Celiacs have a life-long challenge of exercising caution with everything they eat. While in-home recipes can be tweaked to suit their dietary needs, it is always a huge task to control what they eat outside the house. Thankfully, recent years have seen a widening of culinary options for this set of individuals who react to gluten-containing foods.
There is a larger scale to how celiacs and celiac-sensitive people are beginning to tweak diets, such as modifying a restaurant menu to accommodate these special people. Within the mix is a new trend that has seen more people requesting gluten-free wedding cakes. Although the options are slim, they are available. You can choose to do either of the following.
Patronize a wholly gluten-free bakery
One thing I always tell people is, you can never go wrong with a gluten-free bakery. Celiacs often worry about gluten cross-contamination when they order foods or pastries. That is, gluten remnants in a pan, a part of the kitchen, in the mixer or even in an ingredient may find its way into the cake. This is not the case with strictly gluten-free bakeries. All their products are gluten-free along with their ingredients, so cross-contamination is not a concern.
However, these gluten-free bakeries are still quite rare now. Even in urban, metropolitan areas, you may only find a handful of them in a few locations. Suburbs and smaller towns are less likely to have them. One great example is Made with Love Not Gluten.
Try bakeries that offer gluten-free cakes
While many bakeries will not switch entirely to become strictly gluten-free, some of them are fast recognising the needs of gluten-free customers. In many large bakeries today, you’re likely to find a menu with gluten-free options as they strive to accommodate the celiac community. This presents another good option for gluten-free wedding cakes, but you must also insist on “No contamination”. Your best bet would be to patronize trusted brands that are likely to pay more attention to detail.
A few bakeries deserve mention, such as Wild flour in New Jersey, the Third Coast Bakery in Michigan and another gluten free bakery option in Hawaii is Maui Bread Company.
Before you place an order for a gluten-free wedding cake, there are a few things you must consider. In fact, you’ll need to ask certain questions and carry out an investigation to ascertain that you’ll get just what you want.
- Find out if the bakery uses any gluten-containing ingredients, such as wheat in their kitchen.
- If they do, how do they prevent cross-contamination? What steps are taken to ensure gluten-free orders are truly gluten-free?
- Has the bakery been certified gluten-free or had their products tested for gluten?
- Do they offer delivery services? If no, what arrangements are made for pickup?
- You may want to find out if they accommodate dairy-free requests or any other special requests as well.
Make your own gluten-free cake
When all else fails or you just feel the need to be extra careful, perhaps, you’ve always wanted to make your own wedding cake, this is your chance. I must warn, however, that a wedding cake is not the right place to learn or try your hands on your first major gluten-free cake. Be sure you have some experience as a gluten-free baker. A wedding cake also needs decorating, so you must be sure you’re skilled in the art.
Here is a simple recipe you can try.
Ingredients
- High quality, chopped, gluten-free chocolate (16 ounces of the semi-sweet variant is perfect).
- 2 cups cocoa powder
- 2 cups butter
- A dozen eggs, beaten
- 3 cups sugar
- Vanilla (2 tablespoons)
Instructions
- Mix butter and chocolate in a double boiler (just in the top half) and work them until they melt.
- Carefully sift sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl, then beat in the vanilla and eggs.
- Gently mix the egg mixture with the chocolate mixture and beat both well to combine.
- Pour the dough into 3 springform pans; 10, 8 and 6 inches. Be sure to line the pans with parchment paper.
- Leave to bake at about 300 degrees for half an hour.
- Leave cake to cool for about 20 minutes before you remove them from the pans.
- Freeze for at least one hour before you decorate.
Final Thoughts…
Depending on where you live, it may be hard to find a bakery that is strictly gluten-free or offers trusted gluten-free products. Your wedding cake is not something you want to joke with, so be sure you have all ends tightened. If you’re going to order from a different city, be sure to make adequate delivery or pickup plans. If you do decide to bake your own gluten-free wedding cake, you can use the recipe above or look up any other you may prefer and get a more experienced friend or relative to help, if necessary.
