Organic Cake With As Little Sugar As Possible
Decorating By Joy2501 Updated 3 Aug 2007 , 2:32pm by Joy2501
I have a princess cake due in two weeks. The mom has requested organic ingredients and has pointed me in the right direction to find them. She has also requested as little sugar as possible. So does anyone have any suggestions of how to make MMF and buttercream keeping the sugar content low? This has me stumped!
Here is the most recent e-mail she sent me detailing her requirements:
"Here are my thoughts on the ingredients:
The best kind of eggs to get are cage free (or free-range) brown eggs,
where the chickens are fed organic feed. They are also the most
expensive. I buy a less expensive 18 pack of Latta's eggs at Whole
Foods. They are cage-free, fed pure grains with no antibiotics, and
there is no animal fat in the feed. [FYI, toxins tend to be stored
and passed to us humans in the animal's fat.]
For the butter (or any dairy products), the buzzwords are "rBST free"
(which means the cows have not been given growth hormones). [FYI,
"Organic diary" means the cows have also been fed feed that has no
chemicals, and they have not received antibiotics.] I usually buy a
365 brand of butter that's rBST free but not organic; it's a
compromise and not as expensive as organic butter. Can we avoid the
shortening? Or do you need it for the icing? It takes the body a
very long time to break it down.
We try to use only organic olive oil and avoid cottonseed, safflower,
sunflower, corn, canola and soybean oil. This means I cook most of my
food, and buy very little prepared food. I also think it's almost
impossible to bake with only olive oil, as the batter is very heavy.
I say we bend the rules here to make a cake and call it the best we
can do.
Sugar I generally avoid, because it causes mineral deficiences and
weakens the immune system. But you can't make a cake without sugar,
so can you just use the smallest amount possible? Or use turbinado
sugar, which you can buy in bulk? It's heavier than regular sugar
(might work for the cake but I'm not sure about the icing.) Or
organic cane sugar (also in bulk)? Or molasses? Or maple syrup? I
don't know of a substitute for the confectioners sugar; if you need it
for the icing, can you use the smallest amount possible? (Sorry to be
so harsh on sugar.)
I also try to avoid chemical dyes in the food coloring, things like
red dye #3 and blue dye. But I bet they are in the pinks and purples,
so again I suggest we do with the smallest amount possible. (I don't
think I've seen organic food coloring in the store. I'll doublecheck
next time I go.)"
HELP!!!!!!
All I can say is WOW 
..... Talk about limiting your choices.... What I would do (along with some MAJOR i-net searching) is go to the nearest Wholes Foods or Organic marketplace and just wander the aisles to see what they have. I buy my daughter organic cereal bars for toddlers and whenever I go in that specialty store to buy them, I am amazed at what they have! Good luck and I hope you come up with a satisfactory result (but on the bright side, at least now you'll have this under your belt and will be able to offer organic cakes 
)
You don't want to know what I'd tell this lady. 
It's not the organic stuff that would get me it's the sugar thing. Could someone please tell me how to make icing without LOTS of sugar? And isn't the sugar needed in the quantity called for in cake recipes for texture and such?
Italian or Swiss Meringue Buttercream? or a stablized whipped cream? or something based on whipped marscapone or cream cheese?
apples sauce can replace oil in baking (tho' it would have to be organic!) -- or just use canola oil (i just don't get her insistence that only olive oil is the ONLY good oil)
honey could be used as a sweetener (organic of course)
found recipes
http://www.dld123.com/sweetsavvy/recipes/recipe.php?id=R25
(multiple at each): http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=770066
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/list_dessert.html
Thanks so much for your replies. My first reaction was along the lines of "are you insane!!" I almost refused the cake, but then I thought if I can get this right it may open up a niche market for me. So here I am spending more time on a stupid princess wondermold cake than I would on a wedding cake!!
I don't know what to tell you about the sugar...but I do know you can get natural plant based food colors. I have a nephew who is Autistic and super sensitive to certain colors and preservatives...they are not the same rich color as your americolor and wilton but they work and I have used them many times.
If you are willing to go with a mix it is alot easier and less trial and error. I make alot of organic / gluten-free / egg-free / dairy free cakes due to allergies in my family. If you google 'organic cake mixes' you'll get a ton of results. I've used the Good Baker brand and like it (this is all organic) and contains evaporated cane juice (versus processed sugar). Cherrybrook is my favorite (but I'm not certain its organic - organic being a word many would debate due to lack of agreed rules). I agree with you it would be a great new niche since there are many food allergies out there (but this mom seems a bit extreme - how about some fun!).
I'd suggest SMBC to her for the icing. It has much less sugar than your normal powdered sugar icing. Or even a 7 minute icing.. which doesn't have the butter in it. Or lightly sweetened whipped cream.
You can use apple sauce in your cake like Doug said in lou of the oil.. though extra light olive oil would work and wouldn't make your cake taste like an odd kitchen accident in which you dropped italian dressing into your batter. 
If she is this restrictive with her child's (family's) diet the kid isn't going to miss the sweetness for sure. See if she'd mind if you used an organic mix.. they will perform nicely for you. My friend who is allergic to gluten told me that the Pamela's mixes are actually really good.. and she has only switched to 100% gluten free in the past year so she knows the difference.. LOL.
Remember too with making allergen free cakes you need to be sure that your tools have not touched anything that causes the allergic reactions.. that means your pans, spatulas, mixing bowls, your KA, your turntable.. EVERYTHING should be new or at the very least washed VERY well. Anything plastic should be new though.. the allergens can leach into the utentils and then back into the cakes you make.
Good luck!!
Well, since you're just in Durham, I should probably just say send her over here to Chapel Hill and I'll handle it. We do stuff like this all the time. 
The first thing I would suggest is that you buy some India Tree food color.They are vegetable dyes rather than chemicals.
http://www.indiatree.com/products/decorative/natures-dyes.html
I would probably make a cake with honey as the sweetener. It has a humectant quality which helps to keep the cake moist without funky ingredients.
here is a good one:
1 3/4 Cups Pastry flour
1/4 Cup Cocoa (Dutch process)
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
8 Tbs (1 stick) Unsalted butter, softened
1 Cup Honey
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Buttermilk
1. Set a rack at the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, soda, ginger, and cinnamon onto a sheet of parchment or wax paper. Set aside.
3. Use an electric mixer set on medium speed to beat the butter with the honey until light, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and continue beating until smooth and light, another 2 minutes.
4. On low speed, beat in half the dry ingredients, then scrape down bowl and beater(s) with a rubber spatula. Beat in the buttermilk and scrape down again. Repeat with remaining dry ingredients.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake the cake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted halfway between the side and the center of the tube emerges clean.
6. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto the rack, remove pan, and finish cooling.
There is no way you can use MMF on this cake. Marshmallows are just about pure chemicals, let alone the sugar content. I would suggest Bakels Pettinice. It is vegan friendly with vegatable gums as thickeners in lieu of gelatin. It also is the least sweet of the fondants. IMO. You can get it at Southern Season.
For the icing under the fondant, either use an IMBC or Rosie's Bakery buttercream. It only has 3/4 c. powdered sugar ( which is available organic) per batch. Kids also tend to like it more than IMBC.
Charge her at least double.
I'd suggest SMBC to her for the icing. It has much less sugar than your normal powdered sugar icing. Or even a 7 minute icing.. which doesn't have the butter in it. Or lightly sweetened whipped cream.
You can use apple sauce in your cake like Doug said in lou of the oil.. though extra light olive oil would work and wouldn't make your cake taste like an odd kitchen accident in which you dropped italian dressing into your batter.
If she is this restrictive with her child's (family's) diet the kid isn't going to miss the sweetness for sure. See if she'd mind if you used an organic mix.. they will perform nicely for you. My friend who is allergic to gluten told me that the Pamela's mixes are actually really good.. and she has only switched to 100% gluten free in the past year so she knows the difference.. LOL. Remember too with making allergen free cakes you need to be sure that your tools have not touched anything that causes the allergic reactions.. that means your pans, spatulas, mixing bowls, your KA, your turntable.. EVERYTHING should be new or at the very least washed VERY well. Anything plastic should be new though.. the allergens can leach into the utentils and then back into the cakes you make.
Good luck!!
Thanks for the suggestions. Can you believe that as far as I am aware there are no allergy issues in her family. She's just a health "nut". I'm all for eating healthily, but come on, give your self a break once in a while!!
I can understand the health nut part of it. I am a bit of one myself.. more of a lover of all things that aren't highly processed.. I make our bread and we eat very little premade foods, but when it comes to cake.. sugar me up baby.. LOL.
How old is the child? I can see a mother not wanting her young child to eat a big ole' pile-o-sugar.
Normally I am anti-mix.. but in this case it might be a good way to go. I don't do heath-nut, no sugar cakes. I have used SMBC on kid's cakes though and it has been well recieved. My kids love the stuff.. LOL.
I'm with you on the cake. Cake = Sugar!!
Her daughter is turning 8 this birthday, so I think a bit of sugar isn't going to be harmful.
Mine are 6 and 3 (girls, turning 6 and 3 this month) and I haven't really noticed any sugar rushes - even when they clean the bowl, or ice their own cakes!!
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