If you are having trouble with any of the recipes, email cookbook@babycakesnyc.com
Remember, baker buddies, this isn't easy stuff! Make sure to read the "Tools, Ingredients, and Tips" thoroughly before you get started. There's a ton of helpful instructions in there. Also, seems like everyone's oven is producing different baking times so make sure to check your goods before taking them out of the oven to make sure that it's baked the whole way through, k? Insert a toothpick and make sure it comes out clean before removing it from the oven.
Also. If your making the banana bread, just use 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas instead of the 6 bananas suggested in the recipe. And make sure to get all them mashed up real good because the big chunks tend to sink the bread.
Deep breathes everyone. Soon your desserts are going to be so good you'll put me out of business!
I just made the cupcakes from your new cookbook. They LOOK fabulous. However, I don't prefer the flavor of Garbanzo-fava flour. Can I substitue and equal amount of gluten free all-purpose flour mix?
Hi. First what type of coconut oil extra virgin etc and what brand?
Second, on martha stewart the frosting recipe used rice milk liquid and powder and in the book it says to use soy milk. The proportions were different the book uses an additional 3/4 cup liquid soy milk. Which is better rice or soy and in the bakery you don't even use soy? I thought the bakery was soy free? Please advise
Hi. First what type of coconut oil extra virgin etc and what brand?
Second, on martha stewart the frosting recipe used rice milk liquid and powder and in the book it says to use soy milk. The proportions were different the book uses an additional 3/4 cup liquid soy milk. Which is better rice or soy and in the bakery you don't even use soy? I thought the bakery was soy free? Please advise
Hi Erin! Got my cookbook yesterday and was SO excited to make me some vegan cornbread that I planned a run to Whole Foods after work to prepare for the big endeavor. I DID make a loaf, which was totally delish. (So good in fact that it fooled my sweet-toothed italian hubby)
I was, however, saddened that I couldn't find the proper ingredients to make some yummy FROSTING. I cannot use soy products, so I was looking for the dry rice milk but didn't find it anywhere. (Nor did i find dry soy milk for that matter). Is there a good place to find that? And coconut flour? I wasn't able to find that either.
I'm craving a HUGE shot of frosting and I'm about to jump on the subway and come up to the bakery right now!!!
Thanks again for the cookbook, I feel like I was let in on the biggest, best secret in NYC. Love Babycakes and so do my hips and thighs!
Ali
Hi Everyone!!
Thanks for the posts, but would you please email all questions to cookbook@babycakesnyc.com ?
It's challenging to run the bakery and get on the blog often enough to answer questions quickly.
Thank you!!!
Hi Erin!!
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer questions- I get that you can answer them more quickly if emailed, but can you post them to the blog so there are answers easily accessible to some of the more common questions?? That way we can leave you to doing what you do best- BAKE!!!
I also want to say thanks so much for writing this book!!! My 2 year old twin boys can't have gluten or casein and when I discovered your bakery, I literally cried. Now we have a book to use at home!! I think I speak for a lot of Mommies out there... thank you!!!!
:) Jess
Love to say to Erin that I got the book delivered to me in England last week after seeing the article in the Telegraph. I read the book carefully as suggested and made my shopping list of all the unusual ingredients featured.
Have found some of them hard to track down though in England. I ended up substituting some; used my own blended gluten free flour for the Bob's Red Mill GF(used the mix as in Gluten-Free Bread and Cakes by Carolyn Hunphries); used fruit sugar instead of evaporated cane juice (unheard of in the UK)but had to reduce by 1 third as sweeter; I ground my own flax seeds using my coffee grinder (!) to make the flax meal; had trouble tracking down coconut oil (didn't realise it was solid)and flour. By chance I came across a health food shop that stocked both, but the oil is very expensive and recipes use quite a bit. I fear that I will be spending buckets. I decided that I need to replace with a dairy/gf margarine or perhaps the grapeseed oil and use the coconut on ''special occaisions''!! Otherwise I will be bankrupt at £13.99 for 500ml jar! I used Tiana, Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, which is described as a good quality grade.
I did find the dry soy milk. The health food shop I visited recommended I buy a Soya Protein... supposed to be an exercise/food supplement but seemed to be ok as 100% soya and nothing else.
After all this faff, I actually made the gingersnaps (very yummy and worth it) and the vanilla frosting (taste great but a bit sloppy, so will need to put in some more flour I think?). I plan to make the chocolate cup cakes tomorrow...will have to replace the Garbanzo-Fava Bean for Rice flour though, as unheard of here.
Planning a holiday in NY in September so will have to find the shop on our travels to see how it's really done!!
Happy baking... feel like I'm becoming a stepford wife!
Why is your cookbook labelled gluten-free when it's not gluten-free? I know that many of the recipes are gluten-free, but many are not. How can you infer, on the cover, that this is a gluten-free cookbook? I am celiac and wheat allergic (two for one!) and I am constantly having to educate people that spelt is not only NOT gluten-free, it's actually a form of wheat. So, having your book out there, implying that spelt is gluten-free, is not only misleading, it is dangerous.
It's like labelling a book vegan and then including several beef recipes.
I would like to ask that you please issue a statement about this, on this site, to help those of us for whom gluten-free and wheat-free is a health issue, not a lifestyle choice.
Jeanne, instead of complaining you should be thanking Erin for sharing her baking tricks and secrets with us and read the whole book, she stated that spelt is not gluten free. I for one am thrilled beyond belief and have started baking yummy treats.
huhubhbb
Yes, Erin, please do post the answers to the above questions for us here on your blog. Perhaps a FAQ of sorts. I have many of the same questions. It might help with the backlog of email queries you undoubtedly have in you inbox.
PS. I made the Apple Muffins last night, with a few mods, and they are yummy. :)
Hey Everyone--
Sorry for the delay, it's been a little loco running the business and keeping up with all the questions. I'm putting together a FAQ page to address all the questions people are asking about the book. Stay tuned...
x,
Erin
My husband and I like to joke that the only point to eating dinner is to get to dessert. I pretty much love all baked goods and much to my dismay was dx with Celiac disease last fall. This cookbook is truly a Godsend!! The very first recipe I made was the chocolate chip cookies (saw you on Martha and the cookies made my mouth water looking at them). My 17 year old son came home from school and started eating them. By the time I came home from running errands, he had already polished off several and told me, "those are the best cookies you have EVER made"! The whole batch was gone by the next day. Thanks for being such an unselfish person and sharing all your hardwork with the rest of us. You are obviously a quality gal!
Made the chocolate and then the vanilla cupcakes... both very yummy. I followed chocolate recipe exactly to the quantities stated but only made 16 and not 24??! So I decided to make more!! Brought them into work and the lot was polished off before I could say 'come and get some'.
Just need to decide what to make next...
I finally hit success with the banana bread, reducing the amount of bananas to 1.5 cups (about 3 bananas). However, I and some others who tasted it individually noted an alcohol-type after taste. Has anyone else experienced this or have any ideas what may be causing the flavor?
Thanks,
Jen
Jeanne,
I agree with your comment about the title being misleading. As a vegan, if I bought a book that said vegan cookbook and there were non vegan recipes in it, that would be unacceptable.
AMEN!
Please provide names of powdered rice milk on the website. The better than doesn't taste good. I have sent more than one email re: this. Please respond.
I totally love your cookbook!!! I was really devestated finding out about all my food allergies (totally crying for weeks) and happened to see you on Martha only a few months before I was diagnosed. As a baker, I found it really challenging to come up with some good go-to recipes. You have really given all of us a wonderful gift!!!
I am not really supposed to have fava beans, but I use the Bob's GFAP anyway. I can't have soy and was lucky enough to find DariFree milk powder substitute. I was told it tasted better than "Better Than Milk" rice milk powder. I believe Darifree is vegan and does not have any allergens. http://www.vancesfoods.com/darifreeorgnutrition.html
My chocolate frosting was so delicious! It tasted like the pricey raw vegan mousse I sometimes splurge on.
I just had an awesome baking night with some coworkers! We all put on aprons and made the double chocolate chip cookies and served them up with coconut milk ice cream. It was really great to be able to address all our food issues in one cookbook (vegan, gluten free, soy free...)
Thanks again for being so rad and open a shop in Portland, OR already!! :)
Success! I made the banana bread and it turned out great :) I only used 3 bananas, and I mashed them really well into a pulp before I put them in the batter. I sifted the dry ingredients 3 times, which maybe is a little excessive, but I wanted to make sure that all the dry stuff was well incorporated. I also split the batter into 2 pans and cooked it for 40 minutes (book says 35).
I really thought the fava and garbanzo flour tasted yucky too, as well as the all-purpose that contained it. That raw bean taste was too much, so I tried lightly toasting the flour spread out on a jelly roll pan in a 300 degree oven and letting it cool before using it in the recipes. That nasty bean taste seemed to go away when the flour is cooked. It worked for cookies and brownies, so now I'm going to try it for cupcakes etc. Worth a try!
I love this cookbook. I try new recipes every chance that I get. When can we expect the next one??
FOR ALL the comments
1: if you are CELIAC use Bob's redmill GF baking mix in SUB of the spelt flour, adjust the xantham gum according to the recipe. Its that simple.
2: For those less enthused about the all bean flour, my variation: 1/3 each bean, millet, sorghum.
3: Rice Milk Powder panosbrands.com Better than Milk
(has cane sugar though)
4: sub Soy for Almond milk
5: Mckenna, You rock. Keep up the great work; youre doing a fantastic service to all dessert eaters!
I ordered the Better Than Milk dry rice flour and then found out it was full of corn products. Not a problem for most people but my family is extremely allergic to corn and it by-products. Is it possible to use Vance's Dairi-free (potato based dry concentrate) instead of the Better Than Milk. I promised my children frosting for cupcakes this Sunday so I'll just try it.
Good luck to the rest of you trying recipes. So far everything has tasted great. I'll blog back concerning the use of the Vance's.
I recently brought your cookbook whilst i was visiting my daughter who is currently working out in New York. I live in the UK and cannot find Dry Soya milk anywhere. My daughter is going to send some over to me but would like to know where she can find it. We absolutely loved the cupcakes we had during our visit at Christmas and I'm desperate to try out the recipe.
Please can you help? ...
Kind regards
Geraldine
Hi- loving the freshly baked carrot muffins but I haven't been able to find rice milk powder for my daughters sensitivities either so I can't make the icing. I live in Canada and it seems to only be available on-line. Only wish there was a suitable sub available here. Thank you for such a nice easy to follow cookbook.