I just finished my biggest ored headache EVER! worse than any wedding cake i've done!!!!!! (although, i enjoy doing wedding cakes so maybe thats not the best comparison... i digress...) ANYWHO, I just completed an order for the same event where there was a 1/2 sheet white, 1/4 sheet rum cake, 6" gluten-free cake and 6" sugar -free cake. Never having done either of the last two before, i was definitely challenged but thought "how hard could it be??" sweet jesus! I definitley didnt charge enough. I didnt make one red cent on the gluten free cake. the ingredients alone were close to $20! The sigar free wasnt as expensive but still, i didnt charge enough. My first attempt at the gluten free cake was awful! I had to make a second cake and thankfully (the third time) i went back to the natural food store i found a gluten free cake mix! I was amazed and definitely all up on that ($4/box). It atleast looked like a cake and held together like a cake. The sigar free was not as disasterous. I used a splenda recipe and it came out pretty well. The frosting was giving me a headache... sugar free frosting???? does it exist? not really BUT by Cake guru and i brainstormed for a bit yesterday and did whipping cream with a box of sugar free instant pudding! It worked beautifully! it takes color very well, too! The rum cake, not as bad..... smells delightful! ANyway, I charged only $102 for all 4 cakes which now that i know, IS NOT ENOUGH!! Live and learn!

Poor you!!! I always think of every cake as a learning experience (some I'll never experience again lol). That is exactly the reason I don't think I will touch an allergy order with a ten foot spatula! Plus I would be scared to death the whole time about making someone sick so Iwouldn't even enjoy making the cakes!

I know exactly how you feel dear...

I offered to make my brother-in-law a gluten-free birthday cake (for free). Big mistake. I'll never make that mistake again. Talk about the cake from hell...

I wanted to buy a box mix for this project, but the health food store I first went to was completely out. So, I bought $25.00 worth of different flours and xanthan gum (why is it so expensive???) to come home and bake the driest cake in my life. Complete disaster. I won't ever dare do that again!!

So, after an entire night of looking for health food stores, I found one about an hour away from me. FINALLY...a box mix (in chocolate!!) Who would know it was $5.00 a box?!?

I hope that you remembered to check your other ingredients to be gluten-free. Many baking powders and extracts have gluten in them (yes...I forgot that my baking spray had flour in it).

Glad to hear that you had success with your cake. This dang cake cost me almost $50.00 in the end. This sucks...

Does anybody have a good gluten-free cake recipe (that is actually MOIST and TASTY???)

We were just talking about this very thing the other day:

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-34744-.html

My daughter has Celiac Disease and I have always purchased a gluten free mix I found out early how expensive maintaining a gluten free diet is . Most everything is priced 3 to 4 times more than the original product . I use Pamelas chocolate cake mix ,I have found that it taste about the best of the gluten free cake mixes. And as you found out time you buy all the ingredients to make one and it doesnt turn out good wow it can turn into a lot of money wasted. One mix I do not like is Namaste cake mix at Wild Oats its about $7.00 and it tasted horrible . I think Bobs Red Mill makes a gluten free mix but I havent tried it yet but I bet it is good every gluten free item I have tried of his has been pretty good.

You can try this website for mail order products. It is www.glutenfreesolutions.com
They seem to have anything you need.

This is just a suggestion, If you want to get the answer to what the best Gluten free cake mix is just go to one of the Celiac forum boards . When there is a really good gluten free item found you can bet that it will be posted and talked about, this is where I go to find out where I can get decent tasting gluten free items and which ones to stay away from. People on gluten free diets will help you because they realize how hard it is to find anything gluten free that taste good. I hope this info can help someone.

Sugar free frosting does exist, you just can't rely on splenda to provide the textural elements of powdered sugar. For that you have to turn to sugar alcohols such as isomalt. The laxating nature of sugar alcohols can get a little hairy when baking for a large event, though.