Creme de Menthe Pistachio Cake

In the pre-dawn darkness, I meditate on the colorful glow of this year’s Christmas tree, light and shadows highlighting treasured family ornaments. This early contemplation takes me back to the magic of Christmases on the farm, my descending the steep staircase to find the tree, dripping with old-fashioned lights, antique ornaments, and my mother’s touch, whipped Ivory soap dabbed on the branch tips to resemble snow. Both of my parents loved the Christmas holiday, and I am grateful for the grounding they provided in faith and tradition. And the foods… my mother’s boozy eggnog, almond rolls, cookies, angel cakes.  It was the one time of year when, as Mom echoed a commercial of the moment, “Mr. Cholesterol lives here.”

Christmas season, for all its glories, tends to be the health downfall for just about everyone who exists, but especially for those who must eat restricted diets.

“So, there’s a cake that I really like, but it may be hard to modify. It starts with a cake mix; instant pistachio pudding is mixed in, some chocolate, and Oh! I almost forgot the crème de menthe… and of course, the whipped frosting.”

So goes my now grown daughter’s wish list for a cake that was to be made both gluten-free and diabetic friendly. 

One does not recover from being the mother of a child with Type 1 diabetes….

My mouth calmly talks about how I am certain that this cake can be made, while my thought bubble screams, “OMG! She has eaten this cake??! Sugar on sugar on sugar on fat! Can’t be done, can’t be done, can’t be done…”

All sorts of conditions require special diets. The medical staff talks quietly about “patient compliance,” referencing dietary adherence, to which the individual has almost certainly not been nearly as compliant as they might wish. Who wants his or her endocrinology check up in January? Uh, precisely no one, for those Christmas blood sugar readings are murder! But here’s the deal. People love to eat what they love to eat. And while one might be compliant much of the time, occasions will arise when this is simply down the drain. The holidays tend to be one of those times of year in which adherence to the diet is vastly difficult. So heck with my thought bubble…this cake recipe will be modified and it will be something delicious enough for me to want to eat it as well. 

Modifying recipes for particular diets requires compromise… I started with a classic vanilla chiffon cake recipe. Chiffon cake is kissin’cousins with angel food cake, using whipped egg whites for much of its rise and volume. It is less sweet with more tenderness, thanks to the vegetable oil that enriches it; it is inherently a better option for health than a butter cake. Given that this is to be gluten-free, the foundation recipe comes from Alanna Taylor Tobin’s wonderful gluten-free recipe book, The Alternative Baker. (https://bojongourmet.com/cookbook/) Her use of homemade gluten-free flour mixes using whole grains/seeds was the game changer for me when trying to bake gluten-free. Having tried a few tasteless commercially made gluten-free cupcakes using high starch one-to-one flour blends, stocking the flours for her recipes is a no-brainer in my kitchen. There’s no comparison as to taste and texture, and the use of the sticky rice flour means there’s no need for xanthan gum-which is a strong gut irritant for me.  The sugar in the recipe is reduced, along with the amount of liqueur. Pistachio flavor is provided by –Surprise! – real pistachios, and slivered dark chocolate marbled throughout the cake provides great chocolate flavor with less sugar. The frosting? Light cream cheese, whipped cream, and a tiny bit of confectioners’ sugar and flavoring.  

Crème de Menthe Pistachio Cake is a delicious dessert – for anyone; less sugar and all natural ingredients. While you might want to cue those with dietary restrictions, this is not one of those desserts. You know, the ones that everyone else avoids because they are not as tasty or contain artificial sweeteners or gums…. This cake has earned a spot on my holiday dessert table, and I’ve served it to all on many an occasion.  I might add that if you prefer a gluten-full cake, using wheat flour, these bake up beautifully as well; see the notes at the bottom of the recipe for the flour substitution. So to those with diabetes, Celiac’s and/or gluten sensitivity, to their mothers, and to everyone else: enjoy the holidays and have a piece of cake.