Featherlight Flour Mix Recipes

Steps:

• Combine all and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Serving suggestion: Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve with milk
• Arrange a rack in the upper 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Butter and flour a bundt pan or tube pan. (You can use a mixture of cocoa powder and flour instead of flour, to prevent white spots on the cake.)
• In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or using a hand mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Mix in the sugar. One at a time, mix in the eggs, then the vanilla, occasionally scraping down the mixing bowl.
• Meanwhile, in another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt.
• Add 1/3 of the flour mixture; then 1/3 of the ice water. Repeat, mixing after each addition. Transfer the batter to the pan and bake until springy and dry, about 40 to 45 minutes.
• Let cool in the pan on a rack, then carefully turn the cake out. Just before serving, sift confectioners' sugar over the top. Serve with very cold milk!
• Notes about the recipe: When I developed this recipe I was just looking for a good, reliable dark cocoa cake that could sit on the counter over the weekend and be enjoyed in slivers, craving by craving. This cake is really moist and keeps for days. I just finished one that's been hanging around the kitchen for 6 days! You could frost it with creamy white icing but it hardly needs it. My friend Lana's mom June was one of the best cooks I knew as a kid in the '60s and she did a cake by the same name, though the recipe handed down to me from her daughter is a bit different.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, blend the flour mix, xanthan gum, salt and sugar. Cut into the shortening until coarse crumbs form. In a small bowl, beat the vinegar and egg together with a fork. Add the ice water. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a fork and keep adding liquid until the dough forms a ball. Work a little with your hands to obtain a smooth texture. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or more before rolling out. Divide the dough in half and roll out on sweet rice flour - covered waxed paper or plastic wrap. Use as much of the sweet rice flour as needed to work easily. Place in a pie tin. If using plastic wrap for easier handling, move it to the pie tin and invert the dough into the pan. Bake as directed for the filling used. For a baked crust, prick the pastry with a fork on sides and bottom. Bake the crust in a preheated 450-degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until slightly browned. Cool before filling.

Steps:

• Mix together flour mix, xanthan gum and salt.Cut in shortening with a pastry cutter or knives until it looks like coarse crumbs, not too fine. Sprinkle ice water over flour mix.Gently mix the flour and water, breaking up large clumps with your fingers. The point is to lightly dampen most of the flour mixture without kneading the dough.Press the dough into a ball. Roll out between sheets of flour dusted plastic wrap. You should be able to see swirls of shortening in the dough as you roll it out. Transfer the crust to a pie plate. Fill and bake according to recipe directions.