Brody's first time having cake...practicing for his birthday!Last week, I made a Safe Nemo Cake using CherryBrook Kitchen Gluten Free Dream Chocolate Cake Mix and Safe Buttercream icing. I served this cake at our family party and everyone was impressed with how nice the cake looked. I was hoping the same would hold true for how it tasted (I was keeping my fingers crossed). The consensus from the adults (who do not have any food allergies) was that it had a distinct taste (different they said) and they thought it was not as moist as regular cake (ok...I will give them that).
I, on the other hand, was just SO thrilled to eat some type of dessert and to watch Brody eat safe cake that maybe I was not as critical. I have to agree that it was not as moist as I would prefer, but I didn't think the flavor was bad. I have been eating products that are made with different ingredients due to having to eliminate milk, eggs, peanuts and wheat, so maybe I am used to that "distinct" taste now?
I, on the other hand, was just SO thrilled to eat some type of dessert and to watch Brody eat safe cake that maybe I was not as critical. I have to agree that it was not as moist as I would prefer, but I didn't think the flavor was bad. I have been eating products that are made with different ingredients due to having to eliminate milk, eggs, peanuts and wheat, so maybe I am used to that "distinct" taste now?
My husband said it is his favorite cake...but I think he must have been hungry or trying to make me feel good since he knew how expensive the cake mix was ($4.99 a box and I had to use two boxes) and how hard we worked to plan, bake and decorate a safe cake :)
In regards to the frosting, it was great! Honestly....REALLY GOOD! My mother-in-law doesn't like really sweet buttercream frosting and she said if she ever wants to make cake with buttercream frosting, she will use this recipe because she didn't think it was as sweet (maybe because of the Earth Balance Buttery Spread used? I am not sure?). It did take a little more Wilton Color Concentrated Gel than usual (in my opinion), because the Earth Balance Buttery Spread seems to be a little more yellow than regular butter.
I think next time, the family would prefer that I make a regular cake and also make cupcakes that are safe for Brody and I. I had high hopes for the cake, again...it wasn't horrible, but obviously people weren't as excited about it as I was (half of the cake was left over, and this is not normal for my family of 9 adults and 2 children). If you have to have an allergen free cake, it will do and I am sure you or your child will be happy since there are not many options.
I made cupcakes using the same CherryBrook Kitchen Gluten Free Dream Chocolate Cake Mix the next day and varied the recipe a little and thought it turned out a little bit more moist than this one....will post it with pics...
I need to get this cake issue figured out since we will be celebrating Brody's birthday in a little over a month :)
Okay, so...
ReplyDeletePF Changs rocks... that sounds like some incredible service to me! We were up there just the other day, and I would have been more tempted to stop in there had I known all this!:)
And, the Nemo cake... it did look awesome! You did a great job and I'm so glad you all were able to celebrate eating together. So sorry we missed out on the fun time, but even if we had been here you wouldn't have wanted us there with all the yuck we had going on!
Happy birthday to your oldest and happy almost birthday to your little guy... wow!
Okay, so...
ReplyDeleteHow cool is PF Changs? I love that they made you feel so comfortable and all. Had I known this when I was just behind that restaurant the other day, I would have been terribly tempted to drop on in!
And, the cake!!! Turned out awesome! So sorry we had to miss the celebration, but I'm sure it was a blast. Hopefully your oldest enjoyed the little gift from us (esp. on all these rainy days!) and can't even believe Brody is just about to up and turn ONE!