Zeriel's Journal: Ask a subset of slashdot: Celiac-safe cakes?

MrsZer's mother's birthday is coming up.
She hasn't had a real birthday cake in years, because she has very severe celiac disease.

I am an excellent baker. I want to make her a cake anyway.

Does such a thing as a good celiac-safe cake recipe exist?

I figure some of you have firsthand experience with this kind of thing, so I'm asking here for recipes you've tried, before I go randomly hunting on google.

yes

[blinder]

as you may know, sol is also celiac. we make great cakes using pamela's brownie mix (and follow the cake mix recipe -- bake it a bit extra long).

its great great stuff. you can find it usually at a whole foods or a wild oats... possibly trader joes.

you should also be able to order it online.

hope this helps :)
 

Moo

[Chacham]

Make sure you know what type of Celiac's disease she has. AFAIK, the standard case just requires no gluten. But the more specific cases can be really restrictive of even other things.

Re:Moo

[SolemnDragon]

if it's more restrictive, it's more than celiac.

Re:Moo

[Chacham]

A friend of mine who has it, said it's a subset of it or something. He has a rather severe case needed to get nutrients from a machine twelve hours a day or something. But now that it has (hopefully) been accurately identified, things may change.

Re:Moo

[SolemnDragon]

i have it. My mother has it. There ARE other intolerances and immune disorders that can -and frequently DO- accompany it. Lactose intolerance and galactosemia, for example. But those are comorbidity issues, not part of the celiac/gluten enteropathy itself. It's impotant to keep it straight, because while all celiacs may not be facing the same issues, confusing it for the general public won't help matters any.

Re:Moo

[Chacham]

I thought different celiacs can have different types of gluten.

blinder's right

[SolemnDragon]

i'm sorry to reply late.

*sigh*

the pamela's is great.

Also...

from scratch:

angel food cake

1/2 c cornstarch
1/3 c potato starch
3/4 tsp guar gum OR almost 2/3 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 c egg whites (for planning? i use about ten eggs' worth)
1 tbsp water
1 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup sugar- separate from the other sugar, trust me on this one

preheat oven to 350 F. combine cornstarch, potato starch, guar or xanthan gum, 3/4 c sugar, and salt.

in separate bowl: egg whites, cream of tartar,

Re:blinder's right

[Zeriel]

You're not late, I posted the request early--the birthday in question is not until the 5th. =)

That having been said, you are my hero. I have been looking EVERYWHERE for the Pamela's stuff, and I was afraid I'd have to order it online and pay for express etc.

I will be sure to let you know how she likes it.

Re:blinder's right

[SolemnDragon]

Heh. Let me dig around and see what else i got. I'm pretty sure that there are a few more recipes in my arsenal- like popovers and breadsticks- that you can offer her at her birthday dinner, that might make her cry with delight...

DON'T let me forget, oke? i've got way too much going on right now and things are hard for me to keep in mind.