cake recipe for special diet?

[aklap]

Originally Posted by lentil

Piece of cake, huh?

Well, I am exaggerating a tad bit.

There's a world of difference between GF Baking and GF Cooking. Hence the reason I don't bake LOL!! Baking is way to precise for me!! I tell my wife that I haven't figured out how to run a measuring cup. GF baking takes some time getting to know what works and what doesn't. Lord knows I've eaten my fair share of flops from my dear wifes attempts during the past 3 years. She has spoiled me rotten by converting all my non-GF favorites.

You are right to be concerned about safety when dealing with food allergens. But as I said...with a bit of knowledge and planning it's very doable.

I would venture to guess many of the dishes you [chefs] make from scratch are close to being GF or could easily be made GF. I've seen some of the recipes posted here. It's when processed foods are used that it tends to cause problems. It always best to verify the GF status of a food product with the manufacture. Many times gluten can be hidden in "Modified Food Starch" or "Natural Flavors", Caramel Color. One resource that is extremely helpful is Celiac.com's Safe & Forbidden Food Ingredient List. This lists various food ingredients and their status.

I do commend you for branching out into this. You will be hearing more about this in the near future. This is not just a fad diet like the Low Carb diets - this diet is for life. In reality, it's more than a diet - it's a lifestyle.

You asked about dining out and eating at friends houses. Yup - it's an issue. Hence we don't eat out that much. I always take food with me to family events or friend gatherings.

Here's something you guys might see. It's a dining card that I take with me and present to the server or the chef. Please know I use the word "allergy" only to make things simpler for the others to understand. Celiac is not an allergy.

I have an allergy to gluten. I cannot eat ANYTHING made from wheat, oats, rye, spelt, or barley. (Semolina is also wheat.)

Gluten items include:
Bread/dough/crusts, pastas, croutons and bread crumbs
Sauces or soups thickened with flour
Beer, processed cheeses, malt or malt flavoring, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP) from gluten grains

I cannot eat foods that have been deep fried in oil that's also been used for breaded or floured foods.
Boiling water used for cooking pasta is not safe.
Some bouillon contains HVP that's not safe for me.
Natural and artificial flavors can be a problem.

I CAN eat plain rice, brown rice, rice noodles, cornmeal/polenta, corn tortillas, corn starch, arrowroot starch, potatoes, quinoa, poultry, sea food, fruits, vegetables, salads without croutons, eggs, milk, butter, olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, fresh herbs, most cheeses, and wine.

Please be sure that anything made for me is cooked in a separate clean pot or pan, or grilled/broiled on clean aluminum foil, and that separate, clean utensils are used -- I can get quite sick from only traces of gluten, including crumbs.

I welcome your suggestions for a delicious meal that I can safely enjoy. Please feel free to ask me any questions about this diet if you need to.

Thank you for your special attention to my needs.

----------------------------------

Estimado Chef:

Padezco de una alergia al gluten. No puedo comer NADA que contenga trigo, ni integral ni salvado, avena, centeno, malta o cebada. (La sémola también es de trigo).

Alimentos que contienen gluten incluyen:

Pan/harina/masa para pan/costras, pastas, crotones y migajas, así como tortillas o antojitos mexicanos de harina de trigo.
Salsas y sopas espesadas con harina o sopas de pasta.
Aderezos, adobos y vinagretas para ensalada comerciales y/o mayonesa con proteína vegetal hidrolizada.
Cerveza, quesos procesados, malta o saborizante a malta, proteína vegetal hidrolizada (PVH) de granos con gluten.
No puedo ingerir alimentos que han sido fritos en aceite en sartenes que también ha sido previamente usadas para freír alimentos empanizados o enharinados.
Mole al que se le ha agregado migas de pan para espesar.
Tampoco puedo ingerir el agua o caldo en los que se ha hervido pasta.
Tampoco puedo comer sopas o guisados preparados con consomé de pollo en polvo.
Los colorantes y saborizantes artificiales pueden significar un problema.

ALIMENTOS QUE SI PUEDO COMER:

Si PUEDO comer arroz al vapor, blanco o rojo sin consomé en polvo.
Arroz integral, pastas y tallarines de harina de arroz, fríjol, soya, papa y maíz.
Enharinados y capeados solamente con fécula de maíz (maicena) y/o huevo.
También PUEDO comer carne, pollo, puerco, pescados y mariscos.
Todas las frutas y verduras.
Ensaladas SIN crotones con vinagreta casera (aceite y vinagre), vinagre balsámico y hierbas de olor.
Adobos para guisados caseros.
Huevos, leche, mantequilla (no margarina), aceite de oliva, la mayoría de los quesos y vinos.
Antojitos mexicanos hechos unicamente con harina de maíz

Asegúrese de que mis platillos se preparen y cocinen separados de otros clientes, en tablas, ollas, sartenes y utensilios limpios y los que se preparen a la parrilla, se cocinen en una hoja de papel aluminio. Me puedo enfermar seriamente si tan siquiera restos de gluten o migajas contaminan mis platillos.

Acepto sus sugerencias de otros platillos que pueda disfrutar con confianza de no provocarme malestar. No tema a preguntarme cualquier duda que tenga con respecto a esta dieta.

Le agradezco de antemano todas sus atenciones y preocupación especial a mis necesidades.

I wish you well!! I have much respect for those in your profession that go out of their way to help me and others like me!


Hey MrsP - Thanks for answering so quickly!! Wow, I was just going to bed when you posted that LOL!!

[chefpeon]

As lentil says, it's not really much of a "piece of cake" when you are a regular shop making regular stuff for regular diets.

From a business standpoint, it ends up either highly reducing any possible profit you make or perhaps you might lose money on a job, if you decide to try to accomodate a special diet (when you're really not set up for it). Especially when it comes to celiac disease. The time it would take to make sure all porous tools and pans were not used and checking over and over again for cross contamination, would take too much time, and as we all know, time is money.

I know that if I try to accomodate special diets, I end up in the red because of the time and research it takes. Not to mention special ordering ingredients I rarely use.

More and more, you see shops opening up just to accomodate special diets, or to be organic (which is the new hot trend right now). I see that as a very good thing, because now, instead of telling my special diet clients to go away, now I can tell them where to go.

[AprilB]

You might want to look into some "War Cake" recipes. Designed during a time of extreme rationing of ingredients.

Maybe one will work.

April

[AprilB]

I've heard that it works pretty good for a sugar sub. Sucralose...refined sugar alcohol.

I can't really vouch for it since I've never used it.

April

[lentil]

aklap, I would imagine that handing a server or a chef your card would ensure that you don't have any problems. Sometimes, the word allergy is enough to make people notice when other methods don't. I used to work in a place where the staff would refuse to make decaf later in the evening. If a customer ordered it, they'd tell them that the reg was decaf. They thought it was funny. Yeah, keeping someone up late may be funny (if you're into that sort of humor), but causing problems for someone with heart problems wouldn't be such a joke.

Chefpeon, you're not mean, you're realistic. I've probably got 4 hours into this cake and I haven't even started it yet! My husband stopped at the nat'l foods store yesterday and picked up a pound of each of the flours Mrsp mentioned above. Those, and a litre bottle of beer cost $23 and change! Granted, I don't have to use all 4 pounds for this one cake, but I now have them as part of my inventory. I'll have to freeze them which will take up much needed space in my freezer. I like these people and wanted to accomodate them, but I'm not sure how profitible it will be for me. I wish there was another place to recommend to them, but we're pretty rural (AND in NH....) so there's no place.

Well, it's 7:30 and I suppose it's time to go to work. I'm going to give the cake a try today. If it comes out okay, I'll pop it in the freezer and take it out on Tuesday to decorate. If it doesn't, I guess it's back to the drawing board. I have faith in Mrsp, though!

Then I'm taking a week off. This will be the first vacation I've had in about 5 years. I think a day of kayaking in the Saco River is in order as well as a day or 2 at the ocean if the sun would stay out long enough.

April, good point about the chocolate! I had originally thought of making it with sunspire chips, but the corn malt is a no-go.

edited to add that my client doesn't have celiac disease. He's just gluten sensitive. I won't have to do any major sterilization of my equipment for him.

[Mrsppmrxky]

Lentil, I am praying that your cake turns out well! I forgot to mention to you that if you taste the batter before you cook it, it may taste a little grainy. That should go completely away during the cooking process.

I know that the flours are expensive. If it is any consolation, I keep my flour mix in Rubbermaid and out on the shelf. Granted, I use mine more than you do, but I have not had any problem in the 2 1/2 yrs that we have been cooking this way with the flour going bad.

If this goes well for you, you might mention that you could make them another cake or some muffins. (I have a recipe that I make that turns out really well that requires no milk...........you would just have to figure out a way around the sugar.)

I know that it is difficult to cook for gluten free clients, but they usually have no source for freshly baked foods. (cakes, cookies, pies, muffins) The foods that are on the market and sold in packages fill the gap, but the taste on many of the items is not even close to the real thing!

GF people get so excited over having an item that tastes like 'real food' that they spread the word and return again for more.

I would love to be able to have a small cafe that caters to this field of clients, but alas, I do not have the financial means to bring it into reality. The client base would be terrific. I would have a monopoly in a large part of our state. (I have had 2 clients that are 100 miles away.)

[aklap]

Originally Posted by lentil

edited to add that my client doesn't have celiac disease. He's just gluten sensitive. I won't have to do any major sterilization of my equipment for him.

I won't get into all the details here, but I want others to know the reality...CD or Gluten Sensitivity...requires the same diet. Gluten is gluten - no matter what you have - it still affects you. I too am "just" gluten sensitive, struggled with being severely sick for 1.5 years [the average is 11 years] before I figured out what the problem was.

Good luck on the cake!!

Yeah I know some people think it's funny to mess with our health like that. Like I said - I don't eat out much. When I do, it's at places I trust.

[aklap]

Originally Posted by Mrsppmrxky

I would love to be able to have a small cafe that caters to this field of clients, but alas, I do not have the financial means to bring it into reality. The client base would be terrific. I would have a monopoly in a large part of our state. (I have had 2 clients that are 100 miles away.)

I feel you are correct on the monopoly. Make it GF, and they will come. Too bad we didnt live closer, we'd do it together!!

This is a topic for another thread

[lentil]

Thanks All!! I'll let you know how it goes.

[lentil]

Well, I've got the liquid ingredients in the bowl, and noticed that the dry ingredients for the Featherlight Mix don't contain any leavener. Is this a typo, or are the eggs enough to make the cake rise in the cream cheese cake recipe, Mrsp?

Sure hope someone checks in soon! Thanks in advance.

[Mrsppmrxky]

Let me run go and check my printed out version. I copied my internet recipe file.

[Mrsppmrxky]

Whew, the cream cheese cake is the correct recipe!

the Angel food only has the salt and cream of tartar.

Praying that it rises well for you! Remember they will not be like what you are used to with the wheat cakes, but it does rise.

[lentil]

Mrsp, the cakes are out of the oven, and they're kind of rubbery. Is that normal?

[Mrsppmrxky]

The cream cheese one should be similar to a pound cake..........only much thinner.

Did you cut it open to see if it fell? do you think that it could be sugar substitute?

[Mrsppmrxky]

Once due to the humidity, I had a cake come out heavy.......I refused to accept it for my customer. My family and a few friends ate off of it instead. Everyone really liked it because it had the consistancy of Tirimisu (sp.) the Italian cake.

My hubby asks if he can bump the stove to do a repeat. Of course I think that he is and threaten him with the spatuala for even walking into my kitchen.