Birthdays

So, I'm lucky that some members of my family have been doing gluten-free healthier alternatives for a while. My bro Chris and his family have a very healthy way of life and they have two girls that like chocolate, but I try to make my chocolate at least dark, organic stuff and the cakes/cupcakes I make are normally gluten-free/egg-free/dairy free, not nut-free, however, as I use almond milk in the place of dairy. I may start using rice milk to hopefully change that, but even then you never know what's completely nut free.

I do often use gluten-free cake mixes from a package but to replace the egg to make it more vegan-friendly when the recipe asks for 2 room temp eggs I often get 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed, 6 tablespoons of hot water, mix it in a small bowl and let it gel until the recipe calls for it. There are lots of other ways to substitute eggs but that's my fave so far. You can really smell and taste the flaxseed when the batter is raw but when you bake it it's as if the stuff doesn't even exist.

I love the decorating part, it's why I chose this really cool fondant called Artsy Baker that I got at the Metro:

http://www.artsybaker.ca/ARTSYBAKER.COM/FONDANT.html

Anyway, the stuff is apparently nut-free, egg-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, no cholesterol and no trans fat, AND works just like a regular fondant, moldable, dyeable and everything! This stuff is a dream! Oh and if you don't use it all at once it has a wonderful zip-lock bag that it comes in to keep it fresh! I think it's safe to say that I loved working with it.

So, because I didn't have time to research let alone even make natural food dyes I left the fondant white and got an embossing imprint tool meant for a Cuttlebug Printer at my work to make the imprinted design in the fondant so it didn't look so boring.

For the toppings I used "Starbursts" as presents (I found out those as well as "Skittles" candies are gluten-free, however not the greatest for you nutritionally, it's why I only used a few (my one niece thought the orange one was cheese, which was funny)) for a little burst of colour. I also used these gluten-free teddy-graham clones called "Cinnabears" (found in the Metro's gluten-free aisle as well) topped them off to make them look cute, plus used some alphabet cookie cutters to make the happy birthday part, and there you have it. I was up for a while making them but I love how they turned out, they tasted good, just like regular cupcakes and I think my family wants me to make deserts for birthdays from now on. Here's a pic of the outcome: