Farm Birthday Party and Eggless Cake

oooh, I second Blind Faith Bakery! I like them better than regular cakes! Pricey, though. I've seen the vegan mixes but I haven't tried them yet.

btw, My son is allergic to eggs and I make muffins and carrot cake a lot with Ener-G egg replacer, and I can't tell the difference. Let me know if you get dry regular cake with Ener-G egg replacer, and I won't try it!

Lincoln Park Zoo's Farm in the Zoo has a large party room just waiting for your group of kids, and they have dairy cow milkings daily, probably will have piglets by that time, loads of other farm animals like ponies and rabbits. I highly recommend it. I think you can have them bring in small animals to visit with your group (maybe not to pet, but to look at closely).

I will also say Blind Faith Cafe for your eggless cake--we did it for our baby's 1st birthday with an egg- and dairy-allergic playmate on the guest list, and honestly, had we not told our guests that it was a vegan cake, no one would have known. It's a REALLY good cake they make there. I can't recommend it enough.

Lincoln Park Zoo Farm would be my choice, too. And Blind Faith Cafe in Evanston has DELICIOUS vegan cake and cupcakes. If you want to stay closer to the city, call Bittersweet or the Chicago Diner (vegetarian) and see if you can find a vegan birthday cake. I thought I heard of an all vegan bakery that's supposed to be great. Try Googling. But if you can't find anything in the city, you won't go wrong getting one from BF. Good luck!

As for a cake without eggs, Whole Foods sells vegan cakes (no egg or dairy). Or you can go to Chicago Diner (on Halsted). If you want to make something, the cookbook "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" has the best cupcakes ever, definitely not dry.

Hi D.,

About the cake -- you can order one from Chicago Diner (www.veggiediner.com), but if you tell me if you'd like chocolate or vanilla, I'd be happy to send a recipe -- I just made two fabulous, moist eggless b-day cakes for my husband and a friend. One was chocolate and the other one vanilla. Feel free to message me here.

Best,
R.

To speak to the farm party idea...have you thought of Wagner Farm in Glenview? It's just off the Edens on Lake Ave. Check out the website if you are interested. For the city people, it's relatively close.

Good luck!

J.

I do not have any ideas about the farm, but I do have an alternative for the cake. How about some yummy iced shortbread cookies or her favorite flavored fruit pies instead of a traditional cake? Cookies can be decorated all different ways. You can probably even find some animal shaped cookie cutters to keep with the farm-theme. If the pie has a solid top crust, then it is probably suitable for writing 'happy birthday' on it. Just a thought.

D.,
Have you tried Wagner Farm in Glenview? For the cake, have you seen the Cherrybrook Kitchen mixes? I don't eat eggs or dairy, and their mixes are really good. Places like Whole Foods or the natural section at Jewel carry them. I've also bought cake at Blind Faith Cafe in Evanston (on Dempster) that is Vegan-so no animal products- and it is addictively good! In addition, there is a bakery on Central Street in Evanston called Rose's Wheat Free Bakery, but I think they may be able to make other allergy-free things.
Good Luck.
J.

D.... I had my little one's 1st bd party at the Children's farm in Palos Park last year. It was fun.. all the kids got a pony ride, we had a hay rack ride, and tour of the animals/farm. It was great and the kids loved it. Plus we didn't share the farm with anyone for several hrs. I bought a farmer hat for each kid... it was cute. Good luck and have fun!

I made some brownies a couple weeks ago that called for 4 eggs!!! and then realized that I didn't have any. Applesauce was an easy substitute and the brownies turned out sweeter and more like cake (still very moist) than I was expecting. With baking, especially sweet things like cakes and quick breads, you can easily get away with this substitute.

1 egg = 1/3 to 1/2 cup applesauce + 1tsp baking powder

Good luck.

Hi D.,

Check out my website, www.kidwinks.com. We list over 70 birthday party places in the Chicagoland area in the Services section. I know that there are some area farms in there that hold birthday parties for kids. Here's the link to the exact url: http://www.kidwinks.com/events/index.asp?SECTION_ID=6&amp....

If you become a member of kidwinks, which is free, you can sort these 70+ results in order of distance from your house.

Kidwinks.com is a resource for parents in the Chicago area looking for kid-friendly events, activities, restaurants, shops and services (like birthday party places!). In the restaurants section, you'll find our Kids Eat Free Calendar, where you can click on a day and get a list of restaurants offering kids' dining deals (like "kids eat free") for that day. Check it out!

Hope this helps,

I don't have any cake ideas, but the Children's Farm in Palos Park is fantastic! I don't know about where you live in the city, but it is very close to the southside. They have all kids of animals, cows, horses, ducks, sheep, pigs, etc. That kids can get close to and pet. I've never been to a private party there (they do them), but we had a blast pumpkin picking and seeing the animals with my one year old this past October. http://www.palospark.org/center.htm#farm

Have you ever been to vegweb.com? It's a vegan recipe website, so all the recipes are egg free. There is a chocolate cake recipe that is super easy and fabulous. I've made it a million times. It's called "Super Moist Chocolate Cake", and the link is:
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6686.0
Good luck!

My middle daughter was allergic to eggs (she outgrew it by the time she was 3)and I like to bake for the kids' birthdays myself so had to research a bit to find a great recipe. Recipezaar.com has a really good search tool...the recipes are rated by users and once you settle on a recipe you can read the tips from others who have tried the recipes. I searched for 'eggless chocolate cake,' found a fantastic recipe (I'm so sorry I don't have it handy!) and added chocolate chips as several of the comments for the recipe suggested and it turned out great. Good luck!