Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Baking Allergen Free – What are the celebrity chefs up to?

I don’t do a lot of baking. With cooking, you can adjust the recipe as you go, but with baking, once it is mixed and baked, you are stuck with the results, good or bad. Well, I wanted to see what recipes the food media have developed to address food allergies and I am quite pleased with the results, please enjoy these recipes from some of TV’s chefs! I tried to include a variety of allergens omitted so there should be something for everyone…

The following recipes are from the queen of entertaining, yes that’s right Martha Stewart. She has had multiple people on her show sharing the concerns of us allergenistas!

Chocolate Cupcakes (recipe courtesy of Divvies Bakery) This Recipe is free of milk, egg, tree nuts and peanuts.


Classic Crumb Cake (recipe courtesy of Cybele Pascal)
This recipe is free of wheat, dairy, soy, egg, peanut, tree nut, and I really hope fish and shellfish!

Erin McKenna, of New York City’s vegan bakery BabyCakes, shares her secret tips to bake your favorite allergen free goodies so that they are safe for your family. They include:

- You can use rice or soy milk equally as you would use cow’s milk
- Instead of eggs, you can use 3 tablespoons of applesauce per egg
- Substitute 2/3 cup of agave nectar per cup of sugar

Agave has a lower glycemic index, so it absorbs slower in your body and is a great alternative to sugar.

Who is your favorite “Cook”? Well some Americans might say Rachel Ray and she is just getting started with recipes that are allergen free… Come on Rach, we want some YUM too!

Sunny Pumpkin Choco Cookies
This recipe is free of wheat, soy, peanut and treenut.

I didn’t see a lot in the way of allergen free baked goods on the Food Network, but did notice that Alton Brown is a fellow allergenista and plan to reach out to him to see what he can share with us, I really like his scientific approach to cooking. In the mean time the Food Network has a handy guide for cooking for people with food allergies, it might help family or friends you plan to visit!

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