Should I Stop Making Decorated Cakes

[BFreeman]

My husband was diagnosed with DH a few months ago and I took it upon myself to read everything I could find and educate myself on how to feed him because I thought the handouts he got from the doctor's office were WOEFULLY out of date and very unhelpful. I have now completed a clean sweep of the kitchen and I eat (at home) what he eats and haven't felt deprived. (This is easier, of course, when the children are grown and out of the house). The only place I feel deprived is that we are so limited in what he can eat away from home and I have to find other people to go out for Chinese and pizza with.

However, I have baked and decorated cakes for others for many years. Do you think I should stop? I think about it when the mixer is whirring and the "cake mix dust" is circulating.... I don't want to do anything to put him at risk.

B

[CarlaB]

Do you have a friend's whose house you could borrow for baking the cakes? Maybe you could "repay" by sharing a pizza! I won't allow that in my kitchen, the flour dust just gets everywhere. Technically speaking, I guess you could clean it thoroughly afterward. I just got sick from spending a weekend with my grandmother, and she went through great pains to keep my food safe. I'm just doubting whether it's even possible in a kitchen where there is a large amount of gluten.

[queenofhearts]

Well, the flour dust does hang around for quite some time, so if he spends time in the kitchen, it's probably not such a good idea. The good news is that you can make delicious gluten-free cakes-- try Annalise Roberts' book, Gluten-Free Baking Classics.

Leah

Another thought-- if the decorating is really your art form, have a friend bake the cakes. Most frosting recipes are gluten-free, so that part is fine.

[Michi8]

Since you enjoy cake making/decorating, have you ever considered offering "specialty" gluten-free cakes? There's got to be a market for it! Then you could keep doing what you love, without the risk.

Michelle

[Ursa Major]

Hi B, and welcome to this board.

I hate to say this, but yes, the flour dust is a problem, and could stop your husband from getting completely better. Last Valentine's day I baked a cake for my husband with normal flour. I didn't use a mixer, but carefully mixed it by hand, trying to stir up as little dust as possible. Still, I had diarrhea and was sick for three days after! And yes, I washed my hands, didn't eat any of the cake etc., I was very careful. NOBODY is now allowed to bake in my house with regular flour.

Is it possible to relocate your baking to somebody else's kitchen (like a friend's or one of your kid's places)? It would be too bad if you'd have to stop baking altogether.

[jerseyangel]

I don't even keep wheat flour in my kitchen. The way it gets into the air, where ever it lands, it will contaminate that surface.

I think it's too much of a risk, myself.

I hope you can find another kitchen (friend, family member) so you won't have to give up doing what you love--if you end up choosing not to bake in your kitchen

[Guest nini]

my mom does a lot of baking in her kitchen with EXTRA GLUTEN whole wheat flour... BUT, she is obsessively compulsive (literally) about cleaning every nook and cranny in that kitchen after she bakes, so I can honestly say I feel safe eating over there now. I didn't at first until I saw how thoroughly she cleans her kitchen. So that being said, I would think IF you could do the baking when he's not home and then THOROUGHLY clean the kitchen from top to bottom afterwards, it might be ok. Again I say "might be". It would be better all around to borrow a friends kitchen to do your baking, or to switch to gluten-free baking! Maybe you could make flourless brownie cakes and decorate them! (but if you switch to gluten-free baking and plan on feeding any to your hubby, you may want to get a new mixer and new pans, ect.