What Gluten Free Cake Mix Should I Use?

You can use any gluten free cake mix to make these gluten free valentine snack cakes. King Arthur Flour makes a delicious gluten free cake mix. I can usually find them at my local Meijer store. I believe Betty Crocker still makes a gluten free yellow cake mix.

Which product do you miss most since starting a gluten-free diet? I asked this question on my Facebook page, and received lots of comments and answers. Know what I miss? Little Debbie’s. They evoke a sense of my childhood. So today, I’m making adorable gluten free valentine snack cakes, reminiscent of those sweet treats wrapped in cellophane. I can still hear the crinkling of that wrapper, can’t you?

Two Ways to Make Heart Shaped Cakes

So, there are multiple ways you can go about making the cake for these gluten free valentine snack cakes. I have a silicone pan with heart-shaped wells. I filled each well with one ounce of batter, and baked them for 15 minutes. If you take this route, the mini cakes will rise, and you’ll have to trim he tops to make them flat. You’ll also need to cut the baked heart cakes in half, to fill them. 

If you lack a pan like mine, you can bake the cake in a jelly roll pan. I suggest lining it with parchment paper first to make removal easier. Then, simply use a heart cookie cutter to cut out heart shapes. This will leave bits of leftover cake bits, which you can later turn into cake balls. This is how I made my Gluten Free Christmas Tree Cakes.

How to Make the Filling for Valentine Snack Cakes

What’s the best part of a Little Debbie snack cake? Is it the the cake? The coating? Or is it the creamy filling ? This filling uses a creative, miraculous ingredient. Marshmallow fluff. Did you know that marshmallow fluff makes the easiest buttercream frosting?

Wish I could say this was my brain child. Nope. Just another wonderful recipe from The Kitchn. If you are curious on how to cook everything from spaghetti squash to authentic curry, I guarantee they have a recipe for it. Know what they don’t have? A recipe for gluten free valentine snack cakes. So I guess that makes me a genius. 😉

How to Coat Your Valentine Snack Cakes

I recommend using melted candy coating/ almond bark. I use the candy coating from Kroger, as it states gluten free on the package. I melt it using a double broiler method. This involves placing the coating in a glass bowl, over a hot pot of water. I add 1 tablespoon of shortening to thin it down a bit. 

To cover your Valentine Cakes, place on a fork, and dunk the whole cake in the melted candy coating. Place on parchment paper to cool. If you would like to add sprinkles or decorations, make sure to do so BEFORE the coating completely sets.

Can I Make the Coating for These Cakes Pink?

Want to tine the melted candy coating pink? “Add just a few drops of an oil-based food coloring into your bowl or container of melted candy melts, then stir the liquid into the melts. Try not to use traditional, alcohol-based food coloring for your candy melts, as this could cause the mixture to seize. You can find oil-based food coloring online.” (Wikihow)

Watch my Christmas Tree Cake Instagram Reel for a tutorial on how to coat the cakes. 

Other Gluten Free Valentine’s Day Treats

For an easy semi-homemade treat, try Eat at Our Table’s Easy Gluten Free Cookie Pops. (Just use your favorite gluten free Oreo type cookies.) For a a gluten, egg and dairy free treat, make these homemade Vegan Heart Pie Pops from Sarah Bakes Gluten Free. For the best sugar cookies ever, try these Gluten Free Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies from Flippin’ Delicious.

What Valentine’s Day Candy is Gluten Free?

Since Valentine’s Day is a big day for candy, make sure to check Celiac Mama’s article on Gluten Free Valentine’s Gluten Free Candy List.  No Whey Chocolate make top 8 allergen free candies and truffles. Michigan based Mindo Chocolate makes excelleny gluten free chocolate. Find them both on my list of Gluten Free Easter Candy.

Gluten Free Heart Cakes Recipe

Print

Gluten Free Valentine Snack Cakes

Servings 12 -16 cakes

Author Margaret Clegg

Equipment

• Dolci Frutta White Melting Wafers, 8 ounce (Pack of 2) | Always Gluten-Free and Nut-Free
• King Arthur Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix
• Silicone Heart Mold Heart Shaped Small Cake Pans 2 pack
• Heart Cookie Cutter Set, 5 Pieces
• USA Pan Bakeware Half Sheet Pan

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 1 box gluten free cake mix batter prepared according to directions
• **BAKE FOR ONLY 10-12 MINUTES in 2 jelly roll pans**

For the Filling

• 1 stick softened
• 7 oz marshmallow fluff
• 4 oz powdered sugar

For the Coating

• 24 oz vanilla candy coating I used Kroger
• 1 tbsp shortening to thin

Instructions

• Prepare the batter for your gluten free cake mix according to directions. If using a 15 – 16 oz cake mix, bake in TWO 10 x 15 jelly roll pans. (Or bake one batch and then reuse. If using a 18-22 oz cake mix, I recommend using 2 11×17 pans.
• ONLY BAKE FOR 10 minutes. Longer than this, and you'll have burnt cake on your hands. Remove baked cake from pans and allow to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, prepare your marshmallow cream filling. Make sure your butter is room temperature and soft, before starting. Mix using a hand mizxer, or a Kitchenaid stand mixer. (I like the stand mixer, because I can walk away.)
• Stretch the mouth of a piping bag over a tall glass, then fill the piping bag with filling mixture. Set aside.
• Once cake is cooled, cut cake into heart shapes, using a cookie cutter. Pipe filling on to the bottom piece of cake. Don't be afraid to be generous with the filling. You have plenty of filling! Place another heart cake cutout on top of filling
• Once all heart cake bottoms have been topped with filling and a top cake, place in freezer for 60 minutes, before coating.
• Meanwhile, melt candy coating / almond bark in a glass bowl, set over a hot pot of water. To that, add your shortening, if needed. I used 24 oz of vanilla candy coating, and added a tbsp of shortening. You can make your coating thinner if you like, but I would test that out with a small portion of melted bark, and not a whole bowl of melted white chocolate. 
• If you would like to make your candy coating pink/red, make sure to use oil based food coloring. Water based food coloring will make the chocolate seize. I added some pink colored sanding sugar to mine to make them festive.
• Place valentine cake on fork, and dunk completely in bowl of melted candy coating. Use spoon to fully coat, if needed. Tap / bounce cake over bowl, to get rid of excess coating.
• Place finished cake on parchment and allow to coating to set. **Note- If you want to add sprinkles or colored sugar, you need to do this BEFORE the coating sets.
• **Note – If you have leftover filling, this can last in the fridge for 5 days. I used my leftover filling to the cake scraps to make cake balls. I don't have an exact measurement of frosting to tell you to add. Use just enough for the cake to hold together. Dip chilled cake balls in remaining melted candy coating.

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What’s your favorite Valentine’s treat? What family recipes do you make for your kiddos every February? Share your recipe ideas with me below! 

Originally Published February 2018

The post Gluten Free Valentine Snack Cakes appeared first on MI Gluten Free Gal.