Substituting Ingredients and Food Allergies & Intolerances
Jan 03, 2010 | From the kitchen of Rose
Many of you already know how I (and most other baker/authors) feel about ingredient substitutions but for those of you who don't, I think a further explanation is in order to start the New Year off right!
Most baking recipes, especially cake ones, are crafted with great care, balancing ingredients that support the cake's structure with those that are carried by it and provide moisture and flavor. Changing an ingredient will change both the texture and the flavor of the cake, often in a very significant way.
Baking authors almost always list acceptable substitutions in the book for many ingredients. Choosing them means the result will still be acceptable but it will not be identical.
If you want to be experimental, substitute only one thing in a recipe and see the results. Then you can decide if this is your preference or not.
For those who suffer from celiac disease or similar wheat allergies, finding excellent cakes can be very difficult. I strongly believe the answer lies not in taking a standard cake recipe and making substitutions, which rarely
produces great results, but in using a recipe that is inherently
gluten-free. It isn't easy for those with these allergies to find great food
but they also deserve to have the best cakes possible, not spiritless
compromises.
Also please note that my newest book, Rose's Heavenly Cakes, has an entire chapter devoted to flourless and mostly flourless cakes. Mostly means that though a component may contain flour, it is an optional component such as the lady fingers in Tira Misu. The mascarpone filling is so delicious it would be at least as good spooned over fresh figs! The cheesecakes in this chapter are also excellent without the crust. These are some of my favorite cakes.
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Kent Kirshenbaum
01/11/2010 04:17 PM
Hi Ruth:
Could you point me to a good source of information for baking with sugar substitutes (like Splenda)? This is for a colleague, who loves to bake, and has a diabetic spouse.
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Rose in reply to comment from Judy
01/06/2010 10:34 PM
judy, in my new book you will see how i converted the grand marnier cake to a fabulous lemon cake. lemon syrup is a terrific substitute for liqueur. you could try fruit juices that aren't too sweet as well.
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Rose in reply to comment from JennEm
01/06/2010 10:19 PM
jenn, i'm sorry to tell you that of all basic ingredients in cake the only one i've never baked a cake without in some form is egg. i have sugarless cakes, flourless cakes, butterless cakes but not eggless!
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Bungalow Barbara in reply to comment from Gail
01/06/2010 09:55 PM
Gail, if the recipe calls for finely ground nuts, they may be acting sort of like flour and contributing to the structure of the cake. If they are medium to coarse chopped nuts then most likely they are there for taste/texture only and you can omit them.
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Rose in reply to comment from Heidi
01/06/2010 08:22 PM
heidi, i suggest you google this question or check out books devoted to vegetarian baking as this is not my area of expertise. i do know that in japan they use something derived from, i believe, seaweed called agar agar. you can find this in asian supply stores but you will need to experiment for check the internet for exact amounts.
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Heidi
01/06/2010 08:08 PM
Speaking of substitutions... I noticed that several of the recipes in your recent Rose's Heavenly Cakes cookbook call for gelatin. Because someone I love is an ardent vegetarian and loves chocolate cake, what can I use as a good substitution?
Thanks!
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JennEm
01/05/2010 12:51 AM
Rose, thanks for your great books and blog.
This is a bit off the subject, but I have had a pretty nice Eggless cake recently. I live in South Asia where there are many vegetarians. Never realized that cakes could have such a nice texture and flavour without eggs. Does your book have any recipes for eggless cakes?
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Judy
01/04/2010 11:48 PM
I often run across recipes that call for liqueur, or just liquor. So popular, I know...but I don't happen to like either in my food. I usually just leave it out but I know that I could get a more interesting flavor if I had a good substitute for the alcohol instead of just deleting it. Any suggestions?
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Rose in reply to comment from Gail
01/04/2010 09:49 PM
they are there for flavor when they are indicated as optional.
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Gail
01/04/2010 09:39 PM
My question is not so much about gluten, but about nuts. I am sometimes confused about when they are there for flavor and can be eliminated and when the entire cake will fall flat without them. Any suggestions on how to tell would be great. My son and I have severe tree nut allergies.
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evilcakelady
01/04/2010 07:38 PM
I agree, Rose. As much fun as I have had converting your butter cakes to gluten-free versions (and I probably won't stop experimenting--the results were pretty good, although not great), the best GF cakes I've baked have been from recipes that were GF to begin with! I know my celiac friends love it when they can have a birthday cake that reminds them of the cakes they had as children, but without all the damage and discomfort.
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Kara
01/04/2010 01:33 PM
Idalina, go to the forums link at the top of the page and click on "show and tell". You can post there and they welcome pictures!
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idalina gomes
01/04/2010 12:46 PM
This is most likly not the place to ask this question but, please bear with me....im new at this....where can or should i say how can l share a picture of a cake that l made? please help
Thanks idalina gomes
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