# Dessert suggestions? (food allergies) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 14, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175 "2013-01-14T15:35:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/1 "2013-01-14T15:35:56Z")
So we volunteered to bring a dessert to a family gathering. However, several of the guests have significant food allergies, which rule out pretty much anything that I can think of offhand. The allergies include: strawberries, dairy, soy, fish/shellfish, pork. So a ham cheesecake is right out, as is shrimp ice cream :p. More to the point, suggestions for something dairy-free? Pretty much everything I know how to make has butter in it! ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/2 "2013-01-14T15:48:32Z")
I’m assuming with that list of allergies that you’re making dessert for a large number of people. Instead of finding something that fits all of the exclusions maybe a couple of desserts that allow everyone to eat something? ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/3 "2013-01-14T15:54:16Z")
Google “Vegan cupcakes” - those will be dairy-free, and from what I’ve heard, delicious enough that most people will not even know they’re vegan. Other than that, you could make pies with a crust made from Crisco instead of butter. Not quite as flavorful, but still pretty good. Seems like there might be other non-strawberry fruit-based desserts that would work. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/4 "2013-01-14T16:36:22Z")
I discovered recently that coconut oil can be substituted for butter in cakes, cookies, etc. At least you don’t have nut or egg allergies on that list! I made banana bread yesterday using coconut oil, and it was pretty fabulous. Check out some Jewish cookbooks – if you keep kosher, a meat meal can’t be followed by a dairy dessert, so there are lots of non-dairy festive desserts. ---
**Author:** ![cuberdon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/45deac/32.png) [@cuberdon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuberdon)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/5 "2013-01-14T16:39:43Z")
Coconut egg custard, or coconut rice pudding. Some good recipes in the dessert section here: [Thai Recipe Index – Kasma Loha-unchit](http://thaifoodandtravel.com/recipe.html) ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/6 "2013-01-14T16:41:13Z")
Yea, I’m thinking some offbeat dessert for the no-dairy folks, and something normal for everyone else. (Obviously something that avoids strawberry and shellfish and pork. Those will be much, much easier to avoid than dairy in a dessert.) Asian and Middle Eastern desserts don’t usually use much dairy and many cookie recipes have minimal dairy (unless you’re counting eggs as dairy). How about a chocolate fondue pot with different fruits and snacks to dip with? Small cookies, mini squares of rice kripsy treat, cheesecake, pretzels, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Tara57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@Tara57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tara57)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/7 "2013-01-14T16:43:17Z")
Search for dairy-free or vegan fruit crisps. You could make a wacky cake. Maybe sorbet. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/8 "2013-01-14T18:10:08Z")
Thanks for the suggestions!! I’d guess the kosher cookbook would also omit shellfish and pork from its desserts, so it’s a win-win suggestion ;). The allergies are all one person, actually. I’ll double-check on egg allergies, if those aren’t an issue, meringue kisses or angel food cake should be acceptable (with some sort of fruit compote to go along with it perhaps). ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/9 "2013-01-14T20:33:43Z")
I don’t see celiac disease in the list either, try sponge cake? I don’t have my recipe here, but all it has is lemon or natural yoghurt or rising powder (which would be the option to use here), flour (can be maize or wheat), sugar and egg. To make it chocolate cake trade one cup of flour for one of cocoa powder. You can use oil on the pan, if you don’t have a non-stick one. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/10 "2013-01-15T01:13:34Z")
If gluten and eggs are not an issue, angel food cake is made of egg whites, sugar and flour. For those not sensitive to strawberries or other fruit you can always serve a sauce on the side, although IMHO a good home made angel food cake needs nothing further. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/11 "2013-01-15T02:12:31Z")
Take 2-3 large cans of sliced peaches. I like to use the light syrup or fruit juice ones, but this is a matter of taste. Drain. Pour in 9 x 13" cake pan. Top with a dry cinnamon crumb cake or muffin mix like [Krusteaz](http://www.krusteaz.com/muffins-and-crumb-cake-products-89/cinnamon-crumb-cake-and-muffin-mix-1127) or [Betty Crocker](http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/muffins/products/betty-crocker-premium/cinnamon-streusel). First the cake mix, then the streusel. You can throw nuts on top if you like. Cut a stick of margarine into pieces and dot the top of the dry mix. Put in a 350 degree oven until it browns. I use butter for this, but margarine should be fine. It’s low rent, but people will love it. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/12 "2013-01-15T04:35:40Z")
Gluten / eggs are fine, I checked. Phew. The mention of the Thai foods sent me down some interesting paths, I hadn’t thouight of something that included coconut (because my son is allergic - but he won’t be there!!). And vegan also helped. At Epicurious, I found an easy-sounding sweet potato / coconut milk pudding that might be nice, if I don’t go for the Thai options or the angel food cake. And also probably a fruit salad / compote and some meringue kisses. jsgoddess - thanks! That sounds like something my husband has made a couple of times on Scout trips, with cake mix. I’d need to check whether the muffin mix had any allergens (dairy or soy). ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/13 "2013-01-15T04:47:58Z")
If you don’t want to use a hydrogenated margarine product as a butter replacer, just use Earth Balance. It works the same as butter in recipes (Not Smart Balance - while that works the same, too, that one has whey in it) Earth Balance is vegan, and with eggs being OK, you can make any recipe with it. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/14 "2013-01-15T06:56:28Z")
Most meringues and macaroons contain none of the forbidden ingredients. You could make a pie with a crust made from some shortening other than butter or lard. Zabaglione would work if you could do the cooking at the gathering (it’s best served right after you make it). You could make an apple crisp using margarine instead of butter. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/15 "2013-01-15T19:59:01Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > jsgoddess - thanks! That sounds like something my husband has made a couple of times on Scout trips, with cake mix. I’d need to check whether the muffin mix had any allergens (dairy or soy). Gah. You said that clearly in the OP, and by the time I read the rest of the thread, I had forgotten to look. The Krusteaz is out. Betty Crocker might still be in the running. So sorry! ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/16 "2013-01-15T21:32:28Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Take 2-3 large cans of sliced peaches. I like to use the light syrup or fruit juice ones, but this is a matter of taste. Drain. Pour in 9 x 13" cake pan. Top with a dry cinnamon crumb cake or muffin mix like [Krusteaz](http://www.krusteaz.com/muffins-and-crumb-cake-products-89/cinnamon-crumb-cake-and-muffin-mix-1127) or [Betty Crocker](http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/muffins/products/betty-crocker-premium/cinnamon-streusel). First the cake mix, then the streusel. You can throw nuts on top if you like. > > Cut a stick of margarine into pieces and dot the top of the dry mix. Put in a 350 degree oven until it browns. > > I use butter for this, but margarine should be fine. > > It’s low rent, but people will love it. Wait–no water or milk or anything liquid? Except the melted butter/margarine? What happens? Does it turn into like a peach crisp? Or does it turn into a cake somehow? Wouldn’t it be too dry? Heh–this sounds exactly like the sort of thing my mom used to make. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/17 "2013-01-15T21:39:32Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Wait–no water or milk or anything liquid? Except the melted butter/margarine? What happens? Does it turn into like a peach crisp? Or does it turn into a cake somehow? Wouldn’t it be too dry? > > Heh–this sounds exactly like the sort of thing my mom used to make. No, there’s no added liquid. It forms a delicious crust. I have no idea why it works, but it does. The butter just manages to make the sugar in the mix crystallize or something. It’s MAGIC, I tell you! (And now that I can’t eat gluten, I miss being able to make this occasionally. Gluten free cake mixes just aren’t the same.) And yeah, it’s old school lazy cooking. The “normal” recipe is to use a can of crushed pineapple and two cans of cherry pie filling with one yellow cake mix and two sticks of butter. I don’t much care for that because it’s overly sweet. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/18 "2013-01-17T16:36:55Z")
Olive oil cake! I’m a huge fan of Anne Burrell (she’s my celebrity chef crush; move over Alton!) and recently (or perhaps not, I DVR her show) she featured an olive oil cake as a dessert. It was served with a blueberry compote and mascarpone, but you could skip the mascarpone pretty easily. Her recipe is [here](http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/olive-oil-cake-with-blueberries-and-mascarpone-recipe/index.html), though a quick Google will bring up tons more. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/19 "2014-07-21T19:25:18Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > Olive oil cake! I’m a huge fan of Anne Burrell (she’s my celebrity chef crush; move over Alton!) and recently (or perhaps not, I DVR her show) she featured an olive oil cake as a dessert. It was served with a blueberry compote and mascarpone, but you could skip the mascarpone pretty easily. > > Her recipe is [here](http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/olive-oil-cake-with-blueberries-and-mascarpone-recipe/index.html), though a quick Google will bring up tons more. Bumping my own long-zombified thread: Last time around, I made an angel food cake and some meringues. We had another gathering with the same people the other day, and I wound up making an [olive-oil based cake](http://www.ciaoitalia.com/seasons/12/1201/chocolate-olive-oil-cake) (cupcakes actually) which were fantastic. I frosted them with an egg white / corn syrup based fluff - basically homemade marshmallow fluff - since of course buttercream was not an option. They were a huge hit, especially with peppermint-flavored sprinkles on top. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175/20 "2014-07-22T11:48:01Z")
_Next_ year, try a jelly-based dessert…either gelatin or agar. I’ve had some success replacing milk with almond milk in some agar puddings for vegans. Almond panna cotta, essentially. With a fruit coulis / sauce. Lots of recipes online - search for _[“almond milk” agar vegan “panna cotta”](https://www.google.com/search?client=ubuntu&channel=fs&q=%22almond+milk%22+agar+vegan+%22panna+cotta%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8)_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dessert-suggestions-food-allergies/647175.md?page=2)