283843 Tue Mar 14 17:21:46 -0800 2006 23 31 Home Cooking 0 1516104 A dear friend has been diagnosed with wheat, egg, and dairy allergies. What on earth might I make her for her birthday dessert? I was thinking along the lines of Nigella's clementine cake, but it calls for eggs, as do most flourless cakes. I've got a variety of sorbets at the ready, but I'd like to supplement with something homemade. I'm at my wit's end-Any suggestions? Tue Mar 14 17:21:46 -0800 2006 0 Alexandra Eisler 1 1516107 what about an apple crisp? I think you can make the topping with just oats, brown sugar, nuts, etc. I don't think flour is necessary. Tue Mar 14 17:30:07 -0800 2006 1516104 0 D.Gresh 2 1516110 It would need a little oil added to it in place of butter would it not? But any fruit crisp would be nice, peach, cherry, etc. And you could use corn starch as a thickener. Tue Mar 14 17:40:57 -0800 2006 1516107 0 Candy 3 1516133 non dairy margerine could work in place of butter in the topping Tue Mar 14 20:24:23 -0800 2006 1516110 0 Candy 1 1516112 I had a friend who was allergic to eggs, and her dessert of choice was always sorbets. It might be too cold now, but homemade sorbet molded into the shape of a tiered cake would be cute. There was a discussion earlier today about cake molds, and someone posted miniature cake molds shaped like three-tiered cakes. I think that would be very cute. You could get really fancy and use a different flavor for each layer for a tri-color cake. Tue Mar 14 17:54:47 -0800 2006 1516104 0 nooodles 1 1516114 Side dishes for the sorbet -- Broiled pineapple with caramelized brown sugar? I'm trying to think of some fruit-and-alcohol combination and not coming up with anything at the moment, but those are the two most desserty things I can think of that don't have wheat, eggs, or dairy. Tue Mar 14 17:58:40 -0800 2006 1516104 0 Pia 1 1516121 Here's a recipe for baked/poached pears in a butterscotch sauce. It's super easy and quite decadent. It calls for butter, but you could substitute margarine (heresy for bakers, I know, but the sacrifices we make for our friends!). I usually serve it with a good vanilla ice cream, but you could either forgo it altogether or perhaps pair with an appropriate flavor of sorbet (not that I can think of one right now). BAKED PEARS WITH BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE 4-6 ripe but firm pears (Large pears will make a serving out of each half; smaller pears will need both halves to make one serving. Bartlett or D'anjou both work fine.) 1/2 lemon 1 stick butter, cut into pieces 2/3 firmly packed dark brown sugar 1 cup heavy cream 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 tablespoon Scotch whisky 1. Preheat oven to 375F. Peel the pears, cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the cores. Rub all over with lemon half to prevent browning. 2. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large iron skillet or pyrex baking dish. Add brown sugar and stir to dissolve. Arrange pears in pan, cut side down, in a single layer. (For 6 or more pears, use a separate saucepan to make the sauce and a 13x9 baking dish for the baking. For 4 you can do everything in one dish.) 3.Bake the pears uncovered, basting occasionally with the liquid in the pan, until they begin to soften and color slightly, 20 minutes to 1 hour. It's not exact, I just stick the pears in when we sit down for dinner and pull them out when the main course is over. Remove pears with a slotted spoon and set aside in bowls to cool slightly. 4. Transfer dish back to a burner (or pour the mixture from the baking dish back into the sauce pan) and boil the mixture left behind over medium-high heat with constant stirring until it thickens and reaches a golden-brown color and smells like caramel, 2 to 5 minutes. 5. Slowly whisk in the cream until smooth. Add vanilla, salt, and Scotch. 6. Put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in each bowl next to the pears and pour the sauce over the warm pears. Serve immediately. Tue Mar 14 18:45:43 -0800 2006 1516104 0 TorontoJo 2 1516122 Egads... I'm totally embarrased! I completely overlooked the 1 cup of heavy cream in the butterscotch sauce. Ugh, sorry! Here's where a "delete post" function would come in really handy on the new CH site... But, perhaps you could find a lovely poached pear recipe that does not call for any dairy. Maybe pears poached in port? Tue Mar 14 18:50:44 -0800 2006 1516121 0 TorontoJo 3 1516124 Poires Belle-Hélène -- pears poached in red wine, served with dark chocolate sauce and ice cream (you could buy some of the tofu stuff, it's not half bad actually). Tue Mar 14 18:56:39 -0800 2006 1516122 0 Das Ubergeek 1 1516125 If your friend isn't allergic to corn, this might be the ticket. My son recently came up with the idea of a dessert polenta. I haven't tried this yet, but it sounds really warm and comforting. Use soy milk in place of regular, or just use all water instead. Dessert Polenta 1C water 1C milk (use soy...or just use all water) 1/2C polenta 1-1/2T sugar 1/2t cinnamon (or to taste) Topping: 2T unsalted butter (use margarine) 2 Apples (3/4#), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4”-wide wedges 1/4C dried tart cherries or cranberries 2/3C sugar 1/8t salt 1-1/2t lemon juice, or to taste Bring water and milk to boil. Slowly whisk in polenta. Keep stirring until smooth and thick. Stir in cinnamon. Set aside and keep warm For topping, heat butter in 12” skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then sauté apples and dried cherries, stirring and turning over occasionally until apples just begin to brown, 2-3 minutes. Add sugar, salt and 1/2t lemon juice. Increase heat to high and cook, stirring, until juices are deep golden, about 5 minutes. Add cream and boil, stirring, 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool to warm, about 15 minutes. Stir in remaining lemon juice to taste. Spoon polenta into bowls and top with the caramelized apples. Tue Mar 14 18:57:13 -0800 2006 1516104 0 wyf4lyf 1 1516130 I had to make a wedding cake for egg-allergic friends, and found that pureed silken tofu actually worked. I made a lemon pound cake that was quite lovely; you could try it just subbing in margarine for the butter. Recipe below. Link: http://piequeen.blogspot.com/2006/01/does-your-monkey-do-dog.html Tue Mar 14 19:50:14 -0800 2006 1516104 0 dixieday 2 1516131 Also, I made this cake with white spelt flour, which works much like wheat flour in baking. However, not all wheat-allergic people can handle spelt; check with your friend first. Otherwise, try making it with one of those non-wheat baking-flour combos that you can find for sale in health food stores. Tue Mar 14 19:53:25 -0800 2006 1516130 0 dixieday 3 1516378 Rice flour is also a good alternative. Thu Mar 16 04:18:56 -0800 2006 1516131 0 krissywats 1 1516132 I make a rather good mousse-like concoction with silken tofu and melted semisweet chocolate. You blend the whole mess together and serve in a beautiful glass with some fresh raspberries or whatever. If you want the exact recipe, I can post. Tue Mar 14 20:17:12 -0800 2006 1516104 0 Nyleve 2 1516135 Would you mind posting the recipe? I would love it. Tue Mar 14 20:28:16 -0800 2006 1516132 0 Dev 3 1516204 Here you go. I suspect that the flavour of this could be greatly improved if you use excellent quality chocolate, instead of chocolate chips. I've only ever made it with chips because, to be honest, I have no medical or moral reason to avoid dairy - so I'm not terribly motivated to make this more wonderful. However, having said that, it is a really remarkable dessert - puddingy when first made, more moussey after it chills - that can be served in a dish or as the filling for a vegan chocolate pie or tarts. No one - and I mean NO ONE - has ever guessed what is in it until I tell them. Tofu Chocolate Mousse 19 oz. (539 g) package silken tofu (one full vacuum-packed block) 2 cups (500 mL) semisweet chocolate chips Dump the tofu into the container of a food processor or blender and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides once or twice. Melt the chocolate chips in a small saucepan or double boiler. Pour the melted chocolate into the blender or processor and blend until the mixture is very smooth and creamy. Spoon into individual dessert dishes and chill. Serve plain or with a dollop of whipped cream. Makes about 6 servings. Wed Mar 15 09:18:36 -0800 2006 1516135 0 Nyleve 4 1516334 Thanks! Wed Mar 15 19:58:43 -0800 2006 1516204 0 Dev 1 1516134 How about Bananas Foster over a tropical sorbet flavor like pineapple or papaya? You can use margarine, soy butter or other vegan butter (e.g., spun oil spread) in place of butter. There is a delicious-sounding bananas foster recipe on Epicurious that I've linked below. It's very nice of you to want to make something homemade for your friend. Link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/103653 Tue Mar 14 20:26:24 -0800 2006 1516104 0 Dev 2 1516137 Bananas Foster was my thought, too, and that recipe sounds great. I tend to NOT like non-chocolate desserts, but I love Bananas Foster. I'd serve it with a non-dairy soy-based "ice cream." I've tried a lot of brands and I find that the only one I really like is Tofutti. Tue Mar 14 20:35:27 -0800 2006 1516134 0 Joy 1 1516194 If you google wheat-free desserts you can also find ones that are dairy and egg-free amid them. Link: http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/Food/Wheatfree.html Wed Mar 15 08:09:50 -0800 2006 1516104 0 Karl s 1 1516198 Can she eat peanut butter. If so, the peanut butter bites recipe from Silver Palate would be a great treat. Basically, combine 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 bar unsalted margarine (I've made it with margarine a number of times--works well), 1 pound confectioner's sugar and 2 cups crunchy peanut butter. The recipe actually calls for smooth peanut butter and chopped peanuts--I find this shortcut to work fine. Mix well and spread onto jelly roll pan. Melt about 12 oz. chocolate with some more margarine (1 - 2 tbs). and spread over peanut mix. Cut into 1 inch squares, then refrigerate to set the chocolate (cut before refrigerating, or they will crack). Wed Mar 15 08:46:08 -0800 2006 1516104 0 Marion Morgenthal 1 1516239 Holy moly! Thank you all for the wealth of amazing suggestions-Chowhounds rule! I will post with results Saturday. Alexandra Wed Mar 15 11:48:11 -0800 2006 1516104 0 Alexandra Eisler 1 1516247 What about a fancier-looking version of Thai sticky rice with mango? You could mold the rice in a decorative pan (like a molded rice pudding, but as far as I know this is made with coconut cream) to make it pretty, and then ring it with mango (or other tropical fruit) slices. Sorry I don't have an actual recipe for the sticky rice, but I'm sure there are plenty of recipes out there. Wed Mar 15 12:45:28 -0800 2006 1516104 0 MichaelB 1 1516286 go to the peta website, pick a cake, then sub a different kind of flour. Wed Mar 15 15:22:54 -0800 2006 1516104 0 a