cake recipe for special diet?

[lentil]

I have an order for a cake for the Fourth of July for some clients of mine. Naturally I said I could do it, but now I'm wondering if I should tell them I can't. You are my last hope.... Well, it's not all that bad, but I figured if anyone knew, it would be you people.

The man is gluten sensitive, the woman eats no dairy, one of the grandchildren can't have sugar, none of them will eat any fake sugars or chemicals, and they want a layer cake with frosting and decorations. I've done cakes for them before with oat flour, but have used sugar. I figure I can use oil and maple syrup but may have to adjust the batter to accomodate the extra liquid, but what in heck am I going to do for a frosting if I can't use confectioner's sugar? I thought about a sugarless fruit spread filling with a ganache topping, but don't know if a ganache will work with a cream substitute- soy is probably too thin, but what about Silk? Would that give me a similar consistency as cream? I can probably find Sunspire or other choc chips that may be fruit sweetened.

Any ideas? I feel as if I should put this on a spread sheet and see what's left after I put in everyone's dietary restrictions. Probably an apple spread with maple syrup sweetened silken tofu.

Silken tofu? Would that work in a ganache? ANY ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[chefpeon]

My God. These are the orders I just refuse to take.

But apparently you do. So let me get this straight.......
you need a frosted cake with no:
gluten,
dairy,
sugar (I'm assuming that by sugar you mean white refined sugar, since honeys and syrups are also basically sugars)
and no artificial sweeteners.

Ok, the gluten thing is easy enough to get around. Oat or soy flour I suppose.

No dairy means no eggs or milk.....I guess you can get around that with applesauce or prune puree.

But saying "no sugar" but also "no artificial sugar substitutes"....that rules out Splenda for sure.

You know I really don't know how you can make any kind of decent "cake" without some sort of sugar. Would they accept something like organic evaporated cane juice sugar? I use that to keep my vegans happy. If you used honey, molasses, or the like, your "cake" would just seem like a major sog fest.

The ganache part is easy....there was another thread where people were saying soy creamer worked for ganache ok.

Hope you can work something out.

If it were me, I'm sure the money they'd be willing to pay me to research and make the cake wouldn't even be worth it.

[lentil]

Originally Posted by chefpeon

My God. These are the orders I just refuse to take.

But apparently you do. So let me get this straight.......
you need a frosted cake with no:
gluten,
dairy,
sugar (I'm assuming that by sugar you mean white refined sugar, since honeys and syrups are also basically sugars)
and no artificial sweeteners.


No dairy means no eggs or milk.....I guess you can get around that with applesauce or prune puree.

You know I really don't know how you can make any kind of decent "cake" without some sort of sugar. Would they accept something like organic evaporated cane juice sugar? I use that to keep my vegans happy. If you used honey, molasses, or the like, your "cake" would just seem like a major sog fest.

The ganache part is easy....there was another thread where people were saying soy creamer worked for ganache ok.


If it were me, I'm sure the money they'd be willing to pay me to research and make the cake wouldn't even be worth it.

Heck, I thought I was getting of easy, because originally, they wanted me to cook for the whole family for the whole weekend! I don't think I could have charged enough to do that!

They want maple syrup, but I'll ask about the organic evap cane sugar. Eggs are fine.

So would an oat flour cake with maple syrup a a sweetener with eggs work?

I found a recipe in The Farm Vegetarian Cookbook for honey cake. I can sub the maple for the honey, oat flour for the rye it calls for, and leave out the spices (cinnamon, allspice, etc), but the Farm is vegan. What would eggs do to their recipe? (it's 1c honey, 1/4c water, 2 c rye flour, spices, 2t baking powder, nuts) I don't know much about the science, but it seems to me that the eggs would hold the oat flour together better as it has no gluten and makes a REALLY soft cake.

I'm glad to hear soy creamer works for the ganache. I'm going to have to write Happy Fourth of July with paper cut outs since I don't know how in heck I can make a frosting to write with.

Thanks Chefpeon. I appreciate your reply.

[lentil]

I forgot to mention that the Farm recipe calls for the honey cake to be baked at 350* with a pan of water under it and then to wrap it and let is stand for a few days before eating. The letting it stand must be to develop the flavors, but why the water?

[chefpeon]

I'm pretty sure the reason for the pan of water under the honey cake as it's baking has to do with creating a little steam in the oven. The steam prevents a skin or crust from forming prematurely on the top of the cake, allowing it to expand to it's full potential. Much the same principle for getting a full oven jump and a crisp crust from a loaf of french bread.

I did a little Googling for vegan recipes, and there's quite a lot to choose from on the web. Here's one in particular:http://www.recipezaar.com/123615
I think you could sub the wheat flour with the oat flour and it would be ok. Perhaps a bit crumbly at the worst.

In fact, you might find something more to your liking here:http://www.recipezaar.com/r/168/173

But do note that most of the cake recipes do contain some sort of sugar.
Evaporated cane juice sugar is most used by vegan bakeries.

Sometimes it helps to know why your client is saying "no" to sugar. A lot of people can be misinformed about ingredients and not actually know what they are talking about. When this client says "the kid can't have sugar", ask them to explain...."do you mean refined sugar? can they have fructose? Is it a medical condition or a dietary preference?"

Some people don't even KNOW about the existence of non-refined organic sugars....you can educate them and make your life easier too.

I happen to live in a town FULL of vegans. I kind of know the whole deal with them. I'm not saying your clients are actually vegans, but their dietary restrictions sound like that's pretty close. Sometimes you have to say to your clients, "Look, I can't bake any kind of decent cake with the restrictions you have given me......I think we have to look at alternatives." There's always fruit tarts, or fruit based desserts that are suitable.....and also, you may want to ask "why cake?' Must it be cake?"

I have a philosophy that I will not make anything that I feel tastes like crap. If someone tells me "I want cake, but I don't want sugar, flour, eggs or other dairy" then I tell them, "you know what? I can't make a cake I would feel good about considering those restrictions." Then I try to steer them toward something that will taste GOOD and satisfy their dietary needs.

Ok, I admit it. I hate vegans. They make my life hard. They want their diet but they want the fun stuff too. I say if you choose to be freakin' vegan, then live in your own little ****.
Don't ask me to bend over backwards for you.
/ok, end rant.

Oh, and for the decorating/writing part of the cake......you could just do a little red and blue on the top with some strawberries and blueberries, then on a strip of cut-out marzipan, write "Happy 4th of July" in your thickened soy ganache.......then place that on top of the berries.......

[lentil]

Great website! Your cakes are amazing and I can see why you hate vegans-it would be hard to get cakes to look as good as yours without cracking an egg or two. I used to cook in a vegan restaurant even though I eat meat. That one was hard for some people to understand.

My people aren't vegan. He's a naturepathic dr who I believe is diabetic and I wouldn't be surprised if he has other heath problems as he looks rather yellow to me, but that's another story. The wife is as thin as a rail and has an allergy to dairy. They eat meat, but mostly organic, raise organic vegetables and fruits, and lean toward veganism because it fits their various health issues. I don't know why the granddaughter isn't allowed to have sugar. I also dont' know why they don't go to the vegan restaurant for their cake, but as my friend says, "I'll do anything for money." Or so it seems since I took on this job. Actually, since my business is just over a year old, I'm still trying to figure out which jobs I can say no to without losing customers.

These same folks had me make a dinner for the man's birthday. He loves mac and cheese, but she doesn't make it so they hired me. I made it with rice pasta, organic cheeses, milk, and like an idiot, made my roux with ap flour! Had to start all over again....

Since I've commited to making their cake, I'm going to check out the sites you gave me and have a practice round early this week. After that, I have catering jobs for 6 days straight, so I'd better come up with something soon.

Thanks again for your help.

[nowIamone]

Instead of the papercut outs for happy fourth of July, try some strawberries, blueberries, bananas in a old glory red/white/blue pattern. I've done this taking the banana slices and cutting them into star shapes and laying all the fruit in strips, etc.
Or, Puree fruit with gelaten after it sets up, cut out red and blue stars, layout across the cake. Take it from my experiance though, don't count on this one on a very hot day.
The cake also sounds like a candidate for lush decorations out of fresh summer flowers.

[lentil]

Originally Posted by nowIamone

Instead of the papercut outs for happy fourth of July, try some strawberries, blueberries, bananas in a old glory red/white/blue pattern. I've done this taking the banana slices and cutting them into star shapes and laying all the fruit in strips, etc.
Or, Puree fruit with gelaten after it sets up, cut out red and blue stars, layout across the cake. Take it from my experiance though, don't count on this one on a very hot day.
The cake also sounds like a candidate for lush decorations out of fresh summer flowers.

NowIamone, I was joking about the paper cutouts, but your ideas sound good. Summer flowers would be perfect! She seems to have it in her head that I can write Happy something or other on the cake with no sugar in the frosting. Heck, I'm not even a baker! I do brownies, lemon squares, profiteroles, and other little things for dessert platters, but that's the extent of my baking. I normally farm out the cakes, but the 3 women who bake for me passed on this one. Imagine that!

I'm off today and am crossing my fingers that it's cooler tomorrow. It's over 100 and humid here and the thought of baking anything makes me queasy.

[aklap]

Hi Lentil,

Cooking/Baking for those of us with dietary requirements is not always easy. It gets even harder when you increase the number of items in the NO column. I might ask if Stevia be an acceptable sub for sugar. It's natural and diabetic friendly.

You might check thru a few of these recipes shown below. GF = Gluten Free, CF = Casein Free or Dairy Free.

One other thing you need to be concerned about is cross contamination. For a Celiac, even a crumb can make people sick. If you want to be safe - new pans [never having touched gluten] should be used. Gluten can remain in scratches and cut marks. Wooden spoons [used for gluten] are not to be used. Any porous surfaces are suspect and should not be used. Everything must be meticulously clean. This may sound like I'm being picky or fussy - it's not because I want to be. It's not a just a matter of likes or dislikes - it's a matter of health, a medical necessity. I don't want to scare anyone in your profession away from this, but it can be done. With a little knowledge, a little planning..it's a piece of cake! From experience, I can tell you, the extra work you put into this to make your customer happy & healthy will be appreciated beyond on belief! We are a loyal bunch. If we know we can eat out safely - we rarely will turn our backs!

Flourless Banana Cake

GFCF Basic Chocolate Cake - milk subsititue can be Rice milk [NOT Rice Dream - it's not GF], Silk Soy Milk, Almond Breeze. Some recipes you could probably get by with Coconut milk.

Here's an index of other GF baked goodies. You will find the 2 above in this list.

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Oat flour would not be acceptable for someone on a gluten free diet. While pure, uncontaminated oats can be tolerated by many on a GF diet - it's probably safer to stay away from oats all together.

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There are many flours that can be substituted in place of regular flour when baking gluten-free products. This list does not mention them all. When baking it's always best to combine several flours together to get the best taste & texture. Here's a chart on mixing flours (keep scrolling till you see it]. Here are some Flour mix recipes.

Amaryth flour adds a good flavor but since it does not stick together well when cooked on its own, it should be used in combination with other flours, to make cakes, biscuits and pancakes.

Buckwheat flour should be used in small amounts only because it has a very strong flavor and is sometimes difficult to digest.

Carob flour can be used in cakes, biscuits, drinks, desserts and sweets.

Corn flour can be blended with cornmeal when making corn breads or muffins.

Millet flour tends to make breads dry and course so substitute only 1/5 of the flour mixture with this flour.

Nut or legume flours can be used in small portions to enhance the taste of puddings, cookies, or homemade pasta.

Potato starch flour is excellent for baking when used with other flours.

Chestnut Flour Stone milled, gluten free, very sweet It is a good thickening agent for cream soups.

Quinnoa flour makes excellent biscuits and pancakes although imparting a slightly bitter flavor.

Rice flour, brown or white, is a good substitution when thickening gravies, sauces, and cream pies.

Sorghum flour, excellent for all baking purposes, is the best general purpose gluten-free flour.

Soy flour has a nutty flavor and should be used in combination with other flours in baked products that contain nuts, chocolate, or fruit.

Tapioca flour imparts the chew factor to baked goods and is excellent if used in small quantities.


More GF Grains & Flours

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You also might want to look in to Xanthan Gum. Since gluten has been removed, you need something to help hold things together.

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Eggs are not dairy and are OK to use in dairy free cooking or baking. Unless someone needs to stay away from eggs.

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You also might look into mixes to get some ideas as to the ingredient make up of products. Some of my favorites...

'Cause Your Special Mixes
Gluten Free Pantry Dairy Free Mixes


I hope this helped in some small way. BTW - I hold no financial interest in any of the products I have linked.

[lentil]

Piece of cake, huh? Al, thanks so much for your help. I'll print and save your note for future use. I had no idea celiac disease was such a problem!~ It must make any sort of dining out a problem whether it's a restaurant or a friend's home.

My customer said that oat flour is fine, so I don't think it's a celiac issue for him. The biggest problem I'm having is the sugar thing. I'm told that the granddaughter can't have sugar because it gives her cold sores. Taht means evap cane juice, stevia, etc. Since the guy is a naturapath ( I know I spell that wrong...) I can use no chemical sugars or splenda. They'd prefer all organic, but I'm not an organic shop. I've never heard of the cold sore thing, but of course, I've not heard of everything. They tell me that honey is fine, as is maple syrup, but not corn malt which means I can't use Sunspire choc chips.

Here's what I'm down to: I'm making a vanilla cake with oat flour, eggs, maple syrup, etc; putting fruit sweetened jam between the layers and on the top, unsweetened coconut to top it off. I may try to frost the sides with the jam and press the coconut on them as well. I can't do the decorative writing on top, but I will garnish the sides of the plate with fruit to make it festive. Since it's the Fourth of July, I may use star fruit on top.

As much as I appreciate the business from this family, everything stops when they order something. Because of their combination of dietary restrictions, I can't roll their order into another. I honestly don't know what I'll do. I've only been open a year, and need every single order, but can I realistically afford them? The cake order, as much research and time as it's taken me, isn't really a time issue once I get baking- it's the other food that slows me down. I have to rethink every recipe, and in all honesty, without the knowledge of their health issues, I'm afraid I'll inadvertently put something into their food that will make them sick. Maybe I'll ask her for her own recipes I can follow.....

Thanks again!

[Mrsppmrxky]

Lentil, I bake cakes for the local Celiacs in our town. My hat is off to you on the job you have undertaken. At least you can still use eggs! Might I make a suggestion that you could use for the writing? They make a soy substitute for cream cheese. If you whip the cream cheese and sweeten it with honey or maple syrup you would be able to write on the cake.

I have a chart that I follow. I found it somewhere on the web........It is not mine orginally and I have not tried all of the substitutes that are mentioned.

Sweetener Equivalents for 1/2 Cup of Sugar


Agave Nectar: 3/8 cup (reduce other liquids by 1/3)
Brown Sugar 1/2 cup
Corn Sweetener 1/2 cup
Date Sugar: 1 cup
Fruit Juice Concentrate: equal to sugar (reduce other liquids by 1/3)
Granular Fruit Sweeteners: equal to sugar
Honey: 1/3 cup (reduce other liquids by 1/3)
Maple Syrup: equal to sugar (reduce other liquids by 1/3)
Molasses: 1/3 cup
Raw or Organic Sugar: 1/2 cup
Rice Syrup: 1 1/4 cup
Sorghum Syrup: 1/3 cup
Splenda: 1/2 cup
Stevia Powder (SweetLeaf Brand) 1 Tbsp.
Stevia Liquid (Sunnydew or Sweetleaf Brands) 1/2 tsp.
Sucanat: equal to sugar
Turbinado: 1/2 cup



If your clients said they can not have GLUTEN, then I think she is misinformed about using OAT FLOUR.........the cross contamination is very risky.

I have a recipe for an Angel Food cake............you could slice it into layers for your fruit spread and possibly come up with some type of fireworks display in the center hole. This would leave the actual cake top open for your writing.

If you would like the recipe, please let me know and I will give it to you. I also havea cream cheese sheet cake recipe. (you could use the soy cream cheese.)

[lentil]

Mrsp!! Thanks so much for your kind offer which I will graciously accept! I would love to keep these customers and anything that would make my life, and their diets easier, would be a huge help.

About the celiac- I don't think that's his problem. Maybe he's just sensitive or allergic. Who knows? I only do what I'm told....

Thanks again! You can either post the recipe here or pt me.

[Mrsppmrxky]

Angel Food Cake

1 cup Featherlight Mix
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups (12) egg whites
1 1/2 tsps cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsps vanilla
3/4 cup sugar

Sift flour along with 3/4 cup sugar 2 times and then set aside. Beat the egg whites with cream of tartar, salt and vanilla until soft peaks form, but still moist and shiney. Add remaining 3/4 cup sugar, 2 Tbls at a time, continuing to beat until egg whites hold stiff peaks.

Sift about 1/4 of the flour mixture over egg whites; fold in. Repeat, folding in the remaining flour by fourths. Bake in an ungreased 10-inch tupe pan at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until done. Invert the cake in pan until it is fully cooled. (If you have a long necked glass bottle, this makes a good cooling stand.)

I think that FRUCTOSE might be a 'do-able" for this reciepe. (I have also seen honey granulated sugar and cactus granulated sugar in the Asian Market.)

CREAM CHEESE SHEET CAKE

1 cup plus 2 Tbls. butter (softened) (they make a SOY butter that is DF..)

2 packages 3 ounces each Cream Cheese (soy based that is DF)

2 1/4 Cups sugar (you would have to experiment or replacement)

6 eggs

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups cake flour (I used the Featherlight flour mix.....)

In a mixing bowl, cream butter, cream cheese and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Beat in vanilla. Add flour; mix well. Pour into a greased 15 in/ 10 in baking pan. Bake at 325 F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. (I use a 9 x 13 pan for a higher 1 layer cake. If you use the larger pan, you will probably need to make this recipe twice and make 2 layers.)


FeatherLight Mix

3 cups (4c) Rice Flour
3 cups (4c) Tapioca Flour
3 cups (4c) Cornstarch
3 Tbs. (4 Tbs.) Potato flour

I hope this helps you out. These are proven (can't tell it is GF) recipes in their form as typed. Changing the ingredients to meet their needs is a gamble at best, but at least you have a working base to start playing with.

GF cakes do better in smaller pans. When you put them in larger pans they tend to be flatter than normal.

These 2 cakes, the texture is good. If you have to do many more cakes, you have to realise that GF cakes tend to not have the same texture as wheat based cakes. They taste really good though! If you ever need any other help, let me know. I have more cake recipes and quick breads as well as cookies that might help you and this family out.

[mudbug]

Originally Posted by lentil

I can use no chemical sugars or splenda. They'd prefer all organic, but I'm not an organic shop. I've never heard of the cold sore thing, but of course, I've not heard of everything.

Educate yourself so you can educate them. There is plenty of information on cold sores and sugar. It's refined sugar and sugar products like glucose, fructose, etc. which contribute to cold sores just as much as stress and a weakened immune system. There is plenty of information on this online.

Sounds like you've got options to explore now, kudos to you for taking on the challenge.

[aklap]

Originally Posted by chefpeon

I have a philosophy that I will not make anything that I feel tastes like crap

Hi Chefpeon,

That makes perfect sense! It's your reputation/business that you're presenting, you want it perfect! Very understandable.

Please know one thing from a gluten intolerant tastebud . What might taste like GF crap to you, more than likely will be heavenly to us! Our tasebuds and palates change. I can't remember what wheat tastes like anymore, I've been GF for 3 years. My wife [not GF] will taste the GF baked goodies she makes for me and say "Wow - this tastes pretty darn close to the wheat version I make" [In the GF world the goal is to replicate the taste & texture of glutened items]. When I taste it - there is a bitter undertone. Not unpleasant - just different.