It is amazing how we all survived--really. I know parents of my generation who smoked when they were pregnant, drank, we didn't use car seats until we were 8 or 80 lbs- (my poor daughter will probably hit 80 lbs in high school) and we all seemed to turn out okay. Yet I look at the kids of my generation and there are allergies all over the place- dairy, peanut, soy. Maybe it is medical advancements- maybe the environment. Look at my own family- a cornucopia of allergies- dairy free, gluten free, no tree nuts, etc. I do not that changes in diet whether it is a matter of life and death like dairy and peanut allergies can be for some people or it is for biomedical intervention- people with allergies should not be forced to eat cardboard for desserts. This is my mission for my daughter.
In our family we are all pretty good about bringing various items to fit the needs of the family members-- it has become kind of a joke at family parties as we approach the food table- each dish carefully labeled, asking questions- "are those gluten free- oh, those are for so and so." At dessert time it was never a problem when my daughter was smaller- she was too little to understand why she was getting something different-- now she knows. We should all be able to eat the same thing and have it taste great.
At the last family birthday I decided to make dessert. I was not going to make 4 different items- one dessert to meet the needs of the allergies- dairy free, gluten free, soy free-- but for those of us not on the diet it could not taste like card board. Chocolate cake with home maid marshmallow filling and chocolate frosting.
There are wonderful dairy free, gluten free chocolate cake mixes you can buy-- I highly recommend them- if you are a working mom or a stay at home mom the results you these versus trying to make the mix on your own-- look at what your time is worth to you. Besides my newest discovery which is gluten free and dairy free- home maid marshmallow is worth the time-- so yummy. Dairy free, gluten free chocolate frosting was another story- what did you use- the thought of not using butter went against my core-- my standard frosting recipe has 2 1/2 lbs of butter. The web was my friend-- I found a recipe-- with a little modification- adjustments for a cake-- I found one the was approved by my daughter the official GFCF taste tester.
Time to frost-- everything was going well- then the cake started to slide--the 105 degree heat was not helping--(note to self--dairy free frosting not good in heat)--adaptability. It tasted like a ding dong-- ding dongs come in foil-- wrap the cake in foil to shore up the sides-- Presentation. I will admit not my greatest presentation-- but a solid first attempt in 105 degree heat for GFCF.
The cake tasted amazing. Everyone liked it--more importantly we ate as a family. Success.
