hungry, as the whole house smells of cakeThings you may want to mention include, but are not limited to:
- the type of flour used - wheat flour or gluten-free? If gluten-free, what cereal/s is it?
- presence of dairy products - check the allergy boxes on the back of chocolate and margarine to find out whether there's hidden milk content.
- eggs - mention their existence and also if they're free-range, perhaps?
- gelatine or marshmallows - instantly make the cake not suitable for vegetarians, unless you used Vege-Gel or vegan marshmallows.
- nuts - along with type. Many people are allergic to peanuts and cashew nuts but ok with hazelnuts, walnuts and pecan nuts, and vice versa.
- soya or soy protein - a fair number of people have issues with soy. Most of them are ok with soya lecithin.
- fruit - don't even get me started on the list of various fruits that people I know are allergic to. Some of them have the full anaphylaxic type reactions with lips swelling up and throat closing even to trace ingredients of cooked fruits. According to a list I have in a book for minimising allergic reactions, any fruit except pears can cause problems - except I'm sure one of my friends is allergic to pear! So, um, list your fruits and jams.
- non-obvious flavourings or ingredients - chilli? wasabi? peppermint? really large amounts of nutmeg?
If you really can't be bothered to write a full list of ingredients, please state who the cake was made by so anyone with food sensitivities can find you and ask questions. This is also a good idea if you wish to receive compliments on your excellent baking abilities!
In case you're interested, this is what I'm going to put on my cakes:
CHOCOLATE CRUNCH CAKES
Ingredients: Montezuma's organic Fairtrade vegan chocolate, golden syrup, corn flakes
Dairy-free / Vegetarian / Vegan
Made by: helen-louise
CHOCOLATE SPONGE CAKE
Ingredients: Wheat flour (self-raising) *, Green & Black's organic Fairtrade cocoa powder, Pure vegan spread**, vanilla essence, demerara sugar, water, vinegar
Dairy-free / Vegetarian / Vegan
* contains gluten, ** contains sunflower oil, palm oil and soya lecithin
Made by: helen-louise
GINGERBREAD
Ingredients: Wheat flour (self-raising) *, demerara sugar, golden syrup, banana, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, water
Dairy-free / Soya free / Vegetarian / Vegan / Virtually fat-free
* contains gluten
Made by: helen-louise
There probably won't be very much of the gingerbread because it's sulking - don't know why, but the middle went all soggy and saggy instead of rising. I suspect the oven wasn't hot enough after the chocolate sponge, though it could be it needed a full teaspoon of baking powder instead of 1/2 teaspoon.
