My Personal Journey Through Baking Allergen Free

My personal journey through allergy free baking began with a challenge from a client. Her daughter was turning seven and she wanted to host a birthday party for her. Two of her other children have severe peanut and nut allergies, and the concern in her voice, caused me to think about how I was going to tackle this project for her. My challenge, as a baker, was how to make cupcakes from scratch and utilize a more healthy approach, while not sacrificing taste. I wanted to step it up and create a Vegan, Soy, Gluten, and Nut Free cupcake that was delicious and  all the children could enjoy.

I had been researching food Allergies in general for awhile already.  I knew that an alarming number of our children– as well as adults– are being diagnosed everyday with one or another food allergy.  Even more irritating, no one can seem to agree on why. There are so many theories out there your head can spin  off your shoulders.  With this project I forged forward, found a few recipes, noticed a few common denominators, and went forth into the world to attempt to find these foreign (to Me) ingredients (such things like Brown Rice flour, Potato Starch, Tapioca Starch, Xanthan Gum, Rice Milk, the list goes on and on). My head was already spinning I had not even got into my car yet.

I decided that my best shot at finding many of these strange  ingredients would be at my local Whole Foods Market.  Thankfully I have one in my area, because most big box grocery stores are just beginning to carry some of these things, they have nowhere near the selection necessary to bake allergen free, let alone even Gluten free! I walked into the store grabbed my cart and began searching out the items I needed, only to be stopped in my tracks by the amount of flours out there:  Quinoa flour, Millet flour, Amaranth flour, White Rice flour, Brown Rice flour, on and on.  (As an accomplished baker I pride myself on being able to adapt to almost any situation in the kitchen, but this, this was an area I was not ready for.)  I walked slowly up and down the aisles looking at everything, picking up everything, reading everything I could to understand the many uses of all these ingredients. I am sure the people in the store must have thought me to be crazy, but I was on a mission, and I would not fail to deliver. My only fear was not knowing what a lot of this stuff tasted like, but there was only one way to find out.  I gathered all my items, headed for the checkout, almost passed out at the cost of it all, $30 in total, my mind raced in anger, why are these ingredients so much more, if I were making regular cupcakes from scratch it would probably cost my $10 to $15 depending on what I already had in my pantry. Heck  I could spend $4 or $5 dollars and buy a box mix.  $30.00 for 12 cupcakes and with plenty of ingredients left over. I was in sticker shock. There are too many people  suffering from  many types of food allergies out there, that ingredients should come down in price.  I was outraged that people were forced into such poverty all for the joy of a baked good!! In my world no one should ever have to go without dessert.

I managed to get myself home, unpack my bags, and began opening and smelling items. The real journey began  with recipe in hand and the ingredients laid out.  I mixed the ingredients together, and began to feel peace and joy as I looked down into my bowl filled with a deep chocolate pool of love. I dipped my spoon into the batter, this would be the moment of truth, how all these measured ingredients tasted together.  It couldn’t be bad, what’s bad with chocolate? Right? I placed the spoon to my mouth and it hit me, like a ton of bricks. OH MY WORD it tasted like I stuck an aloe plant in my mouth, and yes I do know what that taste like, don’t ask. I bent my nose closer to the bowl and yup it smelled like plant matter. I was ready to throw the batter out, but the $30 price tag stuck in my head. So I mounded the batter into each muffin cup lined with paper, and slid them into the oven. I waited and waited, finally they were out. I pulled my nose close to the hot tin and smelled yummy chocolate. Ok this may not be so bad after all, I raced to pull a hot cupcake out of the muffin tin. Yes, I know you should wait for them to cool, but I couldn’t. I put one on the counter, cut into it, and popped a piece in my mouth. Wow, OK, these were good, chocolaty, not overly sweet, but the frosting would be sweet enough. I was impressed, and excited. I allowed the rest to cool and marked the recipe as a keeper. I made a few tweaks within the recipe to better improve the smell and taste.

Try this  at home, but with a warning — this batter is not a finger licking batter, and ignore the smell.  In fact this may be a recipe you make without the kids around, because they may not eat the cupcakes  if they tried the uncooked batter. However they’ll be popping them in their mouths when fully baked and frosted!  And those kids with food allergies can enjoy baked goods right along with the other kids too. Only you will know your giving them something much more than your average sweet desert, — your giving them love.

Chocolate Cupcakes:

1 Cup Vanilla Rice Milk (you can use regular if you cannot find vanilla)

1 Tsp cider vinegar

1 Cup of a basic gluten-free all purpose baking mix (I used Bob’s Red Mill)

1 Cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (Hershey’s is fine and a little less expensive)

¼ Tsp plus 1/8 Tsp Xanthan Gum

¾ Tsp baking soda

½ Tsp double-acting baking powder

½ Tsp salt

1/3 Cup canola oil

2 Tbsp pure gluten free vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Combine the rice milk and cider vinegar in a measuring cup, set aside.

Whisk together the flour mix, Cocoa, Xanthan Gum, baking soda, double acting baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, combine the rice milk, sugar, canola oil, and vanilla. Mix until combined and frothy at medium speed.

Turn down the mixer to low and slowly add in the flour mixture, mix until everything is well combined.

Portion out batter into each of your muffin cups, lined with muffin paper, bake for 18 minutes.

Pull out, and allow to cool.

Note:  This recipe was adapted from “The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook” by Cybele Pascal.