Safe Birthday Cake

Has anyone ever found a bakery they feel comfortable using, or a store-bought birthday cake they can recommend? My son's birthday is in 2 weeks and I just don't know what to do.

MBeth,
Is your son ONLY allergic to peanuts? Or are eggs/milk a problem too? My son is allergic to eggs and peanuts so all bakeries are off limits. For one reason, most all cakes are made with egg, and another is the cross contamination issue with the peanuts.

If your child does not have a problem with milk, you can try the Betty Crocker's Stir and Frost Cakes. Betty Crocker is very good at labeling and if there is a chance of peanut contamination they will list it in their ingredients. They make two flavors which I use because they do not contain eggs--Devil's Food and Carrot. We keep them around the house in case we need a quick, small snack to make for school. For birthday times, I usually mix up about 3 or 4 of them and cook it in a sheet pan. Comes with its own frosting too. I'm not advocating that this product is 100% safe, as Better Crocker MUST make some peanut products in their plants; however, I feel that the risk is low enough for my comfort level.

I have tried many of the FAN eggless recipies, used egg replacer, etc., and have been totally unsatisfied.
Christine

Thanks so much for your prompt reply, Christine. I will try them. Have you called Betty Croker and confirmed that they'll indicate on the label whether the mix is made on the same equipment line as other peanut products?

At some point (a few years ago) I did call Betty Crocker when I was calling ALL the manufacturers. It sticks in my mind that they were safe. It is probably time to give them another call; however, I believe that some others on this list had called Betty Crocker and were also confident. I vaguely remember it being posted awhile back. Please check for yourself so that you can be satisfied and if you find out anything interesting, post it.
Christine

Thanks, Christine. I will call Betty Crocker. But first, I must find the product! I've looked in the grocery stores and saw different B. Crocker mixes, but not one called "Stir and Frost"! (What part of the country do you live in - I'm in NY).

MBeth,
I live in a suburb of Washington DC. I will say that not all of our grocery stores carry this. We have four grocery chains (Giant, Safeway, Food Lion, and Shoppers Food Warehouse). Giant and Safeway carry all of the varieties of Stir N Frost, Shoppers carries only the coffee cake I believe, and Food Lion carries none of them. Since my husband is in the reserves, I also get commissary benefits and all commissaries I have been to carry this product.
Christine

I am trying to make the double layer birthday cake for my daughter's two year old birthday. I am having difficulties to find a safe margarine to make the frosting. I am just wondering if I could use cream cheese to substitute the margarine.

Thanks

Lingling

Hi!

Lingling Are you looking for margarine as opposed to butter? Horizon Products are all safe. The are made in a Nut Free Facility. They have all types of butters, yogurts, milk, cottage cheese, cream cheese, sourcream ect.

Has anyone seen or tried Simple Organics? It's made by a Doctor in Canada. They don't use any nuts in their facilities. The make and package all the own products. I called them recently and was told they are safe for all nut allergies. They have the best cake mix, cookie mix, muffin mix, and icings.

Also- I called Betty Crocker just this month and the man I spoke with(Kerry) was very knowlegdeable and I asked him on several products if they were safe. He said that they are very cautious and aware of the main allergans and that they label all their products if there isn't a warning on them he said that they are made in a nut free area or facility. The items that I asked him about were the Betty Crocker Fruit snacks and the Betty Crocker Dunkaroos. Both are made in a nut free facility.

[This message has been edited by toomanynuts (edited October 14, 2003).]

My daughter is allergic to dairy also. The cake toppings I saw in the store all have milk. They are out. I am trying to follow the FAAN cake recipe to make the frosting. But I could not find a safe margrine, but I do have a safe soy cream cheese. So I am just wondering if I can use soy cream cheese instead of margrine in the recipe.

Thanks

Lingling

Does crisco shortening have any dairy? This is fine for frosting and the butter flavor gives you a nice butter creme flavor. Just not sure if it is entirely dairy free. I do think the flavor is an artificial one, but the white has no flavorings. becca

Megan is allergic to peanut, wheat, milk, soy, fish, and is just now able to eat eggs. I use the 'wacky cake' recipe but substitute pear juice (from canned DelMonte lite pears) in place of the water. It makes it really moist and adds a lot of flavor.

I also make my own frosting, which is not as hard as it seems. Megan reacts to crisco, so we use Spectrum palm shortening instead.
We also use an all-purpose gf flour in place of regular flour and it still tastes good! (We have used regular wheat flour also--before we found out about the wheat allergy)
Here are the recipes:

Chocolate Cake (Wacky cake)

1 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. unsifted flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. cocoa
1 t. baking soda
1 tsp vinegar
1/3 c. oil
1 t. vanilla
1 c. cold water (I use 1 cup pear juice from DelMonte lite canned pears instead)

Mix ingredients in order given. Beat with handmixer a until blended well. Pour into square 8 inch cake pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. A double recipe can be used for a regular cake pan.

For a white decorators frosting:
2/3 cup solid shortening
1 box confectioners sugar
3 T water
1 t vanilla (again, the good clear stuff, not the brown stuff)

Cream together shortening and sugar until well blended. Add water, beat
until smooth. Chill at least 1 hour. Beat again and add extract. FAAN
says this works well for making flowers and other decoration. It can be made
with lemon or orange extract instead of vanilla.

Chocolate frosting
4 tablespoons of shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoon of hot really strong coffee
2 tablespoon of cocoa
2 cups powder sugar
Add all ingredients to bowl. Use handmixer until blended.

These frostings are sooooo good! Better than the store-bought by far! I colored the white frosting with the 'paste' colorings.

Hope this helps!

[This message has been edited by megans mommy (edited October 15, 2003).]

I have a box of Hershey's Unsweetened Baking chocolate and it states the it may have traces of Peanut of Tree nuts!
Concerned Mom