Some children have allergies that prevent you from purchasing a birthday cake from the local bakery or making one from a box. If you have a child with allergies at your birthday party, it’s essential to have a cake that she can enjoy eating as well. Fortunately, there are several ways to bake a cake, no matter what type of allergy she may have.
Common Allergies
The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network reports that there are just eight foods that cause 90 percent of allergic reactions. These are wheat, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, milk, fish and eggs. While you probably won’t have to worry about shellfish, fish, peanuts or tree nuts for your birthday cake, milk, eggs and wheat are common ingredients. Some cake recipes also make use of soy milk. These are the foods you are probably going to have to avoid if you are making a birthday cake for a child with allergies.
Cake for Everyone
You don’t want to single the child with allergies out with a personal cake just for him. Instead, create a cake for everyone at the party to enjoy. With the right recipe, no one will ever have to know that it’s a special allergen-free cake.
Ingredient Swaps
If you need to replace eggs in a recipe, you can use bananas, tofu or flax seeds blended with water. You may also be able to find a powdered egg replacer at your grocery store in the health foods section. When replacing milk, you may not be able to use soy milk, which some children also have an allergy to. Try rice milk instead. Purchase a gluten-free flour for those with wheat allergies. You could try rice flour or a specially formulated gluten-free flour.
From Scratch or Box Mixes
If you have access to a specialty grocery store, a natural foods section in your regular grocery store or the time to purchase box mixes online, using a box mix can make your cake making a lot easier. You simply add the suggested wet ingredients, and pour it into a pan. However, if you don’t have access to this kind of mix or you want more control over the types of ingredients you use, you’re going to have to make the cake from scratch.
Making It Fun
An allergen-free cake may have a slightly different taste than the types of cakes that most people are used to eating. Compensate for this by getting creative with your cake decorations. For example, you could use food coloring to dye a vanilla-based cake rainbow colors or use decorating techniques to create a special design when frosting the cake.
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