVED her cookies and bread, and looked forward to them on holidays and special occasions. One time I remember the nuns were concerned because my Mom hadn’t sent them any baked goods, so they asked my sisters and me if our Mom was sick. Yes, she actually was! So they sent special prayers up to heaven to get her well quickly so they could enjoy her goodies again….it’s funny how you remember the simple things!
We lost my Mom in 1997 and consequently, she wasn’t alive when Daria and I were diagnosed with celiac disease, but I know she would have tried to adapt many of her recipes to be gluten-free…she was just like that!
In the recipe that follows, we combined our favorite spice, cinnamon, with organic coconut palm sugar (the secret ingredient), to make the streusel, that flavors and creates a beautiful look to this classic pound cake…and of course, we added baby pecans to give us a bit of protein. You can use walnuts or almonds if you prefer.
Anyway, this post is for my Mom and Daria’s “Grammy”….
a perfect gluten-free pound cake inspired by a wonderful woman!
Cinnamon Swirl Gluten-free Vanilla Pound Cake
Dry ingredients for Cake:
2 cups King Arthur Gluten Free Flour or flour blend of your choice
¾ tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
1 tsp Egg Replacer
1 cup sugar
Wet Ingredients for Cake:
½ cup or 1 stick softened butter
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
Streusel Topping:
3 T Organic Coconut Palm Sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans
1 T softened butter
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚ and grease a loaf pan (9” x 5”) and dust with gluten-free flour.
Whisk flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, and Egg Replacer. Set aside.
Beat sugar and butter until fluffy and light.
Now add dry ingredients to the sugar mixture and beat until just blended. Beat in sour cream and vanilla until smooth.
Add eggs, one at a time, and beat the mixture one more time!
Spoon half of the batter into a prepared pan. Mix together the streusel ingredients and spread half over the batter.
Now spoon on the remaining batter and top with the rest of the streusel.
Use a knife to swirl the streusel through the unbaked cake.
Bake for about 55 minutes OR until a tester comes out clean. (We always use a tester!)
Cool for 10 minutes before turning out of the pan to cool completely on a wire rack.
One large loaf yields 10-12 servings.
© 2015, Monica & Daria of glutenfreedoubletalk 
The cake can be served as is or with ice cream or whipping cream…any way… it is delicious!
So, if you are able to spend a little time with your mom on this special Sunday, enjoy every minute.
A very Happy Mother’s Day to all of you that are moms and moms-to-be!
Special blessings to my niece Amanda and hubby Gary, who just had a little one on April 28th….welcome to the crazy family, beautiful baby Audrey!
Big sister Gracie is more than excited to share with you!
These are my two blessings, Claudia and Daria….love them with all my heart!
This picture was taken in Williamsburg, VA, when Daria was on her pastry externship
from the Culinary Institute of America.
And last, but certainly not least, a Happy Mother’s Day in heaven, Mom! xos
© 2015, Monica of glutenfreedoubletalk
Gluten-free double talk 