I LOVE to bake … for others. Nothing makes me happier than a good excuse to make a pie or a cake or custard or meal that fills other people up and invites them to come to my table and have a great conversation. I’m not a natural conversationalist; but if you’re in my home, eating food I have made just for you, everything becomes so easy.
I love the feeling of stretching my mind and my muscles to craft challenging meals that make everyone feel welcome. So, I wanted to share with you some things I have learned as a natural outsider who often struggles to make a deeper connection with people.
As a treat for you, at the end of this, I’ll share with you the recipe I was privileged to craft for a wedding this week…but first, the why behind … “why bother?”
Who can bother to feel love for a stranger when their belly is hungry? Who can listen to what the other has to say if they’re wondering if there’s anything there that they can eat? What if the food most often on offer hurts your body and so, even if the tables are laden with food – you must go without?
Imagine yourself invited to a lovely party. You take your time with your attire, putting on a lovely dress or suit, favourite jeans that make your butt look just right (no eye rolling here, be honest, we all do that little turn in the mirror to check to see what others are for sure gonna notice); we put on that new belt, or perfume or cologne – we check and get ready. Better yet, remember when you were a child going to a friend’s birthday party…. We are anticipating a good time with new or old friends. A bouncy castle, games in a sunlit lawn, laughter and happiness. Are you there yet in your mind?
We arrive there, and there are tables and tables of great looking food. All the people we looked forward to seeing are there too. Happiness all around. The host invites everyone to pony up to the table and help themselves. You ask… is there anything that is ____-free?
A slight pause. An awkward frown. “Why are you that guest?” you think you see in the sudden pinching of lips and face. “No” you’re told, “you might be able to eat the vegetable platter” or “there’s some lovely fruit over there,” as an adult you might be offered a glass of something with an apologetic smile. And suddenly… you’re on the outskirts, looking in. A plate full of leaves and a very hungry belly. Perhaps you’re familiar with this feeling, or perhaps you’re someone who is blessed with perfect health and a stomach that can take all of everything and have never paused to consider how the person who cannot is feeling in that moment. On both sides of the sudden food-chasm that’s opened up there’s judgment happening; one where both sides feel uncomfortable. The host is maybe irritated and thinks you’re a mite selfish for hoping for food you find safe to eat, and wonders if your sensitivity is real or imagined or exaggerated. The guest is feeling suddenly a little less welcome, and still quite a bit hungry, and unable to focus and enjoy themselves. The much anticipated party suddenly feels … less bright and joyous.
Imagine being among the multitudes who gathered to hear Jesus speak and there was no food available. Jesus knew that the people could not hear him for their hunger, they could not connect with his message or understand His instructions; moreover, they would be unable to be kind or patient with one another. Imagine – five thousand strangers gathered together to hear the One Voice, and they’re all hungry or bordering on hangry; Jesus in his perfect understanding of us, knew that irritated onlookers is a very different thing than engaged, caring, compassionate and empathetic listeners. So, he provided one of His most magnificent of miracles by demonstrating the necessity of care and love of the very human flesh we are made of, so that we can hear and delight in God’s very word. While I doubt gluten-intolerance was a thing at that time, my guess is that the food the Lord provides would be the type that every soul would be nourished by. Agreed?
__
When I was in university, I needed to work a couple of jobs to make ends meet. I was there on scholarships and grants, so if I wished to eat each day, I had to work and earn a bit of $$ (and get crafty and dumpster-dive or poach food using other kids meal plans – I got great at sneaking a backpack into the cafeteria on someone else’s meal plan and getting enough to feed myself for a few days). In any case, I was eventually hired by an Orthodox Jewish family to work as a nanny for their two children.
Food. Always food for me. God has consistently guided me to serve others by providing nourishing food, at all stages of my life.
This was one of those life-changing experiences; the family had two completely separate kitchens – one for meat and one for milk, and they taught me to be very, very careful with meal preparation for their children. However, as much as I learned and came to appreciate their faith, what was most transformative for me and what I learned the most from them had to do with their daughter. She had a terrible challenge with her mental health at only 4 years old. She would fly into rages at the smallest change in her schedule, even when front-loaded and very much aware of the plans for the day, and the tantrums were beyond anything I’d ever witnessed before (or since, in all truth). She would thrash her small self around, biting and kicking, until eventually tiring herself out enough that we could finally shift into the prescribed activity. Her parents were besides themselves with worry and stress and eventually met with a Doctor who recommended removing 100% of all unnatural ingredients from her diet. It took a concerted effort by the entire family (and myself as the nanny) to remove 100% of pesticides, preservatives, processed foods from their table and her diet. Six months later, she was a different child. As sweet as sweet can be – and so smart and focused. It was remarkable.
Fast forward a few years (20 years ago still), and Dad’s stomach, which was always problematic, had him doubled over twice a day. Eventually, after a ton of testing and more testing and more testing, it turned out he was severely allergic to wheat (not Celiac, this was a true wheat allergy). I remember the first time I tried to make him an apple pie for a dinner, it was basically like patting sand together into a pie plate and then drizzling caramel over the top of the goopy mess to try and make it edible. This was long before Gluten-Free was a thing that the average person in North America could at least understand, if not cook for.
My youngest son was born with GERD; he’s outgrown it now, but we were dairy free for about 10 years of his life – and I learned with a lot of work and experimentation how to provide delicious equivalents that didn’t hurt his sweet little tummy and chest that were fully dairy free. Family gatherings became a very interesting game of “who’s bringing what” and “who’s allergic to what”. Thanksgiving became a creative smorgasbord of favourites; but was a far cry from the Thanksgivings of my childhood where we were required to all eat a bite of everything, no matter how revolting you might find it (my grandmother, bless her eternal soul, made this green marshmallowy thing called ‘pistachio salad’ that I could not eat without retching – my Dad and brothers love the stuff, so it still graces the table every holiday, but I’m no longer obliged to try and force myself to swallow down a requisite spoonful of the gloop).
Then, and then, I was put in charge of Hot Lunch for my kids’ school at a time when there were some kids with really severe allergies or sensitivities. One time, I made the mistake of serving french toast to the kids, and one young girl was so stressed by the idea that something containing eggs was in the classroom, she ate by herself in the library. It still breaks my heart to think I chose a food that caused that level of distress to a young person.
Notice, I didn’t confirm whether or not she actually was at any risk of harm by my serving that particular food? That’s the whole point of all of this. The young Jewish girl I was a nanny to had no food allergies or sensitivities, but her Dr. believed and proved that altering her diet altered her ability to navigate the world; Vegans make their choices based on an emotional connection to the world around them, no one is suggesting you *must* agree with the dietary choices of the people in your world; disagreement is a natural state of being, but if you invite a guest to your table or if you are serving someone at a function, then the point here is to respect them and their wishes with regards to food so that they will feel welcome and comfortable enough to engage and enjoy and connect.
I have often heard various iterations of phrases around “selfishness” when it comes to a person expressing their food preferences or sensitivities. People who have any kind of food specificity find themselves very often needing to justify the degree to which said food makes them ill. If it doesn’t fit the ‘normative’ experience with food, we, as a whole, tend to judge “them” as somehow inconveniencing the rest of us.
Personally, I challenge that notion. It should NOT matter who the person is, if you wish for them to feel welcome and loved, then food should be provided that they feel welcome and invited to eat. There are always extremes that you cannot account for, diets or needs that are too challenging to meet; but even making the effort to try or to at least inquire over makes a huge difference to how the person experiences the meal they are to share with you or the time they spend in your company. If someone eats only meat and fat on a pure carnivore diet, then inquire if they can have tea or what they would prefer to eat and park the judgment and instead let the conversation flow into one of curiosity and welcome. People who have extreme diets by choice or necessity often feel excluded and marginalized by the majority of people.
We are called to break bread together – and so we need to make the effort to provide bread that all can eat.
This past week I was asked if I could provide a Gluten Free, Vegan Wedding cake for two lovely young people starting out in life. There were some who observed my efforts to make it delicious who wondered at the cost (let’s be honest, GF/Vegan stuff is pricey, add in corn-free icing sugar and it’s a budget breaker), who wondered at the effort (it takes time, consideration and desire to make it taste good).
However, the bride, who has all of these sensitivities and needs, and who had made sure there was a traditional tiered cake for all of her guests, she would also now get to enjoy a delicious, thick slice of cake on her own wedding that is as good (perhaps better than) the cottony confectionery purchased at great expense for the sake of her guests.
Below, please find a recipe for a simple cake that you can dress up or down as you please for your own special occasions when someone who is GF/Vegan is coming for a visit.
Gluten-Free Vegan-ish Olive-Oil Cake with coconut and pineapple
Clean your kitchen
I hope this is very self-explanatory; but if you’re preparing something Gluten Free or Nut Free or anything free that you wish to give to others before you begin, clear your counters completely and sanitize them. I have two kids, two dogs, a cat; I’m the only food-sensitive one in my own household. When I do this kind of baking, no one is allowed in my working space and my kitchen is always spotless. I scrub from the walls to the edge of the counter tops, I mop the floors and pick up anything that might potentially cross contaminate. The dogs get big bones on the deck and the cat is locked away. I always put away my jump-to-conclusions-mat and assume that what may work for my own family doesn’t work for someone I’m choosing to prepare food for.
Prayers
It might seem funny, but Gluten-Free and Vegan and Corn free and Soy free (sometimes sugar free and chocolate free) baking is an interesting combination of chemistry, baking experience, and prayers. I have been baking this way for nearly 20 years for friends and family. Prayers are a big part of my success.
Some of the things I will say to myself before, during, and throughout my baking process are:
Come Holy Spirit, please guide my hands and my heart. May this gift of food come together to nourish and fill the heart and soul of {name of recipient}.
***
Saint Martha, please be with me today. You know better than I ever could the needs of our guests and those who will enjoy this food. Please help me make right decisions, and guide my hands to create a cake that will nourish the guests so that they may focus on the joy of this day.
***
I am most definitely not above a sing-song plea when things go sideways, and definitely will hum “Help, I need somebody, Help, not just Any body, Help, Oh I need someone…Hellllp!” 🙂
May God be with you as you craft something to share with those whom you love.
Oh – and if it’s not obvious – I’m NOT a professional baker and my cakes are generally imperfect. They taste great, but appearance-wise – my lack of skill with decorating always shows. 🙂 Please give me some grace.
GF-Flour Blend
- • 4 cups brown rice flour
- • 2 cups white rice flour or sweet white sorghum flour (which will result in a slightly sweeter flour)
- • 2 cups coconut flour
- • 1 cups potato starch
- • 1.5 cups arrowroot starch
- • 1/2 cup tapioca flour or starch
- • 5 teaspoons xanthan gum
Mix your flour well – this should give you 10 cups of flour to work with.
Cake Ingredients – makes 4 – 8″ rounds
- 9 & 1/3 cups GF Flour Blend, plus a few tsps for dusting/preparing your pans
- 2 & 2/3 cups Raw Sugar (Vegan), you can substitute Honey, just do your measurements carefully as honey is sweeter than sugar and will also affect the liquidity of your cake.
- Note – Honey is not Vegan; nor is White Cane Sugar due to how it is processed. If your guest is Vegan, check with them as to their comfort with the sweetener of choice. Then pray to St. Martha to help you bring it all together. This cake is forgiving and any sweetener will work; liquid will affect the final texture of the cake, and you need to research “how” sweet the one you choose is relative to the raw-cane sugar listed here. As this cake calls for quite a lot of coconut (which is sweet) and has both a jam filling and a frosting, I would recommend always erring on the side of caution and going with less-than you think if you’re making substitutions.
- 4 tsps baking powder
- 3 tsps baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cups coconut milk
- 1/3 cup coconut cream
- 3 tsps apple cider vinegar
- 1 – 398ml can of crushed pineapple
- 2 tsps vanilla
- 2 cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Preheat your oven to 350
Prepare your pans – I like to line my pans with a round of parchment paper; I’ll use Earth Balance Vegan-Soy Free spread to wipe down my pans, paste in some parchment, wipe again, and then dust with GF Flour. If you only have 2 rounds, this batter is fine to wait on the counter – bake two a time, just be sure to take some clear plastic wrap and gently tap it down against the batter that’s waiting to remove as much air from the batter as you can while it waits.
First – Combine your coconut milk, coconut cream, and vinegar in a bowl and let rest for a few minutes. The vinegar is going to help ferment your milk a bit, which will add to the loft and fluffiness of your cake.
Then, mix your dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Finally, using a hand whisk, whisk together all your wet ingredients, and then fold dry into wet in stages. Really. Really. Simple.
The batter is thick. Very thick. I suppose if you did substitute with honey or maple syrup, you’ll get a more pourable batter. I also find that it helps to let the batter sit for a good 10 minutes before baking to give the baking soda and baking powder time to activate and respond to the liquid ingredients.
Bake for 30 minutes if you used 4 pans. Adjust your time appropriately if you went for a thicker cake or a 9×13 sheet pan. The cake should become lightly golden and pull away slightly from the edges of your pan. It will be significantly more dense than a standard white sponge cake, think a texture more of the density of corn bread.
“Buttercream” frosting, that contains neither butter nor cream.
American-style buttercream frosting is remarkably simple and effective, with tons of variations to make it fit the confection you’re working with. For this cake, I chose the following breakdown:
- 1 cup Crisco Vegetable Shortening (Vegan/GF is on the package)
- 1/2 cup Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread (Soy Free)
- 1/3 cup Coconut Cream (this comes in a can in the international aisle, it has no coconut water in it)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 lbs icing sugar (you can buy corn-free versions in the organics aisle, but they cost a fortune, usually arrowroot starch is substituted for the corn – I find the resulting texture results in an almost iridescent appearance due to the way the fats marble with the sugar)
If you have it – a big stand mixer saves time and results in a more consistent frosting. You need to adjust your icing sugar to your application; if you’re making flowers and decorations with the buttercream, more icing sugar (but if you’re doing that, you probably already know that); otherwise, start with the 1st pound of sugar, mix on low and then slowly increase until you have a light fluffy and spreadable texture. Add sugar in small quantities until you achieve the desired texture.
Assembly
- 3 or 4 – 8″ baked cake rounds
- 1 jar of blackberry jam (check your ingredients, the simpler the better – berries, sugar, pectin, lemon) – in some groups, white sugar is not Vegan, so check your guests if they’re okay with sugar.
- Prepared frosting.
- 1-10″ cardboard cake board
- Hot water nearby
Prepare your cake board with a dollop of frosting – this will help adhere your first cake round to the board.
Some Eastern European groups love to spread a good bit of rum or simple syrup on each cake round – to this, I say, to each their own. This cake is sturdy enough to handle it, but moist enough to not need it.
taking a serrated bread knife, held level, carefully trim off the mound off the top of each round so that your final result is level.
Place your first cake round, trimmed side up. Take a piping bag with a 1/2 cm sized hole cut or a 1-A sized piping tip and fill 1/2 way with your frosting. Pipe a perimeter around the outside edge of your cake round, then fill the middle with jam. Place your second cake round, trimmed side up, repeat the piping and filling. Your final cake round (whether it’s 3rd or 4th) place your cut side DOWN – check carefully that you’re level.
If you have the luxury; pop your cake into a deep freezer for an hour or use long dowels to hold the layers together.
Then, you want to first add a crumb coat layer of frosting over the whole cake. This thin layer of frosting helps seal in the crumbs so your final layers don’t look all… crumby…
Freeze.
This icing is fun to work with, it’s not quite fondant texture, but you can really manipulate it with your hands with enough icing sugar. Spread a thick layer of white frosting over the whole cake. To get a smooth appearance all over, heat your spreading knife with hot water – I use a paper towel to swiftly dry and then smooth and continue.
Freeze again.
(note – my cake needed to be frozen no matter what, in this case, due to the number of days between preparation and actual serving)
color your remaining butter cream if you so choose and decorate. 🙂
If frozen – give a couple of hours to come to room temperature and Enjoy!
