Gluten Free Wedding Cake

Baking By 61999 Updated 7 Aug 2014 , 2:04pm by Gingerlocks

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61999 Posted 10 Dec 2013 , 11:21pm
post #1 of 20

I need help getting a GOOD tried & true gluten free recipe for cake.  The bride is allergic to gluten so it would just be one small tier that would be GF.

 

I've heard Xanthum Gum & Potato Starch help these recipes out.  Where would I be able to get a small amount of Xanthum at reasonable price?

 

Tasting is in 12 days.

 

Thank you!

19 replies
-K8memphis Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
-K8memphis Posted 10 Dec 2013 , 11:40pm
post #2 of 20

my local grocery stores carry 'bob's red mill' products and they have xanthan gum--you're gonna be paying for the quantity you have to get but if you do mail order you can get a smaller amount but then you gotta pay shipping--same/same--

 

i haven't been to a local 'health food store' in ages--don't even know if we have any left--but that would be another possible source to acquire a smaller quantity--

 

if you buy 'gluten free flour' read the label and you'll be able to find some with xanthan gum in there already--look in the regular flour section of the store and in the 'health food' section and in the 'diet' food section--you'll find cake mixes and gf flour and the xanthan gum too--

 

best to you--

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hotbaker Posted 10 Dec 2013 , 11:46pm
post #3 of 20

Be very careful taking a gluten-free order. Gluten free is a lot more then no flour.  It also means no barley and rye. Some can't even have oats. Also, you must avoid using ingredients made in a facility that produces gluten and the term "natural flavors" can mean gluten is present.! You must also buy all new baking powder, soda, sugar, ect, so there is no cross contamination. So, no scooping flour then sugar! You must scrub everything down including counters, mixers, double check pans for any crumbs that may linger after washing. GF is no joke for people especially a true celiac! Trace amounts can make them very ill!! The cake should NOT be tiered with the full gluten cakes!! It should be on it's own stand. It also takes time to develop a good GF cake...start trying recipies out of books before you develop your own. 

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Annabakescakes Posted 10 Dec 2013 , 11:53pm
post #4 of 20

You really don't just jump into these things like this. I am allergic to gluten, and there is no way I would trust someone who has never made a GF cake to just whip one together and avoid all the cross contamination, which is the first thing I would worry about, not how to get cheap xanthan gum. I got into it a few years before I was diagnosed, not knowing I would need it myself. I glanced at the recipes to see if it was possible, then SCOURED the web to find info on making it SAFE before I worried about making it cheap or good. I even asked Jason, and he was a big help.

 

I am lucky to not get the extreme intestinal distress that many people get, but I feel like I have been drugged, and I can literally sleep 15 hours straight after I get glutened. I feel awful for days on end.  If the bride is very sensitive, she could spend her honeymoon napping between her "Code Brown" moments.

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-K8memphis Posted 11 Dec 2013 , 12:22am
post #5 of 20

this always kills me about allergy peeps--when my son was on a restricted diet i trusted his diet to me and to his sweet thoughtful grandma who made him special treats and that's it--

 

i will never understand this mindset--the bride's if she's as sensitive as anna is-- 

 

if this bride is really brittle with her condition then i think she's the one who needs the talking to--she's ordering a cake to be all stacked together--what is she thinking?

 

i mean sure op needs to know all this too and great posts hotbaker and anna--i'm just saying if the bride is really super sensitive she should be advising op--and taking care of her own self

 

61999, does the bride know this is your first gf cake? how sensitive is she?

 

i go gluten free and it helps my metabolism with my health issues--my husband is an endurance athlete very healthy and he likes gf because he's a geezer too--but we are not celiacs or anything like that--maybe she's not super sensitive?

 

i will never understand allergy peeps and the risks they take--nev nev never--

 

worse when it's their kids lives they are risking when parents buy for them--

 

peanut, anyone?

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jason_kraft Posted 11 Dec 2013 , 12:23am
post #6 of 20

AUnless you are willing to spend all day every day for the next 12 days setting up a contamination-free process and testing GF recipes I would pass on this order.

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jason_kraft Posted 11 Dec 2013 , 12:25am
post #7 of 20

AStacking a GF tier with non-GF tiers in the same cake is not a problem as long as the tiers are covered in fondant, the GF tier is at the top, and the venue knows to take precautions when cutting and serving. We've done this before with no issues.

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CindiM Posted 11 Dec 2013 , 1:25am
post #8 of 20

I did a GF cake, like Jason said, just the top tier and I made sure it was kept separated and that the knife cutting the rest of the cake was not to come near the top cake.  I found a Gluten Free mix on the Internet.  I think it was Pamela's products.  It didn't rise well at all and it tasted like a rice cake to me.  But the bride loved it.

 

I did the scrub down of the bakery and made sure everything was sanitized.  I was super careful and worked very closely with the bride's suggestions on what to do.  She baked her own cakes.  That was the first and last one I did.

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61999 Posted 11 Dec 2013 , 2:44am
post #9 of 20

Lots of information, thank you everyone.  I get the feeling this bride is not highly sensitive to gluten - though I know better than to assume of course.

The reason for my saying so is, she mentioned it very casually in an email...sort of like a "oh, yes, and by the way"  type thing.  If I was deadly allergic to something I would be all over it, so to speak that is.

 

I've been to bridal shows where I've seen other cake vendors offer gluten free samples right next to their regular cakes, and I really don't think they are operating out of a gluten-free kitchen.

 

But anyhow,  I think from reading all your posts the first thing I need to find out is how highly allergic to gluten she is or does she simply prefer to eat gluten-free.

 

Clients ask about gluten free frequently, and when I have spoken to them they have never communicated how important it is that it be 100% guaranteed to be produced in a gluten free environment, they are all very casual about it.  I have to think that if they truly were that allergic they would be much more exact and detailed with their expectations.

 

So, I will definitely first find out just what her expectations of gluten free mean.

 

But also, I was looking at King Arthurs gluten free yellow cake recipe  http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/gluten-free-yellow-cake-recipe,  anyone tried it?

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hotbaker Posted 11 Dec 2013 , 4:03am
post #10 of 20

I hear the King Arthur mixes are good.

 

I thinks a lot of people who bake gluten free aren't aware of how serious the allergy is to a celiac. Gluten is nothing short of poison. I know a lot of people who are in denial that they are celiac or show symptoms that aren't so common (like migraines) so they dismiss it all together. It's hard to be diagnosed, it take a biopsy of the intestines, a blood draw alone isn't conclusive, so it's easy to say you are or aren't, if your not educated about it or your just misdiagnosed.

 

Talk to the bride. Then cover yourself by not guaranteeing anything or sending her to someone who bakes strictly gluten free.

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auzzi Posted 11 Dec 2013 , 10:02pm
post #11 of 20

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/gluten-free-yellow-cake-recipe,  

 

It's a good basic cake - the "Cake Enhancer" or emulsifier is not necessary ..

 

I prefer this one:

 

http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/1312/vanilla-pound-cake-gluten-free-recipe

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Singin18 Posted 7 Apr 2014 , 2:17am
post #12 of 20

Thank you for posting this recipe. 

I've been looking for a good GF recipe as well. 

Needed for a friend who just prefers to not eat gluten so I'm not as afraid of cross contamination.

Thanks again. Will be trying this recipe out next month for her Birthday.

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Shazza65 Posted 7 Apr 2014 , 5:48am
post #13 of 20

This is the one I have used with great success and, is a good 'go to' cake for unexpected visitors as it does just as well if not better cooked in the microwave. It's from a Low Fat Cook book of all places!

 

 ¾ cup caster sugar

4 tablespoons (60g) Flora Light® margarine  or Butter

¾ cup boiling water

1¼ cups self-raising flour

½ teaspoon bicarb soda

¼ cup cocoa

2 egg whites OR whole eggs

 

Mix the sugar, cocoa,  butter and boiling water. Whisk in the sifted flour, and bicarb. Then whisk in the eggs once mixture has cooled a little.

Bake at 180deg Celsius for around 30 mins or until ready when tested

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Shazza65 Posted 7 Apr 2014 , 5:59am
post #14 of 20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shazza65 
 

This is the one I have used with great success and, is a good 'go to' cake for unexpected visitors as it does just as well if not better cooked in the microwave. It's from a Low Fat Cook book of all places!

 

 ¾ cup caster sugar

4 tablespoons (60g) Flora Light® margarine  or Butter

¾ cup boiling water

1¼ cups self-raising flour

½ teaspoon bicarb soda

¼ cup cocoa

2 egg whites OR whole eggs

 

Mix the sugar, cocoa,  butter and boiling water. Whisk in the sifted flour, and bicarb. Then whisk in the eggs once mixture has cooled a little.

Bake at 180deg Celsius for around 30 mins or until ready when tested


Apologies, I should have mentioned that you need to substitute the SR Flour for Gluten Free flour.

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nancylee61 Posted 7 Apr 2014 , 8:33am
post #15 of 20

AI teach with a man who is seriously sensitive to gluten, like 3 days in the bathroom with horrible stomach pains if he gets cross-contaminated by accident. He has gotten so sensitive, he can no longer eat out, so I have learned how sensitive these people can be.i would be confident, however, in cleaning my kitchen and being able to make him a gluten fre cake.

What would scare the heck out of me, however, is nut free for someone allergic to nuts. No matter how well I cleaned, or how careful I was, I would still worry that I would kill them,. There's zero room for error here because it is life and death.

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61999 Posted 1 May 2014 , 12:49pm
post #16 of 20

I think it's Dunkin Hines...they have a Gluten Free mix that is as good as any of the scratch ones.  Less complicated, easier, and gluten free is what it is and just doesn't taste/feel that great to those of us not used eating gluten-free.

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Gingerlocks Posted 6 Aug 2014 , 2:57pm
post #17 of 20

Sorry to jump in and revive an old thread here..but one of my good friends is getting married and she is gluten free, normally if she was a customer I would say no to doing a gluten free cake (just because I can't guarantee there wouldn't be any contamination); but I am just wondering if fondant is gluten free? She is highly sensitive to gluten, and I have sourced out a cake recipe, but not sure if I should cover it in fondant or not?

 

I know gluten goes beyond what you would normally think of..i.e. bread; and the ingredients in ready made fondant don't exactly say WITH GLUTEN..but then again neither does bread. So I don't want to make her sick with fondant! Any advice or previous experience would be appreciated!

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FromScratchSF Posted 7 Aug 2014 , 7:02am
post #18 of 20

Your best bet is to contact the manufacturer direct.  I have heard Satin Ice is GF, Halal and kosher but it's best if you get it from them.

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MsGF Posted 7 Aug 2014 , 12:24pm
post #19 of 20

I have Celiac and use  Satin Ice products.    I am highly sensitive to cross contamination and have had zero problems with Satin Ice.

 

Hope that helps.

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Gingerlocks Posted 7 Aug 2014 , 2:04pm
post #20 of 20

Quote:

Originally Posted by MsGF 
 

I have Celiac and use  Satin Ice products.    I am highly sensitive to cross contamination and have had zero problems with Satin Ice.

 

Hope that helps.

Thank you! I really didn't want to make anyone sick!

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