[Aiden'sMom]

Hey, I'm making Aiden's two year old Birthday cake. I have a great carrot cake recipe, but it calls for wheat flour. My choices are brown rice flour, spelt flour, or Fearn's baking mix. What do you think I should use? Also, I'm thinking of using melted butter instead of oil. Do you think this will work out okay?
Thanks for quick replies. I'm making the cake today.
Can't believe he's two!!!!!!!!

 

[bebe luna]

Happy Birthday Aiden

Well out of your choices for flour I would choose spelt~ it bakes wonderfully! Another great substitute is barley flour.
Melted butter would be fine replacing oil. Apple sauce, pureed soaked prunes, and pureed chestnuts (the kind bought in water in the can) also can replace oil or butter, which also cuts the fat down and makes a very moist cake.

 

[mpeel]

are you not using wheat flour? Not on hand, allergies, etc. That would make my answer easier. Spelt would probably be best if allergies are not a concern. It is closest to wheat. But, if allergies are a problem, I would avoid it for that reason too. Brown rice would provide a tolerable result without the allergy risk.

 

[Aiden'sMom]

Thanks Jaze and Michelle,
will proceed as planned but also making note of other subs you suggest.
not using wheat b/c we are incorporating some of the Eat Right for Your Type Principles into our diet and wheat's on Aiden's avoid list.
Thanks.

 

[mpeel]

I have never read the book you referenced. However, wheat and spelt are very closely related. They contain many of the same proteins. You might want to investigate if it is a suitable substitute. Rye and Barley may also be unsuitable.

 

[Aiden'sMom]

Hi Michelle,
Thanks for the info.
The author (D'Adamo?) of Eat Right for Your Type puts spelt in the neutral category and wheat in the avoid category. He's very specific that spelt is okay, while wheat is not recommended.

Made the cake with spelt and melted butter instead of oil--it turned out very "tasty" as Aiden likes to say.