Challenge - Baking Allergy Free

Sweet Treats for Those with Food Allergies

I recently was asked to make some Soy-Free desserts for a friends' daughter's birthday party. We thought it would be best to make everything soy-free, if possible, so that the little girl who was allergic wouldn't feel left out of anything and could enjoy all the food like everyone else. This was the first time I had attempted such a thing and for my part - the desserts - it turned out to be fairly easy thank you to "Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate" (I found at Target and our local health food store).  This chocolate was perfect for dipping cake balls and strawberries in. It melts beautifully and hardens up just enough to create a perfect outer coating.  I think the girls enjoyed the treats too!  You would never have know that anything was missing.  I made the cake balls from scratch so I was able to monitor the amount of soy, or in the case, the necessary total lack thereof. 

Strawberry Lemonade Bars

Chocolate dipped Strawberries

Chocolate Cake Balls

And now for an even greater challenge...

Soy/Nut/Gluten/Dairy Free Chocolate Cake Balls

Just this past weekend I was asked if I could make some special treats for another friend's nephew who is allergic not just to soy but also dairy, nuts, and gluten. Well, this was an even greater challenge!  I quickly learned that if something is gluten-free, chances are it has soy in it.  If it's soy-free, it has gluten, or nuts, or dairy. It was more difficult to find not only a recipe that would meet all of the 'free' criteria, but then to find the ingredients to do so.  I certainly have a greater appreciation for those parents and caregivers that have to deal with these restrictions on a daily basis. 

This recipe was adapted from several others with the original coming out of an allergy-free cookbook with no author listed.  (I really hope I am not guilty of any plagiarism, copyright infringements, etc..)
I chose to make cake balls because I was unsure of how the cake would turn out and thought that cake balls would be the most forgiving in case the cack was too dry.  This turned out to be a good choice since I had problems with the frosting (you'll see why below).

Soy/Nut/Gluten/Dairy Free Chocolate Cake Balls

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 6 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups chocolate coconut milk - I could not find this so I used a can of coconut milk and then melted enough chocolate and added to the coconut milk to meet the 2 cups needed (Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate) even though the recipes said not to make your own it worked just fine for me)
• 1/2 cup + 2 T. canola oil
• 2 T. apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray.  You can also make 2 round cakes or cupcakes.  I chose the 9 x 13 since I was making cake balls.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients well.
3. In a smaller bowl, combine the wet ingredients.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until smooth, making sure all dry ingredients are mixed in from the bottom of the bowl.
5. Place in preheated oven immediately.
6. Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. May take slightly longer if using the 9x13 pan.
7. Cool in pans for 5 minutes before removing to cooling rack. If cupcakes, remove immediately.
8. Cool completely before frosting with the frosting of your choice.
9. For Cake Balls,  once the cake has completely cooled, crumble the cake in a large bowl and add frosting (recipe follows), mix well with your hands and then shape into small balls.  Place balls in the freezer for at least an hour for them to set up enough to handle while dipping.  If using cake pop sticks, melt some of the soy/nut/dairy/gluten free chocolate, dip the end of the stick in it, and then stick into the ball and then place in the freezer.

Chocolate Frosting for Cake Balls -

Important Note:  Do not use this if you are actually frosting a cake or cupcakes.  I assume the original recipe would make enough frosting for a cake or cupcakes but I had to make adjustments to the original recipe because I did not have the appropriate ingredients on hand and it was getting really late.  I had bought what I thought was appropriate margarine but realized at 10pm when I did a double check before adding it to the mix that it was only dairy-free, not soy-free.  The end result turned out perfect for the purposes of cake balls because the cake was quite moist all on it's own and didn't require a great deal of frosting.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup dairy-free margarine
• 2 tablespoons coconut milk + extra to make the right consistency
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup

Instructions

1. Sift the cocoa powder and powdered sugar into a mixing bowl.
2. Add the remaining ingredients, and mix on low speed, until everything is incorporated. Add additional coconut milk as needed to create a thick but creamy frosting.
3. Add to crumbled cake and mix well. Don't bother trying to use a spoon. You will  have to mix it by hand to get it all incorporated.

To make cake balls, melt chocolate over a double boiler and dip cake balls in to coat, shaking off excess and place on waxed paper to let set and harden.  Refrigerate or freeze and serve as needed.

For detailed information on how to dip cake balls I would suggest searching on YouTube for video.  bakerella.com is also a great resource for all things cake balls.