Gluten Free Snowman Cake

Incorporating special diet dishes into your menu at the best of times but when only one person has special dietary needs it can be rather challenging when hosting a get-together.  I have a fair amount of experience dealing creating dishes for those who are lactose intolerant, diabetics, those with certain food alleries and those on sodium restricted diets but until this past year had no experience creating dishes for those who eat a gluten free diet.  One of our friends cannot have gluten so I have been looking for gluten free recipes.  Earlier this year I wrote about how happy I was to find Betty Crocker gluten free cake mix. 

During the holiday season and when hosting larger gatherings I like to rely on tried and true, easy recipes.  I was quite impressed with the gluten free cake mix so bought another box.  As much as I love cooking and baking, I have never mastered the finer art of decorating cakes.  I tend to use simple glazes, frostings, fruits or a dry topping.  Thankfully a few formed cake pans help to make it a bit easier.

Specialty cake pans (as pictured) are available in a wide range of sizes and themes.  They are available in the box stores at a very reasonable price but limited selection.  The best selection can be found in specialty kitchen or baking stores.  Some can be pricey but if you make a lot of cakes can be well worth the small investment.

This is precisely why I don't make decorated frosted cakes!   I was not overly pleased with the decorating results but the cake was declared a success without so much as a crumb left.  The icing was a simple buttercream.  I used a cupcake stencil for the holly leaves and berries.  The eyes, nose and buttons are mint M&Ms.   The mouth is a thin slice of Australian candy similar to Twizzlers.

I had a lot of fun making the cake, happy knowing I would be able to offer a dessert he could have.  Next on my agenda is to find a few gluten free recipes to add to my tried and true entertaining recipes.  I best work on my cake decorating skills as well!