Delicious Dairy/Egg/Gluten & Fructose-Free Chocolate Cake AND Frosting!

Dairy, Egg, Gluten & Fructose Free Chocolate Cake and Frosting

(Edited Post Notes: I know, I know – I said this was Vegan, originally! Obviously, it is clearly NOT a Vegan recipe once you read through it. What can I say? My tired Mommy brain thought writing “dairy, egg, gluten, and fructose-free” looked too cumbersome and made the decision that being dairy and egg free was vegan – without considering the rest of the recipe! Major head slap moment. Sorry for the confusion, but I’ve fixed it everywhere in the post now. We really need to coin a term that means “dairy and egg free”, don’t you think? Thanks for understanding!)

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Edited 6/25/2014: I’ve since created a MUCH better frosting/icing recipe! Check it out here!

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Call off the dogs, the hunt is over!

It’s safe to say I’m pretty good in the kitchen, but one thing has stumped me this year: how to make a cake frosting with no dairy and no fructose.

The boys birthday cake was yummy but downright sad looking. It wasn’t even just plain old yummy – it was “yummy for an allergy free cake” yummy…which we all know is code for “it kind of sucked but it was better than I thought it would be when you take all the good ingredients out”.

That is just not  good enough! I’ve been on a mission ever since to find a way to make my boys a birthday cake next year that fits ALL the dietary restrictions: no dairy, no egg, no corn, no rice, no fructose, no wheat. Also, one that looks pretty would be preferable.

I think I finally found the solution to that nearly impossible task!

I went through several batches of cupcakes in this process, and the end recipe is a very simple variation of the Wacky Cake. That’s easy enough to find anywhere, right?

But the frosting…Oh, the Frosting! That’s where I’m particularly pleased!

This is an altered version of the traditional buttercream. It ices well, pipes beautifully, holds its shape and is exactly what a frosting is supposed to be – and it has NO sugar, NO fructose, and NO dairy!

In fact, I think you’ll be shocked at the ‘secret ingredient’ I used to replace butter!

See, with Fructose Malabsorption, coconut is often a problem. It is for Jed; so using coconut oil or coconut mana isn’t really an option. We also have suspicions of palm, which rules out a palm shortening.

I suppose I could have just used a regular vegetable shortening, but frankly, those skeeve me out. We try to avoid soy wherever possible, and the processing they use for vegetable (soy) shortening makes it one of the most unhealthy foods on the planet. Not to mention Zac is FPIES to soy, and I’d like to create a food that *might* one day be safe for him.

Since we also can’t have dairy, what’s a Mama to do?

The answer?

CHICKEN FAT.

I kid you not.

Remember when I shared about cleaning your fats to use in beauty care recipes and cooking recipes? I cleaned the chicken fat 5 times until it had no more little bits in it and had an almost flavorless taste.

Then I chilled it and used that instead of butter in the frosting recipe – and it works beautifully!

Anyway, that’s the backstory…on to the recipe!

So here’s what you do:

For the cake, mix your dry ingredients together well.

Cake dry ingredients well sifted...

Cake dry ingredients well sifted…

Then mix your wet ingredients together.

Wet ingredients mixed together...

Wet ingredients mixed together…

Then mix your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and stir until just combined…don’t stir too long!

And, a cake batter is formed!

And, a cake batter is formed!

I made cupcakes out of this, so I have to be honest: I don’t know how well this will perform as a layer cake. I was so excited I had to share it anyway, and it works great as a cupcake recipe!

Make sure you fill your cupcake liners no higher than 3/4 of the way. They tend to want to ‘overflow’ and then sink. (Told you I went through several batches!)

So fill your cupcake liners…

Filled cupcake liners.

Filled cupcake liners. Some are filled too much. Ask me how I know this.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Voila! Cupcakes done!

Finished cupcakes!

Finished cupcakes!

Let them cool completely, then frost them.

While the cupcakes bake is an excellent time to get your frosting together.

It’s almost the same process as a traditional buttercream, except you don’t really have to ‘cream’ your fat before adding the sugar. Chicken fat doesn’t ever get terribly hard, and being chilled in the fridge gives it just the right texture.

As for the ‘sugar’ part of the recipe, I used straight dextrose powder. To make it perfect for a frosting, I turned it into powdered dextrose by grinding it in a coffee grinder with a tiny bit of Arrowroot Starch. The texture was perfect!

(And since I was making a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, I didn’t sweat it that there were still some coffee grinds in the grinder when I started. In fact, I took it a step further and used actual brewed coffee instead of water for the frosting when the time came – after all, chocolate and coffee go together, right?)

So for the frosting, I had a bowl full of homemade powdered dextrose, to which I added cocoa powder. Then I sifted that together well.

Powdered dextrose and cocoa powder sifted together...

Powdered dextrose and cocoa powder sifted together…

After sifting, I added the chicken fat, vanilla, and slowly added brewed coffee and water until it reached just the right consistency.

Frosting ready to go!

Frosting ready to go!

Divine!

I know this sounds improbable (and maybe even disgusting), but I promise it works like a charm! Darrel said it tasted just like chocolate frosting is supposed to taste, and even after being told chicken fat was in it said he couldn’t detect the hint of it at all. Jed, of course, LOVED his “Happy Party Cakes” and sneaks cupcakes as often as he can.

Now, you can have this at room temperature for a short while, but it really will do better if you store the cake in the fridge. So yes, it will do fine for a half hour or so on the table at a birthday party, but before the photo op starts and after it’s mostly been served, stick it back in the fridge. If the chicken fat melts too much, it won’t hold its shape very well.

So try it – it might be just the answer for your dairy/soy/egg/wheat/fructose concerns at birthday party time!

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DELICIOUS DAIRY/EGG/GLUTEN & FRUCTOSE-FREE CHOCOLATE CAKE AND FROSTING

Cupcakes
– 3/4 c. almond flour
– 3/4 c. millet flour
– 1 c. dextrose
– 1/2 tsp. sea salt
– 1 tsp. baking soda
– 3 T. cocoa powder
– 1 tsp. vanilla
– 1/3 c. oil (I used olive oil)
– 1 T. white vinegar
– 1 c. cold water

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mix together your dry ingredients and sift together well.
  3. Mix together your wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and blend until just combined – do not over mix!
  5. Pour batter into cupcake liners in a muffin pan up to three quarters of the way to the top. Do not overfill!
  6. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Frosting
– 1 1/3 c. dextrose
– 1 tsp. arrowroot starch
– 3 T. cleaned chicken fat
– 1/4 c. cocoa powder
– 4-8 T. coffee or water as needed for consistency

  1. Using a coffee grinder, grind the dextrose and arrowroot starch until you’ve made a “powdered sugar” texture powder.
  2. Add cocoa powder to the powdered dextrose and sift together well.
  3. Add the chicken fat and 2-4 T. of the coffee or water and begin whipping the ingredients together.
  4. Add more coffee or water as needed until it reaches a smooth, spreadable, but firm texture.
  5. Store in the fridge until ready to use, then frost your cupcakes or cake as usual!
  6. Enjoy having a “creamy”, fructose free frosting for your cake!

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Have you ever tried something like this? What did you think? Do you have any fructose free frostings you’re fond of?

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17 Responses to Delicious Dairy/Egg/Gluten & Fructose-Free Chocolate Cake AND Frosting!

  1. Keri says:

    Curious how “chicken fat” is Vegan…

    • Carrie says:

      LOL Yeah, that was a real “OMG” moment for me after the first FB comment!

      Sorry – I ran out of room on the photo to write “dairy free and egg free” in addition to all the other descriptors of the recipe and my tired Mommy brain said “Oh, that’s vegan!” rather than re-working the photo. Totally forgot about the chicken not being vegan!

      Someone has got to come up with a word that means “dairy and egg free” – those of us who have to be dairy and egg free often start with vegan recipes, but are not, of course, vegan in any other way.

      What can I say? My brain tricked me and I was too tired to catch it before I hit post. Sorry for the confusion; as you can see, I re-worked the photo and re-worded all references in the post to be accurate.

      Apologies to the vegans out there! Thanks for understanding!

    • Julian says:

      I just made these with a teaspoon of stevia instead of the dextrose in the the cupcakes, coconut oil instead of chicken fat, and xylitol in the icing. They are amazing!!!

  2. LB says:

    I was curious to know what dextrose is derived from since I have my own issues with sugar and processed food. When I’m being good I try to follow a mainly Paleo/Primal diet and also eat very little natural sugar (no processed), so would not use an ingredient like this, but was curious. In my extremely limited research, this link points to dextrose being derived from corn, which I think is a no-no for your family from another recent post?! Just wanted to share what I found, in case it is helpful/of interest…
    http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/blogs/healthy-food/types-of-sugar-0921

    • Carrie says:

      Hi LB!

      Dextrose can be derived from several things. The type we have is derived from corn, but we currently only use it for my older son who has no problems with corn. When we can eventually trial it for my FPIES baby, we’ll seek out a dextrose that is derived from tapioca, potato, or some other ‘safe’ food.

      I wouldn’t usually use dextrose, but for the Fructose Malabsorption for my older son it is one way to provide him safe treats without the risk of sending his system wonky and turning him into devil child. For most things we use maple syrup, but for a cake/frosting, too much sugar is required in the recipe, even after you’ve cut it down. I wanted to make sure we used a safe sweetener for him since the quantity was so much larger than what we normally would use in any recipe.

      We’re turning into primarily Paleo people, too, but since we can’t have eggs or dairy that’s a challenge. There seems to always be something concerning or challenging about every thing we eat these days! Thanks for pointing it out about the corn, though – if I didn’t know, that would have been horrible! 🙂

  3. Lorna says:

    What about avocado as the fat in your frosting. It would at least be more palatable than the chicken fat and would be vegan.

    • Carrie says:

      Hi Lorna!

      I had actually considered avocado originally, but discovered I didn’t have any in my kitchen on the day I wanted to make this. I did, however, have chicken fat and thought ‘why not’? 🙂 Believe me, and avocado frosting experiment is in the works one day! Thanks for the suggestion!

  4. Wow, do those look delicious! Would love for you to come share this post at my link party, Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love. I know I’d love to find these yummy cakes in MY lunchbox 🙂

    Lisa @ Allergy Free Vintage Cookery

  5. YUM YUM YUM Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂

    Hope your week is great!

    Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com

  6. jugglingrealfoodandreallife says:

    Hi there. Hopping over from Let’s Get Real hop. You are quite a kitchen scientist. You had me at chocolate. I will have to give your recipe a try. I learned a lot reading through the comments to this post. I am always eager to learn more.

  7. Thanks so much for sharing these delicious looking treats with Healing With Food Friday! We would love to see you come back this week – we are now live! http://peelingbacktheonionlayers.com/healing-with-food-friday-7/

  8. Pingback: Fructose-Free, Dairy-Free “Just As Good” Cake Icing - Cradle Rocking Mama

  9. Pingback: Halloween with Food Allergies - Cradle Rocking Mama

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