O.K.- I had an old work buddy contact me about doing their wedding cake. They want something simple no big deal. The problem is that they like a white cake with strawberry filling, but the grooms mom can't have anything with seeds in it. Also his dad has some allergies as well. So then they are thinking they will have special cakes for the parents to eat. I am not a licensed baker-I do cakes out of my home for friends and family. Only people I know well because I've heard alot of horror stories of people getting in trouble. Now I am seriously debating wether or not I should do the cake. I am so nervous about someone having an allergic reaction to something, or getting very sick. What would you all do?

Can you not do one layer with strawberry and another layer just plain? It would save the trouble of needing multiple cakes.

you could make the wedding cake the way they want it with one of the layers for the parents. many people do different flavors, etc for different layers.

What are the father's alergies ... what he's alergic to may be the deciding factor on whether I'd attempt it. If it's just eggs, for example, that'd be different than egg free, gluten free, dairy free ... Once you find his alergies and a recipe that might work, I'd ask them (father, specifically) to approve the ingredients as non-hazardous and sign off on it. If they are alergic to nuts, be sure to emphasize that the kitchen the cake will be produced in has also come in contact with his alergen ... if they know you're attempting to accommodate and have full disclosure on everything (including no license) they should appreciate it if they're decent people. Also, if you aren't cutting the cake, tell them you can't take responsibility if the person cutting the cake uses the same utensils on the other tiers of the cake as is used for their slices. Everyone involved with this cake needs to be fully informed so that there is no "cross-contamination" between tiers at the reception after the cake leaves your hands/control.

Almost every wedding cake I have done has had different fillings in each tier. I would suggest doing one in lemon curd or some other flavor that the mother won't have a problem with (and of course making sure she gets a cut of that tier).

Same with the father.

Maybe you could make a cupcake for each and frost it special just for them. I don't know, if the father's allergies are something that would require special ingredients, but as long as they got some kind of cake at the reception, too, i'm sure they would be happy.

I was reading your post and it really hit home for me. I make cakes because I love it. Its my hobby and a way to release stress. Recently my sister asked me to make a sugar-free cake and after doing research found sugar-free cakes simply have 1/3 less sugar. She had gastric and has not had sugar in 2 yrs. Consuming sugar could put her in the hospital. I politely told her I loved her and could not make something I was proud of in a true sugar-free fashion. I have no need to stress, let them pay for a professional to stress and figure it out. It might sound harsh but allergies are very serious. I hope I helped a little.

You can just use a seedless strawberry jam mixed with your regular butter cream for the filling..... that would take care of the bride and groom, and "mom"....... for Dad, you would have to see what his problems are and go from there.....

Thank you all soo much for the advice! I know I can always count on the wonderful people here for help

Really quick regarding the Sugar-Free issue. If you do some research they are only 1/3 less sugar than normal cakes. When you use splenda for baking it is 2/3 normal sugar and 1/3 splend so that you are able to bake with it. I know diabetics can have this but my sister truely needs sugar free. If you have a recipe for a true sugar free cake let me know because it would be awesome.