1St Birthday Party B-day Cake Without Dairy or Wheat

Boy, have we been there! Our children are over 3 now and one reacts to wheat, all grains (including oats and rice, dairy, eggs etc. The other one is mainly just nuts, seeds and dairy. So birthday parties are nightmares. However, we've come up with lot of alternatives to the traditional wheat-based birthday cake. (the first year i think i simply made a birthday cake and he blew out the candle but didn't eat any!)

For frosting, you can use maple syrup or powdered sugar and water or if he's ok w/ soy, the Earth Balance buttery spread is a really good alternative. or, Cherrybrook Kitchen makes a dairy-free frosting we used recently (dairy free) that is great. Their cake mixes are not wheat free tho.
For a cake this year we made a buckwheat maple banana cake. It was pretty good. quite dense. and more like banana bread than cake but it did the trick. We made it in the shape of a train and decorated it with some colored frosting. and everyone ate it w/o choking it down too much! Our son doesn't know the difference, so he loved it. We got that recipe from the Allergy Self-Help cookbook by Marjorie Hurt Jones. It has a bunch or recipes that are free of ALL the common food allergens. Happy birthday to your little one!

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There is a website: www.glutenfreeclub.com that is a great source of recipes as well as a forum for people with wheat/gluten sensitivities. You can also google gluten free, dairy free and come up with bunches of sites that will help you. Bob's Red Mill has good cake mixes, as does Pamela's. Whole Foods has a baked good section with gluten free foods, as well as a section for flours and mixes (cake, brownies, pancake/waffle, bread....)

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Hi,
I also have that problem. I get all my cakes from kapcakes.com. She is local and has several options for picking it up. She is a local mom with a child who has celic disease. So, she has used her professional chef education to create wonderful and beautiful foods for those of us with the same problem. She is super nice and will custom make something to fit your needs. Also, it is always really yummy! Have a wonderful time!

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Hi M.,
Do a web search for "flourless chocolate cake." This is actually quite a trendy cake these days even for people who are not trying to avoid certain foods. They are quite good.

My son is also lactose intolerant. You can substitute soy milk or lactose-free milk in any recipe. I find that Lactaid brand makes things a bit sweeter. I actually prefer pudding and smoothies made with it. I haven't noticed any difference when using the lactose free version of the regular brand of milk.

Here's a website to try also. It had cake recipes for wheat free cakes for first birthdays. There is one for carrot cake. I didn't care for all of the ads on the webpage (sorry for that). http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/wheat-free-birt...

Have fun!

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Chocolate Valentine Cake

Chickpeas? Relax. It's delicious. Using legumes instead of flour adds fiber and protein and reduces unhealthful spikes in blood sugar.
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups (19 ounce can) cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
4 eggs, or 1 cup egg substitute
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 Tb. powdered sugar
In small bowl, melt chocolate in microwave oven, 2 minutes on medium power. In blender or food processor, combine beans and eggs. Add sugar, baking powder and chocolate; process until smooth. Pour batter into non-stick 9-inch heart-shaped or round cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut in 10 wedges. Serve with raspberry sauce.
Quick Microwave Raspberry Sauce
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
2 tsps. fresh lemon juice
1 pint fresh raspberries
In a bowl, microwave jam until melted,
1 minute. Stir in juice and berries.
Per wedge with sauce: 318 calories,10g fat (4.8g saturated), 56g carbohydrates, 2.8g fiber, 5.8g protein, 116mg sodium.

You will have to check the chocolate ships for dairy, though. My kids love this cake.

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Hi M.,
Applesauce Carrot Cake
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup non dairy butter substitute (Soy Garden is good)
3 eggs
1 cup applesauce
1 cup brown rice flour
2 tablespoons potato flour
with enough rice polish to fill
one half (1/2) cup
1 teaspoon cinnomon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup raw, grated carrots
Beat eggs until light and fluffy, add sugar tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition, until thoroughly incorporated. Add Soy Garden or other butter substitute. Beat well.
Sift flours and seasonings together three times (potato flour can clump if not incorporated thoroughly) Add flours alternately with applesauce to egg mixture.
Fold in grated carrots. Grease 8x8x2 pan. Dust with rice flour. Bake @ 325º for about
50 minutes or until toothpick test in center cones out clean.

Merylyn (aka M.)

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My son is highly allergic to most foods. My food "bible" for him is The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook by Cybele Pascal (nothing to do with the store). I made corn muffins for him this morning and will be making his chocolate layer cake for his birthday at the end of the month.

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Hi!
My daughter is gluten intolerant and we love Pamela's Products for cake and cookie mixes, pancake mix etc. I find them at Nob Hill, Staff of Life and I'm sure other places have them too. They are really good. For "frosting" you can use powdered sugar mixed with water or juice(pineapple is really good). It is not as thick as regular frosting but it is enough and very yummy. Just make it very thick, and it will harden as it sits for a few minutes. It will also hold any other kind of topping you'd like to put on the cake like berries, pineapple pieces, sprinkles, or something. For a filling you can make carrot marmelade. Cook carrots, water and sugar(or Xylitol for a healthier version) and a little lemon juice. It is super yummy.
Happy birthday Elijah!

C.

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Here's a recipe from the Gluten Free Club:

White Cake

A classic white birthday cake.

Ingredients:

2 cups GF flour (Bette Hagman's)
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs

Directions:

Heat oven to 350.

Grease and flour baking pan, 13 X 9 X 2" or 2 round layer pans or for cupcakes (muffin tins) - use paper liners.

Measure all ingredients into a large bowl.

Blend 1/2 minute on low speed, scraping bowl constantly.

Beat 3 minutes on high speed, scraping bowl occasionally.

Pour into pans. Bake 40-45 minutes for oblong, 30-35 for round, and 15-20 for cupcakes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool.


I've also gotten gluten free mixes from Whole Foods and adapted the directions by using soy or rice milk.

Enjoy!

S.

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Two of my children are allergic to wheat and dairy (among other things). I have experimented with making substitutions in many different recipes, often with not so great (and sometimes downright inedible) results.

If you want the cake to taste good for the party guests, I suggest getting a gluten-free cake mix. If the package calls for adding milk, you can substitute soy or rice milk. (There is rarely any dairy in the dry mixes. Cake mixes usually call for adding oil rather than butter, so that shouldn't be a problem either.)

There are many packaged gluten-free mixes available in stores now. Whole Foods and Draegers carry many different ones. Trader Joes carries a gluten-free brownie mix (which is what our 6yo choose to have for his last birthday cake.)

I have mostly given up using regular recipes and making substitutions on my own because the gluten-free mixes turn out so much better. When I do bake from scratch, I now try to start with a gluten-free recipe, because that has a higher success rate. Almost all recipes are based on wheat flour, and other flours just do not have the same chemistry or taste. I have always liked baking as a hobby, but I have been surprised by how hard it is for me to bake something that tastes good when substituting ingredients for my kids allergies, even after years of trying.

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A web site that I use a lot is allrecipes.com You can specify which ingrediants you cannot use and it will turn up results. Also, almost all of the recipes are reviewed by regular people and they often have their own suggestions to improve the recipe if needed. I use it for cooking and baking and have yet to come up with a recipe that I did not like. One of my daughters is lactose intolerant as well. Also, something you might want to try. If you are having a big party, maybe order a regular cake for your guests and then make one for yourselves. I am sure it will all work out.

Blessings

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There is a great food-allergen free company that has good box mix for cakes called Cherrybrook Kitchen. I've seen it in the more'gourmet' aisles at grocery stores, and they also have a good website. My son had won a contest through that company when we were doing the dairy-free thing. I also have a fantastic icing recipe, completely dairy free called Bakers Icing. It tastes EXACTLY like bakery frosting, and is easy to make. It makes alot, so I keep some in a covered bowl in the fridge and use a couple days later for cupcakes...
BAKERS-CAKE DECORATING ICING
1 C Crisco
6 C Powdered Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract, almond, or lemon extract
1/2 C water, minus 1 tablespoon
*beat well with electric mixer for about 5 minutes

I love this icing, you can easily keep it pearly white if you use clear vanilla extract, or go crazy with food coloring, it tints very well!

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Hi M..

I use traditional recipes and substitute the ingredients I don't want my family to eat with ingredients that are healthier alternatives and they honestly wouldn't know it if I didn't tell them. I use oat flour in just about everything. I also substitute half the sugar with stevia powder. You can google a stevia/sugar conversion chart on the internet. Good luck and Happy Birthay Elijah!

T.

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May I also suggest trying millet flour, which, when finely ground, is very delicate and cake-like? Mixed with oat and rice, and a bit of potato starch, excellent alternative to fine ground wheat flour. And there is a pretty decent soy-cream cheese you might try for frosting, mixed with maple syrup and a bit of vanilla.

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This is a good recipe for Vegan Chocolate Cake.

3 cups Oat or Almond Flour (can make oat flour by cuisinart)
2/3 cup cocoa
1/2 TBSP baking soda
2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 cup cold water
3/4 cup vanilla
2 TBSP lemon juice

Mix dry ingredients. Sepertely mix wet. Then fold in together. Bake on a greased sheet pan (cake pan) at 350* for 25-30 minutes or til tootpick comes out clean.

A great recipe to try in the future is "Queen of SHeeba" cake. IT has much more "maure"flavors, more like a decadent torte!! You can find many variations of the ____@____.com It calls for a very small amount of flour which can be substituted for ALternative flours no problem.

Happy Birthday!!!

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