Buttercream Breaking Out A 1Yr Old
Lounge By ScrumdidlyCakes Updated 8 Oct 2011 , 2:30pm by kakeladi
My cousins little girl is turning 1 this weekend and she asked me to make her a cake and "smash" cake. She took her to get her pictures made and stopped at a grocery store on the way to get her a cake to smash in the pictures. The cake broke her out really bad. The woman taking her pictures said it was from the shortening in the buttercream. That just doesn't sound right for some reason. Could it be food coloring? O plan on using cream cheese icing.
Don't know, but this happened to my daughter on her first birthday, (18 years ago this month, gasp!!!!)
I thought it was the chocolate cake, so I didn't give her any for a year or so, and now she has no problem with any food allergies. No idea what it was, but maybe just the young baby skin.
It is *really!* hard to diagnose allergies in a forum like this 
Who knows what caused the reaction?
It could be the shortening (I doubt that)
It could be the coloring used (good possibility)
It could be the flavor of the cake (was it chocolate?)
It could be the flavoring used OR cornstarch that is in sugar OR OR OR.........
If the child continues to have problems they need to see an allergist.
Don't play around with the child's health.
Did she only break out where the cake or icing touched her? Where were they went they took the pictures? Is it possible there is something else around there that she could have been allergic from?
Dairy was the first thing I thought of when you said buttercream but then store bought cakes may not have any in the frosting and the child may drink cow's milk...
As the others have said it is next to impossible to tell from here.
I don't know if this will help explain anything or not but my great nephew will break out on his face if he eats Ranch dressing, however he is not allergic to it by eating it. He loves it, but if it gets around his mouth on his skin he gets a pink rash looking blotch wherever it sat at!
It sounds like a dairy allergy to me - a large number of babies have cow's milk sensitivities which often causes eczema like rashes. I work in a hospital as my regular job and 90% of my caseload are pediatric patients - based on my experiences with food allergies in babies - 8/10 it's something dairy based. The best thing to do is to have the child see an allergist if you're not able to pinpoint what it is - that way you avoid any future allergic reactions that may be more severe and life threatening. Hope that helps!
I don't know if this will help explain anything or not but my great nephew will break out on his face if he eats Ranch dressing, however he is not allergic to it by eating it. He loves it, but if it gets around his mouth on his skin he gets a pink rash looking blotch wherever it sat at!
Please be very careful with this! Go see an allergist. My daughter was having rash issues around her mouth and we went to a dermatologist who said it was an allergic reaction to food and she needed to see an allergist to determine what exactly it was because it could suddenly turn very dangerous. Anaphylactic (sp?) shock could occur causing severe swelling of the throat and tongue and an epi-pen would have to be used immediately. We did as he advised and found she was allergic to several foods. She started allergy shots and carries an epi-pen with her now just in case. Please have him go see an allergist asap! You may think it's not doing anything to him inside, but it very well could turn on him without warning...actually you do have warning...the splotches around his mouth. I would not hesitate!
My son broke out in a severe head-to-toe case of hives when he was about 4/5 years old from store bought cake with their buttercream icing. It turned out to be that he's anaphylactic to corn and most of it's derivatives so the bad culprit for him is corn syrup.
Definitely sounds like an allergy. She will need to see an allergist ASAP to determine the exact cause.
Please do not wait. An initial reaction to an allergen is not life threatening (usually), however, even one more exposure could be. A first reaction of hives can be followed by facial swelling and throat constriction. She will probably need to carry an epi pen with her once they determine the cause.
I have severe food allergies and have learned this the hard way.
Off topic from the original post, but my son had the same reaction to Ranch dressing as well. 
He was less than 2 at the time. He has no known food/medicine/skin allergies and no longer breaks out when ranch touches his face.
Strange coincidence with this ranch dressing and boys!
I baked a smash cake for one year old little boy who would get a red "around the mouth rash" when he drank milk. I just used water in the icing instead. It's hard to imagine milk in a grocery store icing though! 
.........break out on his face if he eats Ranch dressing, however he is not allergic to it by eating it. He loves it, but if it gets around his mouth on his skin he gets a pink rash looking blotch wherever it sat at!
How do you know he is not allergic to it by eating it?? My daughter is like that w/avacados and the dr said it is also producing problems in her body that just are not seen.
Allergies can develope at *anytime* in your life. I developed many food allergies in my 50s.
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