sun-filled gluten-free treat

I was first in line at my local Starbucks on a chilly, grey and rainy May morning to snag one of Starbucks new gluten-free Valencia Orange cakes on the day of their official launch in my area. I searched out the spotless pastry case to spy a wicker basket on the top shelf loaded with golden cakes safely wrapped from gluten contaminants.
I bought two cakes…

As the rain became heavier, my companion and I decided to grab some lattes and split one of the cakes I bought to taste test…the other I was saving to photograph in my studio.
The cake looked a bit as if it was out of my office vending machine, but became much more enticing when I unwrapped and plated the delicate looking round.

At first taste, I was impressed.
The cake was light and spongy with orange zest in every bite. Each cake was glazed with what I assumed to be a zingy, but sweet thick orange marmalade and topped with slivered almonds. The combination of the light spongy cake, the sunny sweetness of the glaze and that lovely toothsome CA-RUNCH of the almond slivers made for a great mouth-feel and a true tasting pleasure. This certainly was not like other gluten-free sweets that I have tasted.

This tasty gluten-free cake that will definitely be just an occasional treat for me rather than a regular bite. The delicious but tiny cake weighs in at 290 calories, with16 Grams of fat, quite a bit of Cholesterol at 125 mgs and 32 grams of carbs.

In spite of these negative numbers, it is nice to see that such a large chain offering a choice of a sweet for those of us that cannot ingest gluten. I t is comforting to know that if I want to meet up with my friends or work associates for coffee, a sweet snack and a gab session, I have a choice of something that is safe for me to munch.