Beth Cato's Blog, page 118

Bready or Not: Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake

Let’s carry September’s Cake Month into October as I start the annual autumn theme of pumpkin, maple, and other seasonal flavors!

Most of the stuff I bake goes with my husband along to his work. Lo and behold, a few of his co-workers eat gluten-free. I hate for people to feel left out. Therefore, I try to mix in some GF goodies every so often.

Baking gluten-free can be rather intimidating. The stuff is expensive, and even worse, some of it tastes BAD. As in, scrub-out-your-mouth-with-a-toilet-brush bad. I also worried about cross-contamination. My kitchen is pretty much saturated in gluten.

I prowled around for good pumpkin cake recipes and I found this one at King Arthur Flour. Their recipes are very reliable. I modified it slightly. I used a Bob’s Red Mill GF Vanilla Cake Mix here, as Bob’s mixes and flours are pretty darn good. I also used my own maple glaze, because, well, MAPLE!

The end result was an absolutely delicious cake. It tasted totally normal–no one would suspect it was gluten-free!

Modified from the recipe at King Arthur Flour, with my own glaze.

Print
Bready or Not: Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake

Ingredients

Cake ingredients:
5 large eggs, room temperature
3 tablespoons molasses
1 can (about 15 ounces) pumpkin purée
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 box good brand of yellow, vanilla, or white gluten-free cake mix (recommend King Arthur or Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (or substitute 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves)

Maple Glaze ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon maple flavor
1 1/2 Tablespoons milk (almond milk works!), more as needed

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Thoroughly grease a 10-cup Bundt pan.
Whisk together the eggs, molasses, pumpkin purée, and oil. Set aside.
In another big bowl, combine the cake mix, cornstarch, baking soda, and spice(s).
Stir the wet and dry mixtures together until smooth and pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake the cake for 60 to 65 minutes, until it passes the crumb test.
Remove the cake from the oven, let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out of the pan to cool completely on a rack.
Dust the cake with confectioners' sugar, or make the maple glaze. Combine the glaze ingredients, adding more sugar or milk for desired texture. Drizzle over cake.
OM NOM NOM!
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Finishing Off September

Over at Tor.com, I answer The Pop Quiz at the End of the Universe.

Looking a few months ahead, I am happy to announce that I’ll have a booksigning on December 6th from 1-3pm at the Metro Center Barnes & Noble in Phoenix. This is a more casual thing–no reading–but I’ll sit at a table and lure in people with cookies. If you’re in the area, please pencil in the date and drop by to say hi!

Meet My Character Blog Tour

I was tagged by my agent-sister Alyssa Goodnight to take part in the Meet My Character Blog Tour. Since I still have The Clockwork Dagger on my brain (gee, I wonder why?), I thought I’d talk about my heroine.

1.) What is the name of your character?

Octavia Leander.

2.) Is he/she fictional or a historic person?

She’s completely fictional, though inspired by medics, nurses, and corpsmen who have served in recent wars.

3.) When and where is the story set?

It’s set on a secondary world (based on Earth, but not Earth). The geography is based on the area around Seattle, Washington, and the time period is inspired by post-World War I Europe. The primary action is in a kingdom named Caskentia.

4.) What should we know about him/her?

Octavia was orphaned at age 12 when an enemy airship crashed atop her village. For the past ten years, she’s been mentored by Miss Percival at an academy for medicians in training. Much of that time has been spent in field hospitals at the front line of an endless war between Caskentia and the Waste. She has unusually powerful healing skills drawn from a world tree called the Lady.

5.) What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?

Armistice has been declared–yet again–and Octavia is setting out to establish her own medical practice in a village. When her airship journey is plagued by murder and poison, it becomes clear that Octavia is the intended target.

6.) What is the personal goal of the character?

She wants a true home, a place to belong. Instead, her trip becomes a scramble to stay alive at all.

7.) Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?

The book is out as of the 16th! The Clockwork Dagger was published by Harper Voyager and it’s available everywhere. Here you can read the back cover copy and find links to many booksellers.

8.) When can we expect the book to be published or when was it published?

It’s out! It’s real! Wheeeee!

Writers, feel free to copy/paste the meme and continue it!

Sunday Quote is ready for autumn

“Anybody who writes a book is an optimist. First of all, they think they’re going to finish it. Second, they think somebody’s going to publish it. Third, they think somebody’s going to read it. Fourth, they think somebody’s going to like it. How optimistic is that?” ~Margaret Atwood

Links of the Week

First of all, the ZOMG link of the week: an amazing review of The Clockwork Dagger over on NPR.org. Yes, THE NPR.

This means I’ve now had features in Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, NPR.org, and the Arizona Republic in the past week and a half, and I wasn’t even arrested!

I am still blog touring and popping up here and there and everywhere.

- My story “Post-Apocalyptic Conversations with a Sidewalk” was just published in Nature! This is one of my favorite works for the whole year.

- I’m interviewed at .

- At Write 1 Sub 1 I tell all about “The Horror of Revision Letters.”

- Rhonda Parrish interviewed me at her blog.

- The second half of my podcast is up at Kingdoms of Evil!

 

The blog tour for the book and parasol ENDS TODAY. Check it out and spread the word, please!

The Schedule

9/8 – YA Bibliophile, post
9/9 – Irish Banana, promo post
9/10 – Mundie Moms, excerpt
9/11- Reads All The Books, review
9/12 – YA Sisterhood, guest post





9/15 – My, My Shelf & I, excerpt
9/16 – Curling Up With A Good Book, guest post
9/17 – Fictitious Delicious, Q&A
9/18 – Page Turners Blog





9/22 – Novel Novice, promo post
9/23 – Reading Teen, promo post
9/24 – Chapter by Chapter
9/25 – Jenuine Cupcakes
9/26 – Good Choice Reading, excerpt

[9/16: Me signing my first books in public at the Goodyear, Arizona, Barnes & Noble]

Bready or Not: Chocolate Oreo Cake

Let’s finish off Cake Month with a cake of chocolate wonder, shall we?

I made this while visiting my parents’ house for the 4th of July. My brother’s birthday was in June and I let him pick the recipe for me to try. I prepared all of the dry ingredients beforehand and toted them to California.

I think he chose pretty well. This actually reminded me of how our local Savemart bakery used to make their Oreo Cake back in the late ’80s. This is heavy duty chocolate with the frosting and all, though the cake layers had a light crumb. It may not be as dense as some cakes, but it’s still a chocolate fist to the face.

I was a little disappointed in the filling layer, though–it wasn’t even visible in the cut cake! Therefore, I modified the ingredients to double the cream and sugar there.

Since I was in my hometown, it was only right that I use local ingredients. I used Rosa Brothers milk–it comes in a glass bottle and everything! Then I had to serve the cake with Superior Dairy chocolate chip ice cream, the best ice cream anywhere. I’ve lived all over the country. I know.

Like most chocolate cakes, this one improved after a day in the fridge.

Yet another reason why chocolate cake is awesome.

Modified from version here.

Print
Chocolate Oreo Cake

Ingredients

For cake:
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa, sifted
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
10-15 Oreos twisted to separate cookies and reveal cream center
15 Oreos, chopped directly in half through cookie [for final garnish]

For filling:
2/3 cup whipping cream
4 tsp powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
black Oreo sides, crushed

For icing:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
2/3 cup baking cocoa, sifted
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the cakes:
Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Prepare two 9-inch round baking pans by applying nonstick spray, lining with parchment, and then spraying again.
Set 5-8 Oreo halves down in each pan. These will be the cream sides, with the cream facing up. Set the black halves aside to be used in the filling.
In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
Stir in the boiling water. The batter will be very thin. Pour it very carefully into the prepared pans. Don't be surprised if the Oreos float around.
Bake the pans for 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool them for 10 minutes; run a knife around the sides to make sure they are loose, then carefully remove the cakes from pans. Set them on wire racks and remove the parchment from the tops. Let the cakes completely cool.
To make the filling:
Beat together the cream, sugar and vanilla until they form stiff peaks. Gently fold in the cookie crumbs.
Set up the bottom layer of the cake on the serving dish. Depending on consistency, pipe the filling onto the cake or spread it on with a spatula.
Set the top layer in place. If need be, trim the sides of the cake to make them more even.
Make the frosting:
Melt the butter. Mix in the cocoa. Alternately beat in the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Add small amounts of milk until it reaches spreading consistency.
Frost the cake around the top and sides. Apply the remaining halved Oreos around the bottom and the top; add any sliced-off cake crumbs as well.
Store the cake in the fridge, covered by a dome, foil, or wrap. Like most chocolate cakes, it actually tastes better after the first day. It can also be frozen in slices.
OM NOM NOM!
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Booksignings and Other Mind-Boggling Things

This has been one weird, crazy week. Things have started to calm down, which is good. I’ve been working on a lot of promo guest blogs and interviews over the past while, and it’s nice to return to some short stories.

I did have one big surprise this weekend. Last week I had a guest post over on Bookish. Well, through some shares on Twitter, I found this post was also published on USA Today. Like, whoa.

Another piece of good news: I survived my first booksigning! Mind you, I’ve signed lots of books before, but always at home and most of them for family and friends back in California. Never in front of a crowd, for strangers, in a store.

Changing Hands had a whole table set up with stacks of my books. I had to do the Vanna White thing.

I ended up with a fabulous number of people there–fifteen or so. Pretty awesome for a debut author like me! In speaking with people afterward, some found me through the Arizona Republic article, my guest blog at Chuck Wendig’s Terrible Minds, by simply stopping to hear me speak in the store, plus several are good friends and friends of friends.

I spoke about the dream of becoming an author, then took questions, and capped things off with an excerpt.

It was so strange to see a full line of people waiting to have their book signed. I’ve stood in lines like that sooooooo many times; this time it was for me!

When everything was done, we cleaned up and I was heading out of the store. A man stopped me to compliment me on my steampunk outfit, and a minute later he returned with his wife. I ended up walking with them back to my table, where I signed a book for them! BEHOLD THE POWER OF THE CORSET.

Changing Hands had a big poster of my book cover up at the front of the store. I asked what they were going to do with it, and they happily handed it over to me. This is destined for a wall somewhere in my house.

I want to extend heartfelt thanks to everyone at Changing Hands Tempe for being so kind and welcoming. There’s no getting away from the cliche, because it’s the truth: this was a dream come true.

Sunday Quote wonders if she’ll feel this way

“It turns out that the perfect state of mind to edit your novel is two years after it’s published, ten minutes before you go onstage at a literary festival.” ~Zadie Smith

Signing tonight!

My first ever booksigning will take place tonight at 7pm at the Tempe location of Changing Hands. I’ll talk! Read! Likely with a stupid grin the whole time!

Oh yeah, and FOOD. Have you drooled over my Bready or Not recipes? Tonight you can stuff your face. The offerings (subject to substitution if quality control issues arise):

- MAPLE FUDGE BITES. Because I had to serve something maple.

- A whole new recipe for Candy-Stuffed Cookie Cups. Imagine chocolate chip cookie dough, with a Rolo or mini Milky Way stuffed inside, baked in a mini muffin pan. I’ll do a special feature with the recipe soon. I want to see how people like them tonight.

- Also, for the gluten-free folks, I’m doing a batch of brownies using Cup 4 Cup Brownie Mix, which looks like it has great taste reviews from Amazon, though I bought mine at Sprouts.

If you’re in the Phoenix area, do come by. Say hi. Just remember I’m at the TEMPE location. If you go to the Changing Hands in Phoenix, they are doing  a signing with a dude who makes all kinds of food in a waffle maker. It looks downright awesome. So yeah, if you to the wrong store I’ll be sad, but you get to find out how to make dinner in a waffle press so you don’t really lose.

I am HERE

There are interviews with me in the two big Phoenix newspapers. I’m still gobsmacked about this.

- Buckeye author Beth Cato at Changing Hands Sept. 19

- Beth Cato on The Clockwork Dagger, Her Debut Steampunk/Fantasy Novel

 

Plus, I continue to visit fantastic blogs in the far reaches of the internet!

- Chuck Wendig’s Terrible Minds, where I discuss novel writing and depression in ACME Anvils and the Long Unicorn Ride to Publication.

- Literary Escapism, where I talk about the book’s Supporting Cast.

- Heroes and Heartbreakers with a list of Seven Steamy Steampunk Couples!

- No More Grumpy Bookseller with a guest post on Colorful Secondary Worlds.

 

The Big Blog Tour continues! Win a book and a parasol!

The Schedule

9/8 – YA Bibliophile, post
9/9 – Irish Banana, promo post
9/10 – Mundie Moms, excerpt
9/11- Reads All The Books, review
9/12 – YA Sisterhood, guest post





9/15 – My, My Shelf & I, excerpt
9/16 – Curling Up With A Good Book, guest post
9/17 – Fictitious Delicious, Q&A
9/18 – Page Turners Blog
9/19 – Fangirlish, promo post





9/22 – Novel Novice, guest post
9/23 – Reading Teen, promo post
9/24 – Chapter by Chapter, author interview
9/25 – Jenuine Cupcakes, promo post
9/26 – Good Choice Reading, excerpt