This collection of delectable cake recipes is sure to please any crowd—and leave them astounded when they learn that each one is gluten-free.
By Elizabeth Bonner
If left up to Catherine Ruehle, our world would be a place where everyone could have their cake and eat it, too. In Let Us All Eat Cake, Catherine works toward this goal, presenting 60 scrumptious cake recipes plus tips and tricks for decorating and plating gorgeous, flavorful—and gluten-free—confections that anyone can enjoy.
A 20-year veteran pastry chef and cake artist, Catherine has always focused on the purity of her ingredients. However, when she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2010, that focus shifted to one of nutrition and holistic treatment for the debilitating disease—eliminating dairy, sugar, and gluten from her diet.
“Being able to control an incurable disease with the right foods brought me to a turning point in my career,” Catherine says. “I knew I could use my culinary background and personal experience to help others.” She became a certified wellness coach and started A Well-Nourished Life, a company that assists people in using diet and lifestyle to improve their health and wellness.
Catherine was also determined to create a cookbook that offered gluten-free variations of beloved classic cakes, along with a few of her own inspired innovations, with no sacrifice in flavor. “The recipe had to taste identical to the conventional cake,” she explains. “I was adamant that readers exclaim, ‘That’s delicious!’—not, ‘That’s delicious, for gluten-free cake.’”
From Southern delights like Texas Sheet Cake and Hummingbird Cake to fun twists like Pink Velvet Strawberry Cake and Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes, Catherine’s recipes offer the rich decadence she promises. She has also filled the book with helpful techniques for icing, piping, and decorating that, she says, “will enable even a novice baker to make their dishes look fabulous.” Catherine shares secrets sure to ease the stress of entertaining, such as make-ahead instructions and tips from her years in restaurant and catering kitchens.
The real worth of her cookbook, says the author, lies in its comprehensive quality. “There’s something for everyone, every skill level, every occasion,” she explains. “I want people who have been frustrated by gluten-free baking and the lack of flavor in recipes to come back into the kitchen. I also want this book to be a staple in home kitchens—even those that are not gluten-free—because the recipes are that good, and the techniques and tips are useful for anyone.”
Catherine, who lives in Fort Worth, says this type of inclusive cookbook is especially relevant in our region. “There’s a real love of food in the South and of sharing food in a warm way that is all about making people feel welcome and comfortable,” she says. Let Us All Eat Cake enables just that.
Get the recipe for Catherine’s classic Very Vanilla Cake with Fudgy Frosting, and enter for your chance to win her cookbook.
