BabyCakes NYC- Allergy Friendly Bakery in Orlando

Ok. I know I am not the first to write about this bakery and I certainly won't be the last.
Check this Out
babycakesNYC  is
Refined Sugar Free - Gluten Free - Wheat Free - Soy Free - Casein Free - Egg Free - Vegan - Kosher
I was so excited to see two cases with items I could eat!!!!
There was no... NO you can't eat that!

It was total

I loved everything I tried and even love saying the name

babycakes! Babycakes!! BABYCAKES!!!

haha

First, I have to tell you if you have never been to

babycakesNYC it can be a tad hard to find here in Orlando.

There are no signs directing you there.

and as a matter of fact a Disney employee told me how to find it and his exact words were

"There are no signs for it."

Why is that?

Why would there be no signs directing to you such a lovey little find?

I even checked the shop and restaurant listing and never saw it there either.

What is up with that?
Kind of makes me wonder what else I am passing by and never realizing it's there.

Well thank goodness I found it 
and now let me tell you how to find it yourself :)

here we go....

In Downtown Disney park in Parking Lot 2

in front of T-Rex.

For those of you not familiar with the area don't get T-Rex confused.

babycakes will be located just to the right of T-Rex inside of Pollo Campero Restaurant.

As you enter Pollo Campero babycakes will be off to the right of the restaurant.

Pretty Easy Right?

 It's a small space but packed full of wonderful allergen friendly delights. :)

 They have cookie crunch donuts in vanilla or chocolate!

{They were amazing by the way!}

Everyone in the family had a bite of the chocolate cookie crunch donut I brought home and

everyone loved it.

My trio included their signature cookie sandwich, the cookie crunch donut and the chocolate chocolate cuppy!

 I loved them all!

{However, sometimes you are going to have a favorite}

&

Mine happened to be

 The cookie sandwich and as it turns out it's their most asked for yummy!

I'm telling you... It was divine.

If you get a chance. 

DO IT!

I was told before I left that if I didn't eat them right away the icing would melt. 

So I decided once I got to the truck to eat the cookie and take the 

icepack from my cooler to place inside the box until I could get home.

Hey come on!! Don't give me a hard time here!!!

I honestly didn't think the cookie would fair well on the 20 minute drive home.

[insert chuckles here]

So an executive decision had to be made!

And it was a good one because it would have been 

REAL HARD

&

I mean

 To pry my hands off of this thing and share with the fam.

So that's my review of a wonderful hidden little find right here in O-town.
I hope you enjoyed my post and will head out and give babycakes a try.

If you have tried babycakes before please tell me what your favorite was because
I would love to go back and try more pretties whenever I find myself in the area
and your suggestions will help guide me.

:0

Thanks for stopping by and know that I greatly appreciate your stopping by.
I love you all!
Hats off to my beautiful family & friends who follow my
gluten free adventures and support my efforts to heal myself
and remain gluten free.

xoxoxoxox

Cheesecake Masterpiece

I have to explain the title of this post -  Cheese Cake Masterpiece.
The only reason I say this is because this is literally the best cheese cake I have ever made.
And if you follow the directions to a "T" you will have the same luck
and emerge from the kitchen
 looking like a

{I PROMISE}


Before we move forward let me give you a little background on myself.

You probably don't know this about me
but
I have a major thing for Cheesecake. 
shhh
Pinky promise you won't tell anyone??? 
It's kinda embarrassing how much I love it. :) 

For example...
You know how you remember your first kiss?
Well it's really funny because that is how remarkable my first taste of cheesecake was.
I'll never forget it.

We were visiting family in Miami
and when I heard the mention of cake after dinner I got super excited!
However, when they handed me my plate adorned with this tiny delicate sliver of chocolate cheesecake
{being the kid I was}
I thought to myself,
Is This All I Get???

After I tasted it I thought again
Is This All I Get???

The taste was so amazing that I couldn't control my manners and I quickly walked over to the table and asked most politely


May I please have another piece?

 and
I was very politely told
NO
by my
Daddy.



OH FUDGE!

So I left there that day only having one sliver of yumminess.
But the love affair was on and in full swing.

Now fast forward about 30 years - give or take a few.
I've been told  
No More Gluten for You!


Yeah Yeah I know what you're thinking...
Cheesecake is just cheese and sugar and egg and vanilla and
all those things are gluten free anyway.

So what's the big hoopla about here??

Well as you can see
 this light creamy heavenly sweet delight is at the center of my heart when
it comes to desserts so when I was told
No More Gluten
I thought it was all over for me.
{Of course I was very new to the gluten free diet then and had no idea what all I really could have}

And...

The Graham Cracker crust would normally make this oh-so-delicious treat a no-no
for someone like myself with Celiac Disease or Gluten Intolerance

however I have a little secret hidden up my sleeve...

I have discovered

Gluten Free Graham Crackers! 
ah-ha

Don't tell me I can't have a slice of cheese cake!

Nope - Don't you dare say it.

and I want you to know that

This baby is 100% Gluten Free Heaven in your
MOUTH!

Go ahead - get as close to the monitor as you can.

If you could just taste the creamy loveliness your knees would buckle.

Trust me!

Your knees would
BUCKLE!!

Hey
 - H O N E S T L Y -
I actually had fully glutenized folks
b-e-g-g-i-n-g
for take home containers of this little doll of a cake!

Simply Put

it was

2 DIE 4.

And the other big deal is
I wanted a cheesecake that had a GF graham cracker crust that tasted amazing
and that's exactly what I got with this recipe!

{The End}

Well, not really the end

You want the recipe, right???

Then let's get to sharing why don't we....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ingredients

For the crust

• 1 1/2 cups Kinnikinnick Gluten Free graham cracker crumbs (I placed mine in a ziploc baggie and let the rolling pin to do the work)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

• 2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 5 whole extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the topping:

• Large chocolate dipped strawberries 
• Cool Whip

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the crust, combine the graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter until moistened. Pour into a 9-inch springform pan. With your hands, press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and about 1-inch up the sides. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees F.

To make the filling, cream the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium and add the eggs and egg yolks, 2 at a time, mixing well. Scrape down the bowl and beater, as necessary. With the mixer on low, add the sour cream, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and pour into the cooled crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 225 degrees and bake for another 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the oven off and open the door wide. The cake will not be completely set in the center. Allow the cake to sit in the oven with the door open for 30 minutes. Take the cake out of the oven and allow it to sit at room temperature for another 2 to 3 hours, until completely cooled. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the cake from the springform pan by carefully running a hot knife around the outside of the cake. Leave the cake on the bottom of the springform pan for serving.

Place strawberries on top and you can pipe dollops of cool whip between each one to fill in empty space and add some extra pretty to the top of the cake!

Cut with a warm knife wiping after each cut keep from tearing your cake slices apart.

Serve and Enjoy

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As always I must give credit where credit is due.

This recipe is the master full work of Ina Garten and it's the best cheese cake I have EVER made. 

If you would like to see the wonderful reviews of this cake visit this link!

Thank you Ina! You are the best!!

And I also must thank my little Sissy for sharing this recipe with me.
She told me it was so totally worth the effort and pressed me to give it a try.
So glad I listened.
Thank you Mindy!!

Take care and I hope to hear some wonderful responses on your baking experience with this lovely little number.

Simple Delights.

GF Chocolate-Chocolate Valentine Cupcakes

Tomorrow is the first birthday party Anna will attended since going Gluten Free.

I wanted my little princess to have yummy cupcakes just like the other kids, 

not feel slighted 

and join in the festivities just like all the rest.

SO

I whipped up a batch of

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cupcakes

and added a pretty pink

Valentine Twist 

to it. 

Let's Take A Look At How I Got This 

Pretty Little Project Rolling

Shall we?

First I got all my cooking supplies out 

and got busy.

I must mention you will need 

1 Cup of Water

1 Stick of Butter

&

3 Eggs

This was my first time making these and the box says it makes 12 cupcakes.

So I used every drop of the batter and it filled the cups pretty full.

For those of you who are new to this like myself a non-gluten free recipe filled this much would have had huge cupcakes spilling over onto the top of the pan. 

So I followed the directions assuming these wouldn't rise as much as I am accustomed to 

and I was right.

 

 Pink Chocolate Heart Toppers

These were super easy to make. 

I used half a bag of 

GhirardelliWhite Chocolate Chips

and followed the directions on the back of the bag for melting.

Added a little 

Wilton Pink Food Coloring

then spooned into my

handy squeeze bottle

and 

started drawing hearts

onto a wax papered cookie sheet.

I placed mine into a cool place to firm up while I got the icing going.

Now Onto the Icing!

I just used 

The Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate Icing

being all new to this I wanted a quick and easy icing and 

this just worked.

To get the look 

all you need is a 

Wilton Icing Bag

and an

icing tip of your choice!

Easy enough.

For those of you out there who always find yourself alone in the kitchen

well here's a great,

NO FUMBLE

way to get the icing in the bag.

First - Drop the coupling into the bag.

Second - Place the tip into a cup and fold the edges over.

Third - Spoon in your icing.

Lastly - Clip the tip of the bag and place your icing tip onto the bag.

That's it!

{Pretty easy, hu?}

 Squeeze the icing to the end of the bag and get busy dressing up your little cupcake masterpieces!

 

The pretty paisley skirts I found at Walmart. Made by Reynolds and they are no fade.

Before you know it

You'll have a crowd

working their way into the kitchen for a 

one of your

Decadent Chocolate Cupcakes!

 

The Teen Sensation wasted no time downing her cupcake and proceeded to tell me...

MOMMY IT WAS AWESOME!!

{The smile says it all}

Everyone gave these yummy little chocolate

pretty's a big

THUMBS UP!

Best of Luck and Hope you Enjoyed!

Kimmy :)

Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies are just delicious.

The kids loved them and so did the Hubs and I.

They are great in lunch boxes. Make fantastic after dinner desserts or 

simply

satisfy that sweet tooth.

Just ask my kids.

We definitely give this 5 STARS!!!

I found this recipe on 

Whole Foods 

website and it came with a lot of 

and the greatest thing is...

This gluten-free version of a classic does not require a special flour blend; it can be assembled with Basic Pantry Staples
{and a sprinkle of love}

OH JOY!!!!

Ingredients

1 large egg
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup creamy unsweetened peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Beat together egg, sugar, baking soda and vanilla in a standing mixer with the paddle attachment or with a hand-held mixer. Beat in the peanut butter. Stir in chocolate chips if using
or sprinkle with a little sugar like I did.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet, pressing lightly with the back of a fork.
Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly set. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Nutrition

Per serving (3 cookies): 200 calories (110 from fat), 12g total fat, 3g saturated fat, 6g protein, 19g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 16g sugar), 20mg cholesterol, 210mg sodium

Want to check out the recipe online at Whole Foods?

visit

Whole Foods GF Peanut Butter Cookies

Hope you enjoy! :)

GF Valentines Pancakes!

OK. 

My girls love their pancakes. 

So one of the breakfast requests I have received has been for those lovely
flap-jacks, hot cakes, pancakes 
or the lovely name I gave them
PAIN-CAKES!
{oh sigh}

mmmm 

pancakes drizzled in maple syrup

So me and Anna being the early birds we are

decided we would whip up 

some 

We love how they turned out!!

What a great way to welcome the day on Valentines Day

by serving your shweetie

some of these 

Pretty Pink-a-licious Gluten Free Pancakes!!!

So here's how we made them.

First I got some Gluten Free Bisquick and after reading that the caramel color in 

most syrups contains gluten decided to go ahead and break the bank and 

get the real stuff.

&

O-M-G 

the maple syrup is so worth it. :)

We just followed the directions for the pancakes on the back of the Bisquick box 

and then added some Wilton food coloring to the batter to achieve the pretty pink we wanted.

I have been reading that most Wilton food colorings are GF and we have used

this food coloring many times and we have never had a reaction to it.

 My little helper. We added the food coloring with a toothpick. All it takes is a tiny tiny bit and you get a pretty vibrant color.

To get the control you need to make hearts. Put your batter into a squeeze bottle and clip a little extra off the tip to allow more batter to flow through.  :)

Now you're all set to be as creative as you wish. 

The sky is the limit!

Pop them on a plate and drizzle with your favorite maple syrup, serve and

watch the smiles spread!

Hope you enjoyed and...

Be sure to watch for

my

You're going to love them!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just a little extra note.

My daughters requests for pancakes really got me to thinking... 

about my past with the sweet breakfast pastries that I loved so much prior to my diagnosis

and I really thought about how they made me feel after eating them.
{Remember my lovely name for pancakes that I mentioned above??}
PAIN-CAKES
well there is a reason for that nickname I promise...read on

I remember thinking that I must not be able to handle the syrup.

Maybe it's just to sweet for my body to handle first thing in the AM

because after eating pancakes, cinnamon buns, honey buns, donuts, really any of these breakfast lovelies...

well I always felt the energy being sapped from my body

and would be left feeling like garbage

and full of regret having ate them.

All these years I thought it was the sweetness of the foods

that brought me down like someone shot me with an 

elephant gun

{Oh I snicker, hehe,Elephant Gun}

anyhow

I never dreamed it was

Gluten.

{actually at that point I had never heard of gluten nor the nasty affects it could have on someone} 

So with this simple analysis of how this type of food has treated me in the past.

I went in this morning really wondering how I was going to feel after eating a few pancakes.

{still thinking, maybe it as a combo of gluten and sugar}

And I have to tell you

I was left feeling

quite simply

No sickie feelings.

No jitters.

No suck the life right outta me feelings

and at no time did the words

"Get me to the couch quick!"

ever roll out of my mouth.

Actually, what I did say was

I think I will have one more :)
Hope you enjoy!

If you get a chance to try this fun cooking project with your little ones

Please do!

It's fun for everyone. 

Let them orchestrate their own lovely breakfast pancake creations that disappear just as quickly

as they leave the pan.