I’ve been hiding something from you…from this very blog. But I had to. You see one of my most devoted fans is of course, my mom. But I had a secret I couldn’t tell her and as a result, you couldn’t hear about my fears and frustrations about this secret – that is until now…
On Saturday my dad had a big surprise birthday party for my mom. It was all very exciting! In the weeks prior, I had done all the arrangements to get gluten-free turkey dinner options for the celiacs in the family. I figured my part was done. That is until the discussion of the cake.
Early discussions with my dad (bless his heart) had me bringing a few pieces of gluten-free cake for those who needed it….that is until last Tuesday – 5 days before the party. My dad called me and asked if I could make gluten-free cake for 25 people. His request made perfect sense. It is true, everyone at the party could eat gluten-free cake. So why not just make it all gluten-free? “Sure,” I said as my mind started spinning. At most I’ve made one circle cake or 12 cupcakes from our favorite Pamela’s Brownie Mix that you can make into a cake.
Knowing I couldn’t vent on Facebook or my blog – because my mom reads both – I resorted to Twitter as my only vehicle for appealing for suggestions. Unfortunately none came through (sigh).
I had so many questions: would it work to quadruple the recipe and put it in a half sheet cake pan? Would everything get cooked evenly? Since I’m not one to experiment a lot (and subsequently “waste” money) I went the safe route. I doubled the recipe twice for two 9 X 13 cake pans of chocolate cake.
It appeared Pamela’s Brownie Mix worked again for me. Four packages, eight eggs, two cups of oil and 40 minutes per baking pan later – they were done. I worried about the corners as they pulled and curled away from the pan. Were the cakes going to be too dry?
I got the two cakes frosted and we were on our way to the party. The party went off without a hitch and my mom was completely surprised.
The cake was a hit too. I had many people compliment me on just how great it was and they couldn’t tell it was any different from a regular cake! Woo hoo!!! It wasn’t dry, it wasn’t grainy tasting. It was just right.
A lot of worrying, planning, baking, driving and now… I’m exhausted….
April 6th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Amy –
You have helped me so much, I would have chimed in from Twitter. I didn’t know you were on and I don’t see it listed on the blog. There is a follow me on Twitter widget you can add!
So glad the cakes worked out. That’s what I do, I cook gluten-free for everyone. I used to feel deprived if someone else ate my FG food, but now, it’s no big deal, especially for a party.
I am going to a conference a couple days before my birthday and the organizer said he would get me a cake. I asked him to pick up GF (pre-made) brownies instead and he is going to.
I think it’s getting so much easier to find things to eat in the “normal” world. PFChangs, Bonefish and Carrabas also have GF menus if you didn’t already know.
Barbara