Sunday, March 11, 2007

Gluten-Free Cake Longevity test done.


Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bundt Cake: passes the freezer-longevity test!

How Long can a Gluten-Free Cake last in the Freezer?

Late last year (December 9th, 2006 specifically), Laura created a Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Pumpkin Bundt Cake Recipe that we posted here on the glutenfree blog. Since then, we have received a few emails, and even some phone calls, from people that have tried it and really enjoyed it. And, we have also had a few people ask how well this, and other gluten-free desserts we've created, hold up if we freeze them.

Well, I am happy to report that our long-term longevity test on the GF Pumpkin Cake has just been completed, and the results are quite nice. Laura finally took the cake out of the freezer after 4 months, and put it out to thaw a few evenings ago. Then, the next morning, we had some for breakfast. It remained quite moist and delicious, and maintained its original taste and texture just fine. And, I continued to eat it over the coming days. It held up beautifully!

The only preparation, prior to freezing, was to wrap the cake completely in tin-foil, and then place the wrapped cake inside a large sealed plastic freezer-bag (like, a gallon-size zip-lock or similar). That combination seems to have done the trick with regards to sealing in the flavor and moisture.

So, that experiment should help answer the question about how long some of these gluten-free desserts (at least cakes) hold up in the freezer. I also know the cheesecakes out of my book also perform very well, since I like to make one and freeze all but a couple pieces. Then, I pull a chunk out of the freezer every few weeks over a period of months when I get the urge (this is much quicker way to obtain a "fix" when you just have to have your cheesecake in a hurry!) It's always nice to have a piece of celiac-safe chocolate cheesecake close at hand in a crunch!

When I put the cheesecakes in the freezer, I simply cut the entire cake into reasonable sized pieces, and put each piece into a small zip-lock type sandwich/freezer bag. I also like to use a permanent marker to write the date placed in the freezer, just in case one somehow gets "lost" in there for five years before I find it -- I doubt it'd be quite as tasty after half a decade. :)

If you want to read the original gluten-free blog post about the pumpkin cake, here is a link to the December, 2006 blog entry about the gluten-free pumpkin-bundt cake.

Continue to read this Gluten-Free Blog for all sorts of gluten-free recipes, product-reviews, and related information. In addition, visit my Gluten-Free Recipes Site where many of the recipes I have featured on this blog are available.

5 comments:

Veronik said...

I also stored my holiday pumpkin cake leftovers in the freezer and noted how well they held up; so much so, that I baked another batch (as cupcakes this time) so that I could enjoy them when the urge strikes.

HStrang said...

LOVE this! Thank you for sharing.

Also, be sure to check out: Wheat-Free, Dairy-Free and Low Sugar Eating at: http://heatherstrangnowds.blogspot.com.

So glad we are all supporting the wheat-free lifestyle.
--Heather

Philip said...

That's a fine looking cake, and you have a great looking site here!

Very glad to find you (or actually be found by you and backtrack...)

Cheers!

Mike Eberhart said...

Veronik - sounds like you've been having a wonderful time with pumpkin cake indeed! :)

Heather and Phillip - always glad to help people find other resources, and to have new readers. Keep up the great postings.

Lynn Barry said...

The freeze factor is huge. Glad this held up. Thanks again for creating the one stop site for GF info. HUGS