Okay I am not a food stylist. I really know that after watching The Food Magicians on the Food Network. Hopefully you will enjoy my first attempt a sugar free, gluten free cake for Carters 21st birthday.
That is how my party planning started. I knew that I wanted to serve an entire meal that was diabetic friendly and that the attendees wouldn’t even realize it…and that included the cake too. The menu was the easy part, it was the cake that took 3 tries to get it right. Victoria and I were sick of Chocolate cake by party time since we had been sampling for days. Vic on the other had was sad to see
it stop. I determined that he was not a good cake taste tester. He liked them all. Even the one that tasted like an unsweetened bar of Bakers Chocolate!
So here is the menu:
Gazpacho Soup, Shrimp Cocktail with Cocktail Sauce, Fruit Platter, MamaLisa’s Cauliflower, Zucchini & Squash Slaw, Roasted Artichoke Salad, with Smoked Brisket with BBQ sauce, and Chocolate Cake with Whipped Cream, Strawberries and Chocolate Sauce.
Uncle Jerry brought his yummy Salsa with chips and Tori had a special request so I also made Roasted Garlic with Toasted Baguettes. Carter’s Mom Roseanne brought her family favorite Vidalia Onion Casserole. So those items were the only no-no on the menu.
Yes, all the sauces were diabetic. The BB!Q sauce I made my original BBQ sauce and then updated the recipe to make it diabetic and I am telling you …there was hardly a difference. My girlfriend Stacy had
also turned me on to a line of products from Walden Farms that were sugar free. I took their cocktail sauce which is surprisingly good and added some horseradish. YummE!
The gazpacho and its yummy topping was a hit. I served it in espresso cups that I bought for our wedding reception, so no spoons needed! It is the perfect way to serve soup to a crowd.
MamaLisa’s Cauliflower is always a hit and very little is ever left over. Very simple, Steam the cauliflower, top with a mustard mayo mix, top that with shredded colby cheese so it will melt.
The Zucchini & Squash Slaw (gotta figure out a better name for that) is a recipe that I modeled after Cucumber Salad. Except that I cut the veggies with a mandolin to resemble spaghetti pasta. The vinegar ‘cooks’ it and it gets al-dente. There were actually a couple of guests that thought it was pasta when they looked at it. Then I spice it up a little bit with some Sambal hot sauce and some cilantro. Carter and Vic LOVE it … Carter requested it to be on the menu.
Vic make the brisket and it was perfect. He has mastered brisket in his smoker. Rubbed some Salt Lick Rub on it the night before and smoked for 12 hours. Put in the warming drawer till ready to serve and it was tender and moist.
The cake turned out fabulously. Some of the comments were that it tasted like a brownie. If any of you have had a flour-less chocolate cake you will know that it is a dense cake. So was this one. It took me a few tries to get the ratio of chocolate right and the ratio of the two sweeteners right.
Serve it with a dollop of whipped Cream sweetened with Stevia, a strawberry and a drizzle of Walden Farms Chocolate Sauce.
Carter took some home with him and called me the next day. He had taken some to work and the coworkers said they would buy this and they weren’t diabetic. It is nice to know my perseverance paid off. My goal was to have a dessert that anyone would eat because it really tasted good and it wouldn’t matter that it was Sugar Free and Gluten Free. It really was remarkably good if I say so myself!
So overall the Birthday Celebration was a success. One of best complement of the day was from one of Carter’s college buddies as he was leaving. ”Who knew that diabetic food could be so good!”
Tags: Chocolate Cake, Diabetes, Flourless, Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Walden Farms
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:44 am
Ok, you are making me hungry since I read this before lunch.
When is the cookbook coming out?
Robin Harpe
July 22nd, 2009 at 1:05 pm
And you didn’t give us the recipes? What kind of blog site is this? xo Melea
July 22nd, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Go, Lisa! That was great and I love your attention to detail to make Carter’s birthday so special! Hey, and I LOVE those plates!!!
July 23rd, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Dear Sista … you are funny! The recipe will be forthcoming! xoxo
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Thanks for posting about this, I would like to read more about this topic.
July 26th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Robby says he wants Carter’s chocolate cake for HIS birthday in October!
January 28th, 2010 at 4:42 am
I always learn so much from these posts, thank you!
April 22nd, 2010 at 2:31 am
Exercise causes the body to process glucose faster, which lowers blood sugar. The more intense the exercise, the faster the body will utilize glucose. Therefore it is important to understand the differences in training with type I and type II diabetes. It is important for an individual who has diabetes to check with a physician before beginning an exercise program. When training with a diabetic, it is important to understand the dangers of injecting insulin immediately prior to exercise.