Here’s what I know: I love glutinous (interchangeable with gluttonous) goodies, things filled to the brim with gluten. Here’s something else I know: my love is unrequited. It’s sad, but true, folks. Ours is a love story not meant to be.

But wait! What if there’s something better out there for me? Something that just might treat me right whilst fulfilling my need, my need for—cobbler.

Here’s hoping my glutinous/gluttonous salvation may be met in this book, BabyCakes, by cutie patootie author and owner of the ubiquitous New York City bakery by the same name, “the” Erin McKenna.

The baker-proprietor extraordinaire developed recipes she herself could eat; seems I’ve found some good company in McKenna who suffers from food allergies/sensitivities as well.

Being the proactive gal that she is, the Erin McKenna didn’t just stand around pouting over her dietary restrictions like SOME people (ahem); instead she went out and developed recipes of confectionary goodness (please God, let it be so) that are mainly gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and mostly without refined sugar—I know, where’s the yum in that?

We’ll see if the recipes are as delectable as her famous Hollywood clientele (i.e., Natalie Portman, Jason Schwartzman, Mary-Louise Parker, and Zooey Deschanel, etc.) claim them to be. Fingers crossed…

To begin, class, we’re going to take a look at Blackberry, Peach, and Oat Cobbler.

Ingredients. Here’s the cast of characters the Erin McKenna has invited to our baking soiree:

Blackberries. Sassy little tarts that they are.  This guy looks lonely, no?

Peaches. Gang’s all here, being gathered for the slaughter.

Peaches. In the midst of slaughter. Look away if this is too graphic.

Fruit. Post-slaughter.

Arrowroot. Confession: I went with a substitute in good old-fashioned cornstarch, resulting in a slightly cloudier fruity filling. Slightly, being the operative.

Break. Hold up for O and Ro. Duty calls y’all.

Agave nectar. Oh, sweet nectar of the gods. Oh, wondrous natural sweetener that doesn’t make me feel like a “less than” due to my tummy issues. This stuff is a goldmine. It’s low on the glycemic index, tolerable for many diabetics, and (wait for it)… TRULY yummy. I’m smitten.

Salt. Nothing unusual here, except for the note on the back telling me the salt is in fact “gluten-free”. Whew. I was so worried.

Spelt flour. Confession: I didn’t realize spelt flour has gluten in it (I’m on a learning curve here, folks). Mind you, the Erin McKenna TOLD me it had gluten in it, but did I listen? Nooooooooooooo.

To remedy this sitch, I relied on my compadre Amy, also a glutenite. Being the lovely, helpful and knowledgeable glutenite that she is, Amy suggested I substitute the spelt flour with something I already had in the pantry, like…

Pamela’s Baking Mix. Oh, how I love thee. Oh, how I dote on thee. This is quite a lady, this, this, Pamela. Pammy (I like to call her) enables me to make pancakes on Saturday mornings, the kind of pancakes my husband likes to eat—not because he feels sorry for me and my food intolerances, but because he actually likes them. Pamela packs a powerful punch. Consider me indebted.

Rolled oats. The Bob’s Red Mill (gluten-free!) variety. Bob and I are becoming fast friends. Look at that face, that beard. You know you have a friend in Bob.

Evaporated cane juice. This is DA bomb. I’m not 100% sure I got the right stuff—more like 98.5%. Call it a rookie move, but I just went with it. I only know that it is delish. Like agave nectar, the cane juice is lower on the glycemic index and better tolerated by the easily intolerable. Wait. That came out all wrong.

Baking powder. Nuff said. REALLY? You want a pic of the baking powder? We gotta work on the confidence level all around.

Cinnamon. Makes nearly every sweet thing better, including the aforementioned Pammy pancakes. Glutenite Amy adds a sprinkle to her fruit salad with yogurt. Brilliant.

Coconut oil. This is the GOOD fat. There’s the good (this). The bad (oh, say, French fry oil). And then there’s the ugly (eating too much of any kind of fat). Coconut oil helps with digestion and heart health. It looks an awful lot like lard, but it alone won’t kill me. Take that, Crisco!

Vanilla extract. Divine. Glutenite Amy also adds this to her fruit salad (along with the cinnamon and the yogurt, and the…Sorry Ames—didn’t mean to give away all the secrets).

Hot water. Confession: I completely forgot to use this. Here’s proof of it being found in the microwave AFTER I pulled the completed cobbler out of the oven.

Mixing it up: Here are the fruits mingling.

Desert no more: And here are the dry ingredients partying away. Pretty sure the water was supposed to hang out here, but alas, no dice.

Dance Party: The fruit and the dry ingredients make a commitment to love one another through thick and through thin (perhaps thinner if I’d included the water), forsaking all OTHER cobblers.

More lovin’. They look happy, no? Note the little extra sprinkles of sugar cane.

Baking: All relationships must undergo a certain amount of heat, a little added pressure. Let’s see how they’re doing now that they’ve come out on the other side…

Result: Not bad, Peeps. It sorta looks like the Erin McKenna’s pic in BabyCakes. Let’s take a look at the Erin McKenna’s cobbler:

Yeah, mine’s falling short. Maybe it was the lack of water? Bakers? Any thoughts? Bakers?

Check out my aerial shot:

Oh, well.

So, was the recipe a success? Ah, that’s the real question. Aside from all of the “confessions” and my complete lack of natural baking prowess (my poor husband!), the answer is a resounding, “YES”! The real test after all, is taste, and I must tell you it was NOT lacking there. Proof? Hmmm…Well, let’s just say there is no proof left to show you. The cobbler is done GONE y’all, which led me to tweet this:

“Note to self: “Gluten-free” does not mean fat free. It doesn’t mean sugar-free. Not even a little bit. Boo.”

Boo, indeed. So sad, but lesson learned—on the scale the next day. Double boo. I hope you’ll check out the complete recipe in BabyCakes. I’d post it here, but I couldn’t do that to the Erin McKenna. Girlfriend has worked too hard to get published. If you’re still not convinced of the gluten-free possibilities, stay tuned: I’ll be trying out more of the Erin McKenna’s recipes in the coming weeks.