Wacky Cake (Fish, Soy, Milk, Nut and Egg-Free)

This is a recipe I got from my mom. If memory serves, she got it from my cousin, Beth Sommer. It's one of those things that's been passed down and I'm not really sure on the origin, so if you know, let me know! :) Also, some of the variations I did find on the web, but I didn't bookmark it, so I have no idea where.

This recipe is soy-free (if you use all soy-free ingredients) and is milk, nut, fish and egg-free.

Wacky Cake made using double recipe in 9x13 pan, topped with powdered sugar

Wacky Cake

Ingredients:

1 ½ Cups Soy-Free All-Purpose Flour

1 Cup White Sugar

3 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

½ teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 Tablespoon Vinegar (such as Apple Cider or Distilled White)

5 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Cup Cold Water

Powdered Sugar (Optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.


2. In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, and salt.


3. Make three wells in the flour mixture. In one put vanilla, in another the vinegar, and in the third, the oil.


4. Pour the cold water over the mixture and stir until moistened.


5. Pour into buttered (floured, too, if you like) 8 x 8-inch pan. (Use oil to grease the pan to keep it soy and milk-free or salted butter just to keep it soy-free.)


6. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until it springs back when touched lightly.


7. Dust with powdered sugar when the cake is cooled before serving, if desired.

Variations:

• Vanilla Wacky Cake: Omit the cocoa, and double the amount of vanilla.
• Lemon Wacky Cake: Omit the cocoa, and substitute lemon juice for the vinegar. For extra lemon flavor, substitute lemon juice for the vanilla as well.
• Orange Wacky Cake: Omit the cocoa and vinegar. Substitute Orange Juice for the water. 
• Berry Chocolate Wacky Cake: Substitute any berry flavor for the vanilla, or add a teaspoon of any berry flavor to the mix if you prefer to keep the vanilla in. (Please note that a lot of berry extracts are not soy-free.)
• Other variations: Any acidic juice can be used in place of the vinegar (i.e. orange, lemon, lime), and you can also use other flavorings other than or along with the vanilla (i.e. berry), so have fun playing around with flavors. J

You can also frost this cake with the Cocoa Frosting I had in the other recipe or make a glaze that I will list here. Please note, though, that the glaze/frosting is not milk-free.

Vanilla Glaze*

1/3 Cup salted, full-fat butter

2 Cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Dash of salt

2 to 4 Tablespoons hot water

1. Melt butter in 1 1/2-quart saucepan.

2. Stir in powdered sugar, vanilla and salt.

3. Stir in hot water, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until smooth and consistency of thick syrup.

Glazes on 12-cup bundt cake or 10-inch angel food or chiffon cake.

Variation: Citrus Glaze: Substitute any combination of lemon, orange, lime, grapefruit and/or pineapple juice for the vanilla and hot water.

Also, dried fruit can be added to the cake. Sometimes I do a Cranberry-Orange Wacky Cake with Orange Glaze. It's a big hit with the family! :)

*The Glazes are modified versions of recipes found in Betty Crocker's New Cookbook.

UPDATE: Coffee worked as the acid! Mocha Wacky Cake

(This recipe was originally posted on my original site, Natural and Free.)

Mixed Berry Crisp (Fish, Soy, Nut and Egg-Free)

I originally got this recipe from Allrecipes.com as submitted by Polly Giebler under the title "Triple Berry Crisp". I modified it to be used with frozen berries and made a few things flexible, but otherwise, it is as I found it. :) This is great for those days you want something sweet that won't make you feel like you totally blew your diet since it's made with fruit. :) I hope you enjoy it!

Please note that this recipe is only soy-free if you use all soy-free ingredients, and it is fish, nut and egg-free.

Mixed Berry Crisp

2 bags (12 oz. each) of frozen mixed berries

or

4 1/2 Cups total of any of the following:

fresh blackberries, fresh raspberries, fresh blueberries, fresh strawberries

4 Tablespoons white sugar

2 Cups soy-free flour

 

2 Cups quick cooking or old fashioned oats

1 1/2 Cups packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

1 1/2 to 3 sticks salted, full-fat butter

1. Preheat oven to 350^oF.

2. In a large bowl, gently toss together the berries and white sugar; set aside.

3. In a separate large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg (if using).

4. Cut butter into flour mixture until crumbly.

5. Press half of the flour mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 pan, cover with berries, and then sprinkle the remaining flour mixture over the top of the berries.

6. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until fruit is bubbly and the topping is golden brown.

This is delicious as is or can be eaten with whipped cream or ice cream on top.

(This recipe was originally posted on my original site, Natural and Free.)

Brownies (Fish, Soy and Nut-Free)

(Brownies dusted with powdered sugar)

This recipe I got from my mother. I'm not sure if she got it from her Betty Crocker Cookbook or if it's one she modified or got through the process of passing along recipes.

Please note that this recipe is fish and nut-free and is only soy-free if you use all soy-free ingredients.

Brownies

3/4 Cup salted, full-fat butter

1 1/2 Cups sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Cup soy-free flour

3/4 Cup cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350^o F.

2. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together, until blended.
  

3. Add to mixture, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, until well blended.

4. Pour into a greased pan (9"x13"), and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until desired doneness.
  

5. After they are cooled, frost with frosting, dust with powdered sugar or leave plain and enjoy!

These I ate a lot after my diagnosis of allergic to like EVERYTHING. They cured my cravings for the chocolate bars I wanted and couldn't eat. They really don't need frosting, as they are super fudgy if you underbake them a bit (the 20 minute mark or so), but if you like deadly rich chocolate, feel free to frost away! I will include a recipe for Cocoa Frosting for those of you who want that extra kick. :)

Cocoa Frosting*

3 Cups powdered sugar

1/3 Cup salted, full-fat butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/3 Cup cocoa powder

Dash of salt

2-3 Tablespoons of milk

1. Mix all ingredients except milk in medium bowl.
  

2. Stir in milk until smooth and spreadable.

Frosts one 13x9-inch cake generously or fills and frosts one 8- or 9-inch two-layer cake.

Mint or another flavor extract can be added to either the brownie batter or frosting if you like. Also, if you like walnuts, you can add those as well, but this will take away their nut-free status. :)

*This recipe is modified from the Betty Crocker's New Cookbook

(This recipe was originally posted on my original site, Natural and Free.)

Granola (Fish, Egg, Wheat, Milk and Soy-Free, Can Be Nut-Free)

This recipe is a modified version of one I found on Allrecipes.com submitted by Tammy Neubauer.

Granola

3 Cups Old-fashioned or Quick Cooking Oats

2 – 2 ½ Cups of any combination of the following:

Almonds, Pecans, Walnuts, Coconut, Sunflower Seeds, Cashews,

Any other seeds or nuts

¼ Cup Brown Sugar

¼ Cup Olive Oil

¼ Cup Honey

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Dash of Salt

1 ½ teaspoon Vanilla

Any combination of the following, to taste:

Raisins, Dried Cranberries, Dried Cherries, any other dried fruit

1. Preheat oven to 350^oF.
2. In a large bowl, combine oats and your choice of coconuts, nuts and/or seeds; set aside.
3. In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, oil, honey, cinnamon and salt; bring to a boil.
4. Remove sugar mixture from the heat and stir in vanilla.
5. Pour sugar mixture over oat mixture; stir to coat.
6. Spread in a large, shallow baking pan.
7. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until lightly toasted. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Slightly under baking is better than over baking.
8. Cool and then add your choice of dried fruits.
9. Store in an airtight container.

This is a recipe that is very customize-able. It's very good, and I've gotten a lot of rave reviews on it. You can use it as a topping, a cereal or just a snack as is. Just make sure that you let it cool thoroughly before you store it or it loses some of its crunch. Yes, unfortunately I know that from personal experience! :(

You can make this recipe nut-free by substituting oatmeal or some other dry type of ingredient (like wheat germ or coconut) for the nuts (Note: I do not consider coconut a tree nut, though some do, so if you cannot have it, leave it out.  I also do not consider seeds as a nut, because they are not, so if you cannot have them, please leave them out.).  Also, the dried fruit is totally optional. :)

Another tip: Since they are all the same amount, add the sugar, oil and honey in the order listed and you won't have any trouble with honey sticking to your measuring cup or the need to use more than one! :) Gotta love having less dishes to clean!

Please note that this recipe is fish, egg, wheat (if you don't use any wheat-germ or other wheat ingredients), and milk-free, and that it is only soy-free if you use all soy-free ingredients.

(This recipe was originally posted on my original site, Natural and Free.)

Banana Bread (Fish, Soy, Egg and Nut-Free)

I know that I found this recipe on the web, but I didn't save the link when I wrote it down over a year ago, and have yet to find it again. I believe the original recipe called for walnuts, but I'm not sure. Either way, it is not original to me, but I have modified it slightly.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

½ Cup Salted, Full-Fat Butter

1 Cup White Sugar

1 ½ Cups Soy-Free Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

½ - 1 Teaspoon Salt

3 - 4 Over-ripe Bananas

1. Preheat oven to 325^oF.
2. Grease 8x4 inch loaf pan.
3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.
4. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well.
5. Blend in mashed bananas. (I like to use a potato masher.)
6. Pour into prepared pan.
7. Bake for 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

This is a recipe I make all the time. You will be surprised how moist it is. If you want to add walnuts, feel free, but I don't (my family doesn't like them).

On a side note, the amount of salt is based on personal preference. I find that 1/2 teaspoon is plenty. Also, the amount of bananas is based on size of the banana. If they are on the smaller size, 4 may be needed. And remember, the more over-ripe, the better! :)

I hope you enjoy this recipe like my family does. Comments welcome! :)

Note: This recipe is fish, egg and nut-free (as long as you don't add any), and only soy-free if you use all soy-free ingredients.

(This recipe was originally posted on my original site, Natural and Free.)