Birthday Cake for Milk Allergy

Updated on January 05, 2010
K.T. asks from Palatine, IL
24 answers

My little boy is turning one in just a few weeks. He had a severe reaction to cows milk a little while back so he is not getting any dairy products until he is over age one. And we are not going to try to find out if he grew out of it on his first birthday with his cake because the Peds ER is no way to celebrate with family. Can I just substitute what calls for milk with soy milk and does not ruin it? Or is there a really great recipe that someone has already made thought it tasted good?

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K.S.

answers from Chicago on

I am a firm believer that cows milk is great for baby cows. Anything markeg vegan is safe. I substitute soy and rice milk always. Bob's Red Mill has an amazing chocolate cake recipe. If you live in the city, Swirlz has a vegan cupcake flavor each day and they are DELICIOUS. Belden and Lincoln right near children's

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J.D.

answers from Chicago on

Yes to the soy
Jewel in Highland park makes Kosher cakes w/o milk.
Cherrybrook Kitchen has a mix
lost of great recipes on www.kidswithfoodallergies.org

we gave dd a banana w/ a candle in it at 1 :)

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I.D.

answers from Chicago on

My son used to be on a casein (dairy free diet) and the Betty Crocker cookbook has a couple of DELICIOUS chocolate cakes that are made with shortening and water - no butter or milk! You could just sprinkle them with powdered sugar or I believe that there are some canned frostings that are also dairy free.

Let me know if you would like the recipes and I'd be happy to e-mail them to you. I used to make cupcakes and freeze them. If my son was going to a birthday party, I'd just thaw a couple and send those so he could have some "birthday" cake, too.

All the best!

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T.C.

answers from Chicago on

Hi K.,
I echo several others when I recommend Cherrybrook Kitchen mixes in the box. I get mine at Super Target or at Jewel. They are so easy and they taste great. I like the chocolate cake, brownie and the choc chip cookie mixes. They also make a frosting too! I love them because they are so easy, just like regular cake mixes in a box. Sometimes milk free recipes are hard to do or don't turn out quite right if you substitute. (or it could be I'm just not a good cook) :)

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D.D.

answers from Chicago on

Duncan Hines Golden Yellow cake mix and Pillsbury White Frosting both are milk free. Of course, you will need to double check the ingredients on the box just in case they have changed them, but I have successfully used these several times for my child. Happy First Birthday!

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M.M.

answers from Chicago on

yes, all alternative milks can be substituted cup for cup for regular milk in most recipes. you can use soy, rice, hemp, coconut milk beverage etc. whatever you choose.

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A.C.

answers from Chicago on

I substitute with Rice Milk for everything that calls for milk. I use a vanilla flavored or regular depending on what I'm making. Good luck!

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S.L.

answers from Chicago on

We had the same issue, and I've found substituting rice milk and and non-dairy margarines are fine. I don't know if you're one year old had had eggs yet, but you can also get vegan cakes at places like bleeding heart bakeryin Chicago, and blind faith cafe and roses wheat free bakery in Evanston. Rose's focuses more on gluten free foods but is sensitive to other allergies as well. Good luck and happy birthday! There are also great sherberts and rice milk ice creams to accompany yourcake. Whole foods has great options and carries cake mixesfrom the Enjoy Life brand which is dairy (and other allergen) free.

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S.E.

answers from Chicago on

You've received a lot of great sounding recipes. But if you're near Evanston and want to purchase a cupcake or cake, Blind Faith Cafe has DELICIOUS vegan ones. I don't know how they make the cake and frosting so delicious w/o milk or butter, but they do. Probably any health food or vegetarian restaurant near you would have something similar. Happy first birthday!

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C.C.

answers from Chicago on

My son is sensitive to dairy and turning 1 in February. I went to the store today and got Angel Food Cake- in a box. It is non dairy!

Happy Birthday to your boy!

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T.C.

answers from Bloomington on

My daughter also had to have a dairy-free 1st birthday cake.
Fleischmann's Unsalted Stick Margarine has no milk products in it and can be readily used wherever butter is called for. We then used Tofutti Soy Cream Cheese for the frosting. It was delicious and none of our guests would have guessed it was dairy-free. She also grew out of the allergy very shortly afterward, so hopefully your little guy will too :O) Happy 1st Birthday to him!

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J.W.

answers from Chicago on

You can typically replace cow's milk for any milk, but I have found that using coconut milk really makes a big difference in the texture of the cake as far as moisture. So Delicious makes half gallon coconut milks and they make a fantastic coconut milk ice cream (which as anywhere 5-7g of fiber per serving!) Which can be found at Whole Foods. A couple of local gals who cook allergen free have great recipes on their blogs that include dairy free recipes:
www.gfreelife.com
www.lisacooksallergenfree.com

Happy Bday!
J. W. MPH
Maternal and Child Health Educator
Chicago Family Health Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-7158-Chicago-Family-Health-Exam...

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C.M.

answers from Chicago on

There is a book called Dairy-Free Living that has a lot of good recipes. Because soy milk can break down under heat, the cooking process for a lot of things can be different. Also check out nomilk.com.

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T.H.

answers from Chicago on

Hi - go on kids with food allergies.com and there is a cake, i think it's called pamela's cake (you don't have to join to get the recipe, just scroll down until you see a link for recipes) - it's so good and it doesn't call for any dairy or eggs. even though my son outgrew his egg allergy i still use it for the cupcakes i make regularly because it's the best recipe i've tried. good luck!

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A.N.

answers from Chicago on

Cherrybrook kitchen makes an amazing yellow and chocolate cake mix that is dairy, egg, and nut free. They are available at whole foods, jewel, and sunset markets. They are usually found in the organic ailse at jewel. The yellow cake mix calls for dairy free margerine; the only two dairy free margerines are mothers and earth balance.

I also have a chocolate cake recipe that is awesome and dairy/egg free. The recipe is:

mix dry ingredients in a bowl: 1 1/2 cups flour; 1 cup sugar; 1/4 cup baking cocoa; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt

add the following to the dry ingredients and mix vigorously by hand about one minute or until well blended: 1/3 cup vegetable oil; 1 teaspoon white vinegar; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup cold water.

Pour into cupcake liners (makes 12-13) or a greased/floured 8" cake pan. Bake at 350 for about. 20 min for cupcakes and 30 for cake. Test for doneness with a toothpick.

I also add chocolate chips when I have them; choose bakers or president's choice "the decadent" as they are both dairy free. However, I do believe bakers processes in a facility shard with milk.

As for frosting, I use pilsbury canned in a pinch or I cream 1/2 crisco with 1/2 cup margerine. Then I add 4 cups powdered sugar. Next I mix 1 tablespoon vanilla and about 2 tablespoons soy or rice milk. Add enough s/r milk to reach desired consistency.

Hershey's cocoa also has a great choc frosting recipe on the back or their cocoa; just sub margerine/soy or rice milk in the recipe.

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S.C.

answers from Chicago on

1. There are lots of good vegan recipes out there. here is a chocolate one I love. If you make it to come out of a pan use parchment for the bottom - it's really moist and you'll need the help to depan.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 TB cocoa
5 tB vegetable oil
1 cup wter
1 tb vinegar
1 tsp vanilla

sift first 5 ingredients
make 3 indentations in dry ingredients and pour onne liquid into each. add vanilla . stir well

bake in 8x8 pan at 350 for 30 minutes cool, sift

confectioners sugar over cake

2. When you substitute soy or rice milk, which I do regularly , be sure to check your cake earlier. It may speed up your cooking time because of a reduced fat content. Also it can make a "denser" cake so if you are making to fill a mold adjust your batter a bit

good luck

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A.

answers from Chicago on

There is a new Bleeding Heart Bakery location in Oak Park if you want to get a vegan cake. You can also pick one up at Whole Foods. My sister in law had just a small cake (more like a cupcake) for my niece who has allergies, and had a traditional cake for party guests. Since vegan items from the bakery can be pricey this may be a nice option. Happy Birthday to your little one!

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A.A.

answers from Chicago on

I would get a kosher non-dairy cake! Try to Kosher Jewel or Kosher bakeries in the city and suburbs. My son is still
allergic to milk.

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R.S.

answers from Chicago on

Just substitute soy milk - it will come out just fine. Happy birthday to your son!

Best,
R.

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M.P.

answers from Chicago on

Whole Foods has a box mix that is dairy free I think and tastes pretty good. I think it might be gluten free too.

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K.O.

answers from Chicago on

www.elanaspantry.com is an excellent resource for anyone with food allergies. Sometimes you can sub soy for regular milk but I think it depends on the recipe. You can try it or even better just look for a recipe that is dairy free and then you'll be more confident that your dish will turn out right.

One word of caution here - please do not sub soy for everything dairy. Somebody told me it was a big mistake, and I didn't listen. My daughter ended up being sensitive to that as well. Mix it up. Maybe try rice milk if you do soy butter. Space it out then too - or even try almond milk which is what we have to do now. My daughter would drink soy milk all day long, then would have soy butter, soy cheese, soy ice-cream. Needless to say, she had way too much and it turned into a sensitivity for her.

Good luck!

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M.L.

answers from Dallas on

HI K., my firend's son is lactose intolerant and she gets birthday cakes from a Kosher bakery- they won't mix egg and dairy products. She gets them from the grocery store Tom Thumb.

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K.E.

answers from Chicago on

Cherrybrook Kitchen has some dairy, egg, nut free mixes and are good. (found at Jewel, Whole Foods, or Woodmans's). Pillsbury's white frosting or Funfetti icing doesn't have milk (just soy). That works for my son who had many food allergies. Also, the website www.123glutenfree.com has many good tasting mixes that are dairy free among other things. The shipping is kind of expensive, but the products are worth it for special things like a birthday cake.

I have used soy or rice milk instead of cow's milk and it comes out fine, too.

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J.K.

answers from Chicago on

K.,

i have succesfully used rice milk instead of cows milk in muffins. You can also get very tasty, yet pricey, vegan (i.e., no dairy, no eggs) cakes at Bleeding Heart Bakery in Chicago. Lastly, Cherrybrook Kitchens makes delicious vegan cake mixes in a box. You can get them at Whole Foods. I also get them in the organic section at Jewel, so I imagine you could find them at Dominiks too. They also make vegan frosting or frosting mix, but I've not tried those.

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