PLEASE, PLEASE, HELP!!!

I know I posted something similar awhile back, but at that time I needed an allergy-friendly chocolate cake.  While my friend claimed it was the best chocolate cake she has ever had, I wasn't totally happy with it as it was a little too crumbly to ice and stack nicely.  Now another mutual friend with the same allergies is having a birthday - and doesn't like chocolate.  SO, I need a new recipe.  I have tried Gluten-free mixes and egg-replacer...but was not happy with the heavy, lumpy looking "biscuits" that I pulled out of the cake pans.  It looks terrible and I am not sure if I even want to taste it! 

HELP!  I need to have this cake done in the next 12 hours.  I don't have time for any more flops, so please only reply if you have a proven recipe (trust me, I have done a lot of internet searching already myself).  Links for products I can order or cookbooks I can buy won't help with this short time line either.  (And I have already tried some recipes from allergy-friendly books in my public library.)  To complicate matters, I live in a rural area and don't have ready access to many unusual ingredients.

AAs much as I wish I had a recipe for you, I'm boggled as to why you would accept making a cake without a recipe you're comfortable with.

Good luck.

A

She has a friend who is having a birthday I can only assume that she wants to make her a cake. ..it sounds like she just wants to make a cake for her friend.

AOp you might want to personal message jason_kraft his bakery does gluten free recipes.

AYeah...but seriously. Rural setting, no recipe, allergies galore...last minute.

I hope she finds something:(. I know that feeling of working on something last minute.

Jason Kraft has given very general suggestions - he did respond to my inquiry last time, but as far as recipes go they are "proprietary".  If his cookbook is ready to sell, it still won't help me now.

Thanks for the suggestion kazita, but Jason Kraft has given very general suggestions - he did respond to my inquiry last time, but as far as recipes go they are "proprietary". If his cookbook is ready to sell, it still won't help me now...

For those who are wondering...I am trying to be a good friend in making this cake, which is why I agreed.  :)  I can't imagine having to live with such a restricted diet - I enjoy food WAY too much!!!  Yes it is a little last-minute, but gluten-free cakes do not seem to have as long of a shelf-life as regular cakes, so I didn't want to bake it last week and I had other comittments the past few days.

AHave you tried searching the recipes here?

AThe best EF/GF/DF cake recipes use tofu or ground flaxseed, egg replacer (potato starch) doesn't work well for cakes (especially vanilla cakes).

Here is a recipe using flaxseed that should work: http://www.livingwithout.com/issues/4_7/gluten_free_happy_birthday_cakes-1963-1.html

Cherrybrook Kitchen also makes a passable gluten/egg/dairy-free cake mix, it's probably too late now but it's something to keep in mind for the future.

ha! My friend wouldnt be getting a cake lol

I went through all my recipes and couldn't find anything I thought would work for you.  Cooking GF is difficult but take away the eggs and milk on top of that ..wow.  Without the eggs, you will not get much of a rise on any cake you make and it will be very crumbly...without the butter or milk, the taste will be a bit bland as well.  I am not saying this cannot be done....I'm sure it can but I don't think it will measure up to your standards of what a cake should look like.  You are also right about the GF baked goods having a short shelf life...they absolutely do and into hockey pucks in a couple days.  I will keep looking for a recipe and if I find something I will post it.  I am attaching a link to some "egg substitutes" ... ie flax or banana etc.

http://pinterest.com/pin/185280972141536754/

A

Lmao...;)

AI knew Jason couldn't resist posting a recipe. Good job Jason :)

I think this friend would be getting a birthday pie, rather than a cake.

Here is a link to some excellent recipes that are gluten free.  She has vanilla cupcakes but, no plain vanilla cake recipes...I am thinking though that perhaps you could re work the Frosted Orange Creme Cupcakes....that particular recipe is Gluten Free, rice free and vegan to boot.  You may find some other recipes on her site you can use..I know you said you lived in a rural area and didn`t have a lot of unusual ingredients...so, it is difficult for me to suggest alternatives not knowing what you have in your pantry.  Karina is one of my go to sites for many many of the recipes I love to chow down on.  http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.ca/2009/04/orange-creme-cupcakes-vegan-and-gluten.html

Another site is Baking Beauties...love many of her recipes as well....without these two I would have starved long ago...LOL.  Anyhow this recipe doesn`t look too bad....I would sub out the milk with soy milk or almond milk and perhaps leave out the lemon and use vanilla and/or almond extracts..  http://www.thebakingbeauties.com/2010/03/gluten-free-layered-lemon-cake-with-lemon-whipped-cream-frosting.html.   

Both these ladies live gluten free so they`ve played with the recipes until it works for them...Good luck

Oh my, this one looks really good to me from the perspective of the flavors I like ie sorghum flour and coconut flour over rice flours any day, the applesauce as an egg replacer and coconut milk instead of dairy milk...http://www.veganbaking.net/cakes/sponge-cakes/774-sugar-mamas-gluten-free-vanilla-cake#.UWSZupM3v7M

Sorry to clog up the board but this one looked too good to ignore....LOL

The cake I baked from Jason Kraft's link is out of the oven.  Not as bad as my first flop, but very dense - never did rise much.  (Disappointed.)  Out of the 3 "recipes" I tried today, the best results were when I used the same Gluten-free cake mix as I did with my first flop, except I used tofu intsead of egg replacer and added an extra 1/4 cup water.  Still not quite as good as a regular cake, but getting closer.

i'm trouble shooting here that the problem lies in that you subbed the palm shortening with coconut oil.  The process of creaming shortening (in place of butter) with the sugar is to get the maximum amount of air bubbles and allow for rise in the oven and light texture.  I believe that a coconut oil isn't going to get to that fluffy light texture like a more solid fat (shortening/butter) would.  An oil based cake (red velvet, chocolate) usually has quite a bit more leavening in it to help make up for that the creaming process misses.  

I wish you luck on getting something for her.  Have you considered maybe doing an alternative cake such as gluten-free crepes stacked with an allergy friendly filling (ganache, fruit or creme?) with a nice halo of candles?  I'm sure she will be happy with whatever you can come up with. 

AYou may want to lower your expectations. Cakes made without gluten OR eggs can be just about indistinguishable from regular cake, but when you remove gluten AND eggs the taste and texture will never measure up. Don't get me wrong, it's still a good product, but you can tell the difference.

Luckily it's a lot easier to make allergy-friendly frosting.

get her a gift card

Time to fill and ice the cake...but I guess I need to ask my friend if she would prefer the cake that tastes the best (trial #3), or the cake that looks the most like regular cake (#2-doesn't taste as good, but filling and frosting will help.)    Thank-you all for your input.  If I come up with a better recipe in the future, I will try to remember to post it.  If someone else can benefit from my flops and my stress, that would be great!

how did it turn out?
 

For those who have been wondering...this cake made me sick.  Literally!    I thought it was just sleep deprivation and a cold, but it turns out I got Bronchitis so I have been recovering away from the cake world. 

We went with recipe #3 which my friend really liked.  I do want to tweak the recipe a bit.  She said #2 (with tofu) wasn't bad, but you could taste the tofu - and I agree.  Several days ago I was feeling better, so I used a recipe I already had and baked some gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free chocolate cupcakes..and added some ground flaxseed (1 tablespoon soaked in 3 tablespoons water for 5-10 minutes), as well as some coconut flour to replace about 1/3rd of my gluten-free flour mix.  I am happy with the result and think it is an improvement over the original.  I took them to a baby shower and a few people with no allergies ate them as well and liked them.