When we first learned about this week’s recipe, excitement did not immediately set in. The first thought that came to mind was, oh my gosh, the dreaded fruit cake. You know the kind, the loaf that requires countless hours to prepare, and because of the ensuing guilt on the recipient’s part, gets re-gifted about ten times. Sad in a way, because the one preparing it, no doubt, has invested a lot of energy and love in preparing it, even if the one receiving it, does not share this enthusiasm. Our sincere apologies to all of you that are true “fruit cake aficionados.” So many people seem to really enjoy this kind of bread/cake, but not so much in our own family. Fruit cake has always been too rich, way too sweet and very heavy, not to mention, quite expensive to prepare. We just never cared for it. But, thankfully, upon closer examination, this recipe appeared to be much easier on the amount of dried fruit and nuts it called for.
After having recently been “glutened” (accidental exposure to gluten) at a local restaurant that we had frequented before without any ill effects, but which since, unbeknownst to us, changed cooks, we were not too keen on anything baked, especially since this recipe calls for a yeasted dough. For those of you who are unfamiliar with gluten intolerance, even the slightest cross-contamination, such as food sharing the same prep-surface, grill, etc., can pose a huge problem, resulting in extreme digestive issues, skin reactions, foggy thinking, reduced immunity and many other problems. The previous chef at this restaurant, was very sensitive and familiar with this issue, and always made sure our food was prepared separately. Not this time. Lesson learned; never assume anything. Even if you have been to the same restaurant a hundred times, remember to always ask each time before ordering anything. The risk is just too great. We are on the mend, and feeling much better now.
Because of this gluten exposure, we did not want to make our recipe with yeast, since this has posed a problem in the past, and we did not want to further aggravate an already bad situation. As a result, since we are already altering all of our recipes into gluten free ones, we took the liberty of also removing the yeast, and using baking powder instead. Unsure, how this dough would rise, with only baking powder and the large addition of dried fruit and nuts, we chose to further alter it by baking the loaf in a bundt cake pan, instead of a bread loaf pan, effectively turning it into a coffee cake. We have prepared many similar recipes in a bundt-type pan in the past, and they always turned out well.
For this recipe, we used a combination of almond, tapioca and rice flour along with a small amount of rice bran and guar gum. Our conversion also required the addition of an extra egg, and since we were unable to find fresh cranberries, we used dried instead.
Our Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin bread took an additional 20 minutes to bake, but turned out very well. It was light in texture, moist, not too sweet and surprisingly, nearly doubled in height in the oven. One great thing about this recipe, is its versatility. You really could substitute a truly endless amount of different fruit and nuts. Perhaps, some dried ginger, pineapple, or coconut? For those of you that are sensitive to nuts, they could be eliminated altogether, or even substituted with sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds.
Our verdict: A solid thumbs up for this recipe. Everybody loved it. Our thanks to Rebecca at This Bountiful Backyard for hosting this week. If you are looking for the original recipe, please visit her beautiful blog. As always, you can check out all of the other TWD participants’ versions of this recipe at TWD’s site.
gfcelebration 
Love that you made it into a bundt! Great idea!
Thanks.
You make gluten-free approachable…this is so valuable to those who seek gf recipes. Your photos are gorgeous…there’s a comforting feel about them…want to reach out for a slice. 😉 Thanks for sharing this valuable information.
Carmen
Hi Carmen, Glad you liked the recipe. It is our intent to show others the simplicity of being gluten free. Having converted so many of our family’s recipes, it is natural to want to share it with others and help them on their journeys. So glad you also liked the pictures – food photography is an ever evolving journey and one that we really enjoy.
The bundt shape is wonderful!
The bundt pan is an old standby and lend itself beautifully for this recipe. Thanks for visiting.
The photo of the pieces tumbling out of the plate are so clever. Really lovely photos.
Thanks Karen. We are having fun with food photography and are continuing to learn.
absolutely love your bundt!! the cake looks so much better.. this non-yeasted version.. just as I suspected.. makes me wanna give this version a go sometime soon..love the photographs!!
Thanks. Just having been accidentally “glutened”, the thought of a lengthy “yeast bread” recipe wasn’t as appealing. We also were a little concerned about refrigerating a non-gluten dough overnight. A gluten free dough requires a different approach. The addition of so many dried fruits and nuts can sometimes overwhelm a gluten free yeasted bread dough. The recipe turned out to be a lot of fun and was very tasty.
Love that classic bundt pan–I need that one! You GF bread looks delicious! It is certainly nothing like the heavy dry cakes that get passed around at Christmas parties. good job. I really do admire you.
Thanks Cindy. This particular bundt pan is an old copper jelly mold and has helped us to make many different desserts over the years. We especially enjoy it for our marble cake recipe. Loved that this recipe turned out so well, and not like the dreaded fruit cake.
What a beautiful Bundt cake – the color is wonderful and the gf substitutions worked so well. The Bundt looks terrific whole and cut into delicious slices – I would love to have a taste of your version, I am very curious as to the difference in taste between your Bundt and my loaf.
Hi Andrea. If we could send a slice through the ether, we’d love to have you try a piece. The difference between the yeasted version and ours is first and foremost the lack of gluten, no white sugar and none of the malted yeasty flavor. A little bit like a coffee cake, still moist and flavorful a couple of days later.
I love your gluten-free changes – your finished bread sounds and looks delicious.
Thanks. It was a fun recipe to make and ended up being a surprising hit with everyone.
I’m glad this was a success and that you enjoyed it. Your modified version looks delicious!
Thanks Jill. We had fun making it.
I’m impressed that you’re taking on the challenge of converting recipes from a baking cookbook into gluten free versions. The results for this bread look delicious.
Thanks. TWD has been a great forum to encourage others that baking even sophisticated desserts gluten free is possible.
So sorry to hear about your restaurant wows. The new cook could take a few lessons from you — your Bundt cake looks wonderful. Blessings, Catherine http://www.praycookblog.com
Glad, that we could turn this recipe into another success. Everybody is feeling much better now, but we will not make that mistake twice. Always remember, don’t assume anything. Double-check every time, even if you have been to the same place a hundred times. Lesson learned, not every cook/chef understands how to cater safely to gluten free customers.
What a delicious looking bundt cake! This recipe with all the butter, eggs, sugar is much more than a bread recipe 🙂
Exactly, this recipe is almost like cake.
You are making everything I love easy to do again…well not easy be AVAILABLE!!!
Thanks so much!
Linda
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This looks so pretty as a bundt cake. Glad you were able to make it work for you!
Your GF version looks amazing…in fact, way better than almost all the others I’ve seen (mine especially…LOL). So gorgeous in the Bundt pan!
It looks beautiful. Making it into a bundt is a great idea. And bundts always make me smile because they make me think of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
I love that you made a bundt–it’s gorgeous!