I want my child to have a traditional birthday cake. Not some dry, nasty *special* muffin or crazy concocted loaf of something. A cake. With gobs of frosting and sugar and decorations for one day of the year.
So I'm thankful for cake mixes and products that are safe for my child that I can use and tweak and churn out something magical for this little lady. Last year for Jane's birthday I used Bob's Red Mill chocolate cake mix* and substituted flaxseed meal for the eggs. I used Hershey's Cocoa Fudge Frosting and added extra powdered sugar to make it nice and thick to give the "rock-esque" look for mermaid Barbie to perch on. I then used store-bought GF frostings for the (pathetically attempted) seaweed and water and then Swedish Fish for fun. I tried my best to find green fruit roll ups for Barbie's fin but I ultimately had to settle for this rainbow looking one.
Birthday cakes are a big deal around here. I think I might enjoy making them more than the kids enjoy eating them. They look very homemade and they are far from perfect but my favorite part is unveiling them on birthday mornings and seeing the reactions.
*I have mentioned that the Bob's cake mix uses garbanzo/chickpea flour. Since Jane is allergic to peas, I wasn't too surprised when she told me this cake made her mouth kind of itchy. I haven't used this flour since, but I do use the Bob's Red Mill GF all purpose flour for frying chicken and she has never mentioned any discomfort. I'm not sure if it has to do with the frying process or what, but like I've said time and time again, this whole allergy thing is a learning process and sometimes doesn't make a lick of sense!