Help, please

[kitanzi]

A good friend of mine at work found out a couple of weeks ago that he has cancer, and very bad odds for survival past a year. He's going on short term disabity on 9/1 and would hit retirment age before it expired - assuming, of course, that he lives that long. I won't even get into my emotions on this. He's a great guy, married within the last year, and he's keeping a positive attitude. He's also diabetic and I would REALLY like to make a kickass diabetic friendly cake for him. Recipies are all over the net, but I need a really good one. Tell me, o sages of LJ, can you personally point me at the perfect recipie for a "we'll miss you like hell" going away cake for a diabetic friend who I can't offer anything more useful? (hell, if it cures cancer too, I'll love you forever!)

Comments

[anaisdjuna.livejournal.com]

I have no cake. Just hugs and feelings. *hugs*

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

This

[kitanzi.livejournal.com]

Thank you. *hug* It helps!

[kitanzi.livejournal.com]

Thank you. *hug* We still need to figure a time for dinner, yeah? You said Tuesdays are best?

[anaisdjuna.livejournal.com]

Um at this point it's up in the air. I'm not sure what is up when. I'm waiting to make plans based on when my sister has a doctor's appt. I'd love to do dinner though. I'll be in touch when I have some idea of my nearish future trajectory and we can see what's good for you.

*hug*

[bardling.livejournal.com]

Sorry, no recipes. Just *hugs*.

[kitanzi.livejournal.com]

Awww, thanks. *hug*

[sffilk.livejournal.com]

I'll check and see if I have the weight watchers red velvet cake. It's made with Splenda instead of sugar. No guarantees, but I'll look.

[kitanzi.livejournal.com]

That sounds, if you'll pardon the pun, splendid. Thank you!

[ericcoleman]

I passed this on to tanac, who, I think, does such things.

[kitanzi.livejournal.com]

He clearly does, and brilliantly! thanks!

[ericcoleman]

she

[bercilakslady.livejournal.com]

I'll check with Glenn, who is diabetic and bakes a lot.

I'm so sorry, sweetie. *hugs*

[kitanzi.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *hug* It's not like this helps, exactly, but it's something I can DO.

[tanac.livejournal.com]

(ericcoleman sent me over)

First of all, I'm so sorry. :( That sucks.

You have a few options, cake-wise. The most diabetic-friendly sort of cake is something more like a torte, usually based on nut flours of some kind rather than wheat flour (which is fairly carby and high glycemic index). Most recipes call for a little bit of regular sugar; you can replace this with splenda granulated (although I'm not terribly fond of the flavor, and prefer to use low-glycemic sweeteners like agave - but if you're newish to baking, you don't want to have to mess with that)
Sort of like this:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Hazelnut-Torte-234278

Your other options really depend on how 'good' of a diabetic your friend is. You can do 'regular cake, substitute out the sugar' if they're middling-to-fair with avoiding sugars. In which case, just find the best recipe you can (epicurious is very good for that).

What I personally prefer to do is make something that isn't 'fake', but is naturally good. What fruits are in season right now? You can make a kickass fruit crisp/crumble.
http://www.celiacchicks.com/2008/11/gluten-free-recipes-apple-cranberry-crumble.html
this might be good; you can replace the maple syrup with agave.
ooh, same here (replace honey with agave):
http://www.nyapplecountry.com/pra_applecrisp.htm

Anyhow, that's my take on it. If you have your heart set on a 'real' cake and don't want to fuss with a bunch of substitutions or worry, I will admit that the gluten-free sugar-free box mixes (check whole foods) can actually do quite well, and will be tasty.

Hope this helps!

[kitanzi.livejournal.com]

Wow, thank you! It helps a great deal. I don't know how "good" a diabetic he is, so I'll probably err on the side of caution. I am thinking in terms of a cake, in order to write something on it, but I'll think about it. The fruit crumble sounds like something I want to make regardless!

[madfilkentist]

Ow, so sorry to hear that. But I don't know anything about cakes unless I can make them from the box.

[kitanzi.livejournal.com]

Thank you, the good wishes do help. It just sucks, and more so for being so helpless. :(

[sffilk.livejournal.com]

To all who wanted the red velvet recipe - I found it. It's a bit ratty, but I'm willing to type it up once and put it into a PDF file. E-mail me off list and I'll send it. I'd also recommend that you check here (http://www.weightwatchers.com) to see if you can find it under the recipe database.

[kitanzi.livejournal.com]

Wow! I'll look around, thank you again.

Just to let you know,

[sffilk.livejournal.com]

I sent the recipe to Rob because I cannot find your e-mail address in my computer, so check with him.

If anyone else wants the recipe, contact me. It's in PDF format (or WordPerfect format).

support services via American Cancer Society

[patternbuilder.livejournal.com]

They have a lot of services offered for people with cancer.

the main page is cancer.org, or you can hit the patients, friends and family page here
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/HOME/pff/pff_0.asp

my heart goes out to you and your friend.