Valerie Confections sells gluten-free blue corn muffin

When a place such as Valerie Confections, in downtown L.A., sells a gluten-free muffin, two things might occur to you: This should be a delicious muffin. And, this gluten-free thing is really spreading.

“In the last 18 to 24 months, I have noticed a really rapid increase in the number of requests for gluten-free,” Valerie Gordon said from her stand in Grand Central Market. “I was a little bit resistant to it, because I hadn’t been particularly drawn to the gluten-free pastries I’d tried in the past.”

The muffin took a “significant amount of testing,” she said: The recipe includes berries and Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour, and the challenges included keeping the muffin moist and making sure the flour flavors didn’t dominate.

The goal was a muffin anyone would like. “It can’t be a consolation prize,” Gordon said.

The muffin, and a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie, also are sold at farmers markets in Santa Monica and Hollywood. Gordon said she also is working on a gluten-free cake.

Valerie Confections, which has a shop just west of downtown, is known for its beautiful chocolates and preserves, sold in many gourmet shops.

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mary.macvean@latimes.com

Twitter/@mmacvean