I am making cakes for 3 yr. old twins (a boy and a girl) this weekend who have never had a "special" cake because of food allergies. Both are allergic to eggs, milk and peanuts products. The mom called me and explained the situation and asked if I could help her out. It broke my heart because she said the girl twin always sees "pretty" cakes in the store or at bakeries, and she can never have them. She told her mom that she wishes some day she could have a "pretty cake". The mom said is able to bake something that tastes good, but she doesn't know how to decorate a cake attractively, so she called to see if I could possibly make the kids' cakes.

Anyway, I found the recipe that uses simply cake mix and soda pop as the only two ingredients. I am going to use that recipe because my only other alternative is using a Duncan Hines cake mix along with the egg replacement powder that the mom has used before, and from what she told me and I have read online, that makes the cake really crumbly and dry.

My question is, I would like to bake the little boy's cake in my 3D Wilton Car pan. I am wondering if this recipe (cake mix and soda) reacts similarly to other cakes (rising, baking time, etc). and if using a 3D pan would work with this type of cake mix? Normally, for shaped pans that are deep, I would use a flower nail in the bottom of the pan to help it cook more evenly. I would still like to do that with this recipe. The little girl loves princesses, so I am going to stack two small rounds and make a tiara topper, etc. (out of craft foam because I cannot use fondant or royal icing because of the milk and eggs).

Any help you can give me on using this type of cake recipe for this project would be greatly appreciated!!!!

I'd definitely make a test run of any recipe that only calls for cake mix and soda. I can't see that resulting in a very good quality cake..............

I'm wondering, too, which cake mix it is that you'll use for children with such a wide array of allergies?

Also, is your home nut free, egg free, and milk free? Cross contamination from those elements can be a big issue for highly allergic people.

Are you having the children's mother sign a statement releasing you from liability should someone have an allergic reaction?

I flatly refuse to do these types of cakes because I don't want to fret over the issues I've mentioned. It is hard for parents of allergic children, but the fact is, the only safe food is the food prepared in their own home.

Just my .02
Rae

Have you checked your cake mix to see if it has milk or any egg products in it?

I would have a hard time doing a cake for someone with allergies. I would be afraid of traces of the allergic items lingering around on my equipment.

The children's mother is a physician and she supplied me with the cake mix. It is Duncan Hines yellow cake mix, and she is the one who purchased it and verified the ingredients on the box. My questions are not about the legalities of doing this, (although thank you for your concern on this), my questions are for anyone who has made this recipe, and how the cake reacts compared to "regular" cake.

This cake is a popular recipe for people on Weight Watchers and it is also listed on some Vegan sites....it's supposed to be delicious, and as I said, should be superior to the texture of the cake that would've been made with the egg replacement powder.

Anyone ever bake this recipe and know anything about how the cake bakes up?

Thanks again!

I have never used this recipe...but I do bake gluten free...and those cakes seems to be heavier and need extra time in the oven....use the nail and test in the usual fashion...gluten free takes almost twice the time to bake and are very dense...hope this helps

Michelle- did you ever bake this cake? What were your results? I tried a test run on a box mix with a can of soda and found the center didn't rise enough. I am not sure if it was cooked enough. I would love any feedback you could give me. I have to make a birthday cake for this coming Saturday, August 15, 2009.

Hi,
Yes, I did bake the cake and it was a nightmare. I didn't end up getting any responses on how this type of cake baked up, so I had to wing it. It turned out awful! I tried baking it in round layer pans and the top seemed to bake up crystalized--probably from all of the sugar in the soda. It stuck to the pans and was gross. I think if you're baking it for a Weight Watcher's dessert (it's a popular Weight Watcher's recipe) and you bake it in a sheet cake pan you may be ok. (Keep it in the sheet pan though and don't try to flip it onto a cooling grid--it's sticky and will not come out of the pan cleanly). It didn't fit what I needed, though. I finally ended up making the cake with powdered egg replacement and it worked out ok. It was a very crumbly texture, which the mom warned me about, but the kids loved their designs (a princess cake for the girl and a car themed cake for the boy) so in the end it worked out.

Ditto on the cake mix & soda pop recipe! I tried to make cupcakes out of this last summer using Pillsbury funfetti cake mix and a generic diet cherry soda. My niece was visiting, and I thought it would be something easy I could teach her that she could bring home to her family.

Yuck! The tops and insides were sticky-gooey, and the bottoms burned easily. I was disappointed because I'd heard such good things about the recipe, too.

Maybe there's some secret to making it that I don't know.

i've seen similar recipes in diet sites. am so sad it doesn't turn out well

I have made cake mixes with diet coke before and I have always liked them! They don't rise as much, but are very moist! My DH likes it too and he's not that easy to please.

I've made yellow cake mixes with diet sprite several times. We love it, topped with cool whip ....mmmmmmm! I have never had a problem, they turn out amazingly moist.

BTW I lost a ton on WW and this recipe helped

I am trying the box cake mix again today with applesauce instead of soda. I will let you know how it turns out. It is in the oven right now.

one important thing about this recipe is to hand stir it only until moistened, any mixing will ruin the outcome. otherwise, i've not had a problem making it with good results

I use cake mixes with just the mix and 1 can (2 cups) of sauce, pumpkin puree, applesauce, etc. Seems weird, but the texture is the same as making the recipe on the box... and the kids can claim they're eating their vegetables!

I have not heard of baking a cake like this (to decorate it). I did go to a Tupperware party where they made a cake in microwave--all it was was cake mix, can of Coke, and some white chocolate chips. It was good but I couldn't see decorating it--it was just a yummy mess!

Yes, I agree. It may taste yummy, but it's not the type of cake you can decorate like a traditionally baked cake. That was the info I was hoping to get initially. I wasn't sure if it would bake up "normally" and provide me with something I could decorate with buttercream icing, or even if it would hold up to being baked in a shaped pan. (I originally wanted to do a 3D car cake--I learned quickly this was NOT the recipe for a 3D cake!!)

sounds like you gave them both wonderful cakes! You are right that it makes a very moist cake that doesn't rise very much. That makes it very hard to ice because it rips and tears. These are much easier to make when making cupcakes because you could just pipe on a swirl! Glad they got their pretty cakes!

Thanks, lillermom. The looks on their little faces made it all the work and the trial and error worth while! For me, that's the very best part about cake decorating!

Thread on diet soda cake recipe:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-592815-.html

HTH

I've been on weight watchers and I have never tried the soda in the cake but one way that I love to use is substituting canned pumpking in the recipe. I can't remember if it's just the pumpkin and the mix but i'm sure you can find a recipe for it if you search for it online. It is super moist and is really a delicious chocolate cake. Not sure how it'd work for a 3-D cake but we've done cupcakes and stacked rounds and it seems to hold up nicely.