I have been searching for a gluten free icing..
And came across this on Betty Crocker's site, saying soon all of their icings will be gluten free!? Patiently waiting - unless this has already happened??

I bought gluten free cake mix at The Bulk Barn - and icing sugar - but not quite sure what to do with the icing sugar - no directions on it
Any ideas???

http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/gluten-free-baking-mixes/faq

One more Q! Should I buy new pans/bowls to cook gluten free products in?
I wash all my pans in the dishwasher.. but not sure if I should use materials that haven't been touched with flour etc!

Another name for powdered sugar is icing sugar, so I would *guess* to use it like you would powdered sugar, but that is an assumption. Maybe someone else knows the answer to that for sure?

On the pans, I have a customer who has asked about gluten free cakes, and she has never mentioned anything to me about the bowls or baking pans. I would assume that when you wash the pan, it washes away traces of gluten filled products that you've used in the pan.

So I can make my regular icing sugar then! :p

Thank u!

I just found a lot of recipes online for the icing..
ex.
Icing ingredients:
1/2 stick of butter
3 cups of powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

So.. really I can use any icing, and I don't have to use gluten free icing sugar.. I can use the regular icing sugar?

you just need to check the labels on each product in your icing and make sure they don't contain gluten.....found this on wiki.answers . com -

Powdered sugar is usually gluten-free, but it is important to always check the label. Some brands even label the package as gluten-free. Most commercial powdered sugars are blended with corn starch to keep them fluffy. Occasionally, some manufacturers have been known to use wheat products instead of corn starch, so ALWAYS check the label every time you buy!

Check each and every product label on any ingredient you add, if there are ingredients you are unsure about, call the manufacturer or look it up on google. Gluten is hidden in all sorts of things that you can't necessarily tell from the label, like "artificial and natural flavors" or certain food dyes.

Be careful with gluten free baking. Always check labels of any ingredient you are not sure about. If you are worried about the powdered sugar for the icing, make SMBC or IMBC. Both use egg whites, regular cane sugar and butter...no gluten there.

I have a mixing bowl that I reserve for gluten free baking along with a set of measuring cups and spoons. I make sure to wash my pans very well. If someone has celiac disease, even a trace amount of gluten can cause illness. I take care to wash down and dry my counter tops, completely wipe and dry my KA mixer so that there is no trace of flour from regular baking. It's a lot of prep work, but worth it.

The icing did make me wonder, even more so because I found gluten free icing sugar, I thought I needed a whole new recipe - so I got a little confused! :S hehe

Thanks for all the tips!!

I think i'll stick to vegan friendly cakes in the future... more then gluten free ... I wouldn't want to make anyone sick!

As long as you're careful about wiping down all surfaces and equipment, you should be fine. You also need to watch how you store ingredients (nothing containing gluten should be above GF ingredients), and make sure there are no airborne gluten particles - so don't do GF and non-GF baking at the same time.

Cross-contamination problems usually happen when line workers are not educated about the issue and/or when automated assembly lines are "cleaned" between batches by blowing air. It's pretty easy to tell which manufacturers take this issue seriously when you contact them.

I just dealt with these issues also, but it turn out to be easier than I thought. My biggest worry was what to grease the pans with, and found out the Pam original is gluten free. NOT Pam Baking, it contains flour!! Also, most regular buttercream recipes are gluten free,(including indydebi's with kraft dream whip) Wilton fondant is gluten free, so are other fondants, and Jello products. Watch out for some spices/additives such as Triticate, Spelt, Mir or Farina aka Far or Farro when reading the labels, because these all have gluten. HTH

I never even thought of that.. I use Pam baking spray - but I use Pam cooking spray only if I run out of the baking one. So many things to remember!
I'm so glad I found a gluten free cake mix.. do you think its safe to use a canned icing? The less contamination I can do - the better I will feel

Thanks for all of your tips and help guys!

What did you think of the BB gluten free mix? I've been eyeing it since I have a gluten free friend that I want to bake for.

For those of you in the US - how much are the BC gluten free mixes? how do they compare in price and yield to the regular ones?

The BC was double the price of regular, and it does yield less. I added to it - so it came out the same as one box mix without anything.

When I was first asked to do a gluten free cake for a friends wife, I began researching for the frosting. Some sites said that the alcohol in vanilla does contain gluten as it's in the process of producing alcohol, though it's in miniscule quantities. Some sites now promote their gluten free vanilla, others are saying it contains no gluten. I did use the clear Wilton vanilla on several occasions for the same person and she never had a problem with it. I used the BC mix for her cakes, and I have to say, they are delicious.