Like many folks, Lisa Hoang uses food as comfort, but not in the way you’d think.

“I’m a stress baker,” said the Kapiolani Community College culinary student. “I bake a whole lot.”

One of Hoang’s favorite desserts to bake is an easy gluten-free carrot cake, adapted from a recipe from her childhood, spent in Southern California. She so loved carrot cake that her mother baked it each year for her birthday.

Hoang said the beauty of the recipe is that the cake bakes up moist. “No one can tell it’s gluten-free. It’s not gummy or crumbly, and it doesn’t taste weird,” she said.

For her version, Hoang mixes five different starches and flours — equal parts sorghum, white rice and either almond or coconut flours, cornstarch and tapioca starch. But she said her homemade mix is easily replaced with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour or Better Batter gluten-free flour (both are available online; the Bob’s flour is available in some stores — call ahead).

Her cake includes a generous amount of grated carrots, crushed pineapple, raisins, nutmeg, lots of cinnamon and applesauce, which is a replacement for half the oil in the recipe.

Hoang has tailored the flavors and spices just to her liking but said the recipe is adaptable. Some prefer no raisins and like a ginger flavor, so delete and add what you like. If you exclude the pineapple, she recommends increasing the amount of carrots, which provide both moisture and sweetness.

Hoang said gluten-free flours generally require more liquid, usually a quarter- to half-cup, so simply substituting them in a con­ventional recipe almost always results in a dry product. She advises adjusting the liquid by assessing the thickness of the batter.

“Coconut flour is notorious for needing more liquid, as much as three times more,” she said.

That’s one reason gluten-free baked goods often call for more oil than conventional recipes, she said, and why she likes to sub in applesauce for some of the oil.

“In moist, fluffy items, you can do applesauce, but usually no more than half a cup,” she advised.

Along with her culinary studies and raising a family, Hoang also juggles in work as a baby photographer, a job she said she enjoys. Her dreams for the future, however, are dominated by gluten-free cooking and baking.

Hoang has thoughts of selling cheesecake and creating lines of gluten-free manapua and malasadas. But her ultimate, 10-year goal is to learn to make gluten-free European-style pastries, then move to Sicily to open up shop.

But for now, she indulges her baking passion by turning conventional recipes into good gluten-free adaptations.

“It’s not a chore, it’s a fun challenge,” she said.

She clearly knows what she’s doing. Her carrot cake has received an enthusiastic thumb’s up from her three sons, who eat gluten-free just as she does.

Her baking gene, which was passed on to Hoang by her mother, is making itself known in her middle son, Carter, 12, who was just 9 when he made the cake solo, unbeknownst to his mom. His love of baking is paying off — for her.

“Now, it’s become a tradition — he makes me a cake for my birthday,” she said.

GLUTEN-FREE CARROT CAKE

By Lisa Hoang

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (substitute any mild vegetable oil)
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour, such as Better Batter or Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour (to make your own, see note)
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1-1/2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (substitute any other type of milk)
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 2/3 cup crushed pineapple, drained
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, for garnish (optional)

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of two 8- or 9-inch round pans; lightly flour.

In large bowl, use electric mixer on low (or use stand mixer) to beat sugars, oil, applesauce and eggs about 30 seconds or until blended.

In separate bowl, sift flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Incorporate dry mixture into wet mixture a little at a time, alternating flour mix with milk. Mix on low to combine.

Stir in carrots, pineapple and raisins.

Pour evenly into pans and tap lightly to get an even layer and remove any bubbles.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans, then remove from pans to continue cooling on a wire rack.

Once cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting (recipe follows) and refrigerate. Serves 10-12.

>> NOTE: Make a gluten-free flour mix of equal parts white rice, sorghum and coconut or almond flours; cornstarch; and tapioca starch; plus 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

By Lisa Hoang

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip cream cheese and butter with an electric or stand mixer. Add vanilla. Add confectioner’s sugar by the cup and beat until creamy. Makes about 3 cups.

Nutritional information unavailable.

“Going Gluten-Free” helps meet the cooking and dining challenges faced by those on wheat-free diets. It runs on the first Wednesday of each month. Send questions to Joleen Oshiro, joshiro@staradvertiser.com.