Christmas Cake Week: Gluten Free Chocolate Christmas Cake with Pomegranate Bavarian Cream

Here is my gluten free take on the decades old classic of pairing chocolate with mayonnaise. Butter simply didn’t yield the proper lift and channeling for the perfect flawless finish I was looking for, but pure olive oil proved to be the ideal solution. You also don’t want to use any other cocoa powder other than Dutch as the flavor and color of the cake just aren’t the same without it. Beyond that, this cake is flat out gorgeous and I just love the tart pop of the pomegranate cream paired with the silky smooth chocolate.

Show stopper beautiful, make your Christmas merry by including this lovely lady on your sideboard. Everyone will love you and report you to Santa for your good deeds.

Chocolate Christmas Cake with Pomegranate Bavarian Cream

60 g. or ½ cup sorghum flour
60 g. or ½ cup + 1 teaspoon glutinous rice flour
50 g. or ¼ cup + 1 teaspoon potato flour
40 g. or ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon tapioca flour
40 g. or ¼ cup cornstarch (non-gmo)
80 g. or ¾ cup Dutch cocoa powder
400 g. or 2 cups tightly packed dark brown sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon guar gum
½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup pure olive oil
1 ½ cups buttermilk
½ cup gluten free mayonnaise, like hellman’s
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Butter and grease two 8” cake rounds. Butter and line each pan with parchment paper and vegetable shortening.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix all the dry ingredients until well combined. Add the olive oil, buttermilk and mayo. Mix on medium speed until the batter looks shiny and thick. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and add the eggs and vanilla. Mix till very smooth, about 1 minute on high. The batter should look like thick pudding.

Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 30 minutes, rotating the pans from back to front and top to bottom for an even bake. A tooth pick inserted into the cakes should come out clean.

Allow to cool in the pans for 20-30 minutes before inverting. Line a wire rack with parchment and invert the pans onto it. Remove the pans and then peel off the parchment paper from the bottom of the cakes. Flip the cakes over. Dust the tops of each cake with super fine sugar so you can handle them without sticking.

Now make the icing

Chocolate Chocolate Icing

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/3 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder
1 cup light corn syrup
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

In a double boiler over barely simmering water, melt the chocolate chips. Stir to smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

In a food processor, pulse the butter just until smooth. Combine the remaining icing ingredients and pulse until silken. Do not over mix, as this will cause the butter to melt. Add the cooled melted chocolate and pulse several times more until blended. Transfer to glass bowl and stir several times with a rubber spatula. Your icing is now ready to use.

Now make the pomegranate cream.

Pomegranate Bavarian Cream

2 cups heavy cream
½ cup confectioner’s sugar, shifted
2 teaspoons pomegrante molasses, (is used the one from Savory Spice Shop)
3 gelatin sheets, softened

In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the cream on the nest to lowest setting with the sugar so it won’t splatter out of the bowl for 45, then increase the mixer speed to high and whip until the cream is thick, about 2-3 minutes depending on the strength of your mixer.

In a pan with cold water, soften the gelatin sheets for 2 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water and then melt the gelatin on the stove. Pour the melted gelatin in to the cream and quickly fold in.

The cream should be very thick at this point. Cover the bottom layer of the cake with the cream using an offset spatula being sure to make a uniform and even spread. Freeze the cake for 15 minutes to set the cream.

Place the second cake layer on top of the set cream and then ice the cake with the chocolate icing. The cake will keep beautifully on the cool part of your counter under a cloche for three to four days and for a week refrigerated.

Serves 8

All photos by Knoxy