On Monday of last week I received a desperate bulk email from a woman on in our local Celiac Support Group. She was emailing the whole group (probably 50-75 people) to see if anyone knew of a local bakery who could make a “fancy gluten free graduation cake for about 150 people – the party is Saturday and I haven’t found anyone to do it yet!” I read it to Robert, and we both agreed that I could probably help her, so I emailed her back…

Hi- I am not a professional, but I have had some gluten free cake baking/decorating experience and think I could do this for you.

She emailed back immediately and seemingly relieved, agreed to let me do it. Then I got scared! What was I thinking? I am definitely NOT a professional. I have never even taken a cake-decorating class. It’s always just been me and my Martha Stewart Cake Decorating Kit and my kids’ or friends’ birthday cakes or Christmas cookies. This was serious, and I could potentially ruin a sweet 18 year old’s graduation party!

So I got started the very next day…

I did some research on different gluten free cake recipes, and then more research on ingredients. My first thought was to use the Betty Crocker yellow cake mixes, but at about $4.50 per box, (and I was going to need 8-10) I decided I could do it cheaper by using all scratch ingredients.

I made two different versions of a gluten free yellow cake recipe I found online, and let my gluten-eating hubby do the taste-testing. The first one tasted good, but seemed too “gummy and moist.” For the second one, I decreased the amount of xanthan gum, the amount of mayonnaise (yes, mayonnaise!), the amount of rice flour, and the amount of salt. Then, I increased the sugar by a little bit, and added potato starch to replace the decreased rice flour. Robert and kids agreed that this second try was very tasty and lighter – more like a “real” cake.

After figuring the approximate costs of ingredients and estimating the time it would take, I emailed this mom and told her I thought I would have to charge $175. I could hardly sleep that night, thinking this would be a deal-killer, but she called the next day to say that was just fine and “probably more reasonable than a professional bakery.” Whew. But still some panic…Can I really make a cake that is worth $175????

So last Friday, AFTER visiting new parents-of-twins in the hospital and celebrating the last day of school – and BEFORE chaperoning my daughter’s ballet class for nearly three hours for their dress rehearsal that evening, the afternoon and late night were spent baking eight 9×13 gluten free yellow cakes. While they were baking in shifts, I tried out a couple of icing recipes, tried to decide on colors, and figure out how I was going to assemble them. Robert was dispatched on a mission to Home Depot for a thin piece of plywood to use for the base. You know, he’s oftentimes the silent partner in these endeavors of mine, and never complains. He brought home a 3×3 piece of plywood, but by then I had decided to arrange the cakes in a way that would not require such a large board, so without hesitation, he went out to the garage and magically appeared 15 minutes later with a 2×2 sheet. Perfect!

He even wrapped it with foil for me.

Of course I dreamed about cakes and icing all night and got up before 6a.m. to start working on it again. I was finished by 9a.m. and called to let the mom know that they could pick it up anytime. Their family was so busy cleaning house and getting ready for the big party and shopping for groceries, that they had to send Grandpa to pick up the cake. He and I put it in the back of his mini-van, he handed me my payment, thanked me, and drove off.

And then it was gone! It was a weird feeling. I always end up being a part of the celebration that these creations are meant for, whether it be my own kids’ birthdays or the party of friends’ – eating it together, taking pictures, enjoying the response of the celebrated person, but not this time. This time it went out the door and left a big clean space on my kitchen table.

It was a fun project, and they did email and say that the cake was a hit. I ended up sending some photos of it to the entire Celiac Support Group and offering my services in case anyone else was in need of something like that. We’ll see!

Here’s the recipe, and I have to say, it is just like a “real” full-of-gluten yellow cake.
Watch out, Betty Crocker!