gluten-freelicious

Trader Joe's

After my so-so review of Trader Joe’s Flourless Chocolate Cake, I feel compelled to share my more concrete feelings on the store itself.  It is an awesome place to shop!  I highly recommend it.

It is a good 20-30 minute drive to our nearest Trader Joe’s (Reston, VA), and I pass uncountable grocery stores along the way.  For those reasons, I don’t make the trip often, but, each time I do, I am reminded what a wonderful experience it can be.  The staff is friendly, courteous, helpful, and everywhere!  As you wander any given aisle, you are likely to pass at least one staff member, restocking shelves or assisting a customer.

On my last visit, I asked if they had any gluten-free beer.  As it turns out, they do not (the three or four brands they used to carry did not receive positive reviews), but, in asking the question, I was given a packet listing the foods and beverages Trader Joe’s does carry in which no gluten ingredients are used.  An entire packet!  It lists everything from bakery items to dairy to salad dressings.  Hallelujah!  Gluten-free shopping made easy.  It doesn’t get much better than that…or does it?

The foods, whether organic or not, are minimally processed and offer much shorter ingredients lists than you will typically see on most packaging in your average grocery store.  The pricing is generally more reasonable.  And, to top it off, not only does Trader Joe’s offer numerous gluten-free options, quite a bit of what we’ve sampled is delicious!  In fact, Trader Joe’s brownies make our Top 1o list.  (More on that to come.)

Find out if you have a Trader Joe’s in your area.  If you do, take a gander!  I predict it will be worth the trip.

UPDATE: Our latest batch of Trader Joe’s gluten-free brownies was not at all yummy as we remembered.  We’ll try again soon, but, for now, I’ve updated our favorites list with Pamela’s brownie mix, a tried and true goodie.

Trader Joe's Flourless Chocolate Cake

With a drizzle of chocolate syrup, this Trader Joe’s Flourless Chocolate Cake is incredibly photogenic, but is it as scrumptious as it appears?  Is it the mouthwatering, “Get in my belly!” treat it so convincingly portrays?  Hmmm…it’s definitely good.  I’m just not sure it’s that good.

I think I’m waffling because flourless chocolate cake is not really cake, as it lacks, um…flour.  So, the “cake” really tastes more like fudge.  But, because it has eggs, it’s not really fudge either.  It’s not soft and moist as you would expect good cake to be or smooth and creamy as you would expect good fudge to be.  The texture and consistency fall somewhere in between.  My taste buds are confused.

Okay, enough semantics.  Trader Joe’s Flourless Chocolate cake is a dense, fudge-like cake topped with rich, dark, creamy icing.  The icing is delicious, but the cake is a bit thick and dry.  A cold slice straight out of the fridge is a bit difficult to get down, but it moistens up nicely with a quick stint in the microwave, and it is a sweet companion to a cold glass of milk or a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Yes, I suppose this is a pretty tasty gluten-free dessert.  I’ve eaten almost a quarter of the cake trying to decide how I feel about it; it must be good.  I think I’ll have another small piece…just to be sure.

NOTE: This cake is listed in Trader Joe’s “No Gluten Ingredients” packet.  It is, however, made on equipment shared with wheat.  The packet states, “Our suppliers follow Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP’s) to segregate ingredients on shared euipment and/or in the facility.”