I am making this cake for an office function, but someone is allergic to nuts.  Any suggestions on how to omit the almonds from the 6” and 9” layers?  Should I increase the flour a certain amount?  Baking tomorrow night, thanks in advance for the quick help!

In my most honest opinion,  I would not worry about it UNLESS everyone in the office is allergic..  that is not your problem..  Or maybe if you really want to look like a hero (excuse the expression),  then make one cupcake for this person w/out the nuts in it.  That is what I would do.  I wonder if this person goes to every party that would serve everything w/ out nuts in all the food prepared.  I’m just wondering.  To me majority wins..you can’t baby sit everyone.  sorry.

You can leave the nuts out of this recipe without other alterations.

Really? Gene? Without other alterations?

if the person who is allergic is the groom,  then yes omit the nuts,  if not then I wouldn’t…  UNLESS the wedding is ALL about this person and not the bride and groom..really.

Unless the almonds are reduced to a paste they don’t contribute anything significant to the chemistry of the cake. The recipe calls for a fine meal which probably inhibits the structure of the cake a bit. You may find the cake rises more and the layers might dome slightly. I wouldn’t hesitate to move ahead with the recipe without them. In fact I seldom care for nuts in cakes and I leave them out most of the time.

this is a wedding cake and not a birthday cake for one person only… IMHO,  I think it would be selfish.  Ask what the bride and groom think since it is THEIR cake for their most special occasion ?  would they be happy about you changing the cake because one person ?

Some cakes formulas treat ground nuts as part of the flour/structure, while others treat the nuts as an “add-in,” so that they are not part of the structure of the cake.  My recollection is that the golden almond cake (and the grand marnier cake that is modeled after it) use the nuts as part of the structure portion of the cake, but that the pistachio cake in RHC uses the ground pistachios as an add-in.  I’m not sure about the wedding cake version, but I’ll try to take a look and post back.  If the nuts are an add-in, they can be omitted with no problems.  If they are part of the structure, then they would need to be replaced with something like half their weight in flour, and the fat portion of the formula would need to be checked to see if any increase is necessary.

I appreciate those of you that answered the question that was asked.  Everything turned out beautifully.

I only saw one question..

extraNrG - 18 December 2012 11:48 PM

Everything turned out beautifully.

Glad it came out beautifully, would love to see a pic if you happen to have one
Did you omit the almonds, or replace them with flour (and if flour, how much)?

Yes do tell….

I did omit the almonds, and increased the flour by 1/3 cup.  I’ll check and see if anyone took pictures…  They started eating it almost as soon as I brought it through the door.

What kind of wedding was this ? Usually wedding cakes are set up on a nicely decorated cake table hours b4 the wedding takes place and is cut and served after the first dance and introduction of the bride and groom and bridal party. Was it a miniature wedding and somewhat generic or “organic”? The wedding cake is usually delivered even before guests arrive and way before the ceremony. I’m confused. Sounds like in this case the cake came after the ceremony.