Happy is the day when allergic friends and family discover Cherrybrook Kitchen’s line of cookies, cakes, brownies and pancakes. The boxes are so pretty, you can give them as gifts!

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March 2007

Product Reviews / NutriNibbles / Cookies, Cakes & Pastries

Cherrybrook Kitchen

The Sweet Solution For Food Allergies

CAPSULE REPORT: Currently 11 million Americans have food allergies: 9 million are specifically allergic to peanuts, dairy or eggs. Try getting a birthday cake or even a comforting cookie with restrictions like those! Some towns have great little bakeries that make beautiful cakes, cookies and cupcakes that are dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free and gluten-free. If you aren’t so fortunate as to live near one, now you can bake your own, easily and most deliciously, thanks to Cherrybrook Kitchen, a company that has snatched baking victory from the jaws of restriction. The company makes gluten-free products and those with wheat; all have been accepted by the Feingold Association.

“Finally you can have your cake and eat it too,” is the motto of Cherrybrook Kitchen. If you’ve got food allergies, those may be the sweetest words you’ve ever heard.

When Patsy Rosenberg developed food allergies in 2000, she had to learn how to cook and bake without dairy, eggs or nuts. For the many people who don’t have the time to follow elaborate recipes from scratch, there were no baking mixes for people with special allergy needs. So over the years, Patsy perfected a variety of recipes that became the Cherrybrook Kitchen line of mixes. We were first attracted to the upbeat packaging, and then to the great flavor of the products. Now, family gatherings and parties don’t require a “special” dairy-free, egg-free and nut-free dessert for the person who has restrictions: Everyone can enjoy these yummy treats from Cherrybrook Kitchen. Thanks to Patsy and the entire Rosenberg family, who tested recipe after recipe over the years to get them just right.

Varieties

Cherrybrook Kitchen makes products with wheat and those that are gluten-free (products with an asterisk* contain wheat, products with a dagger† are available in gluten-free versions). All products are dairy-free, egg-free and nut-free and are made with top-quality ingredients including evaporated cane juice and sea salt.

• Chocolate Cake Mix.*† Moist and chocolaty, made with Belgian cocoa powder and chocolate chips.
• Yellow Cake Mix.* A lovely yellow cake. Add a tablespoon of lemon zest to the recipe and use lemon-infused grapeseed oil or olive oil for a lemony variation. Both Yellow and Chocolate Cake Mixes make layer cakes, cup cakes and sheet cakes (two boxes of mix are required for a sheet cake).
• Chocolate Frosting and Vanilla Frosting Mixes.† Use on the cakes, brownies or cookies.
• Fudge Brownie Mix.* As close as it gets, made of Belgian cocoa powder and chocolate chips.
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix.*† The cookies also can be made into bars and into balls for ice cream mix-ins.
• Sugar Cookie Mix.*† A classic butter cookie minus the butter. Delicious plain, it’s also a base to make Snickerdoodles, thumbprint cookies and for decorating with hard icing, sanding sugar and frostings and garnishes of your choice.
• Pancake Mixes.* Make light and fluffy pancakes or waffles in Original or Whole Grain.

The recipes call for vegetable oil. Rather than purchase generic vegetable oil at the supermarket, we highly recommend flavorless canola‡ oil: It imparts a delicious moisture that makes these fine mixes taste even better. We also enjoyed using Salute Santé!® grapeseed oil, which has a very slight nutty flavor. For those who like things on the cutting edge, try Salute Santé’s basil, rosemary and lemon-infused grapeseed oils with the yellow and chocolate cake mixes, or infused olive oil (use lemon with the Yellow Cake mix only). You can add fresh herbs and zest to the batter, too, the way Italians and Greeks make delicious, rustic cakes with olive oil, honey and basil, rosemary or thyme. Margarine can be substituted, but a quality oil imparts superior flavor.
‡Canola oil, a Canadian-trademarked cultivar of rapeseed (a plant in the turnip family, no relation to grapeseed), became a favorite of healthcare professionals in the 1990s, when studies claimed that it had the ability to lower the risk of heart disease. Canola oil has a bland flavor, which makes it a good cooking oil for spicy dishes (e.g. Chinese, Indian and Thai) or delicate dishes like baked gods where the flavor of the oil is not wanted. It can be used in sautéing, as a marinade and in low-to-medium-temperature stir-frying. It doesn’t have enough flavor to be used in a salad dressing. Canola oil has the potential to become rancid more quickly than other oils, so don’t buy more than you need.

Dietary Information

Cherrybrook Kitchen products are made in a facility that is completely peanut- and tree nut- free; dedicated equipment is not used with dairy or egg ingredients. ELIZA tests are run on raw ingredients as they arrive, and on finished batches. In addition, the products are free of sesame seeds, honey or animal products or by-products. While Cherrybrook Kitchen products meet the ingredient-based requirements for a vegan diet, the frostings do contain confectionary sugar, which is a processed sugar.

People with soy allergies should note that four products contain chocolate chips which have soy lecithin: Regular Chocolate Cake, Fudge Brownie and Regular and Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie mixes. All other mixes are soy-free. The frostings contain cornstarch.

The products do not contain any chemicals, preservatives, artificial flavoring or colors. All of the products have been accepted by the Feingold Association, an organization of families and professionals dedicated to helping children and adults apply proven dietary techniques for better behavior, learning and health.

Useful Links The website contains links to other websites of interest to people with allergies, such as EpiPen™, the Feingold Association, Food Allergy Initiative and Food Allergy Survival Guide. There is also this Allergy Alert Card (shown at right in reduced size), developed by Patsy Rosenberg, which can be printed out and handed to restaurant staff to ensure a safe dining  experience.

If you’re inspired to start baking, we don’t blame you. In fact, you can surprise everyone you know who has an allergy, with a delicious, home-baked cake or batch of cookies. If you don’t like to bake, bring them the shiny, brightly-colored box(es), chat while they mix it up and continue your visit as you await the delivery of warm cookies, bars, or a cake, fresh from the oven.

CHERRYBROOK KITCHEN™ Wheat and Gluten-Free Cookie, Cake, Frosting & Pancake Mixes Certified Kosher by OU Chocolate Cake Mix, Yellow Cake Mix, Fudge Brownie Mix With Chocolate Chips, Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, Sugar Cookie Mix $5.29 Gluten Free Frosting Mix Chocolate or Vanilla $4.29 Pancake/Waffle Mixes Original or Whole Grain $4.99 Variety Pack Four Different Assortments $24.93 to $29.74

Purchase online at CherrybrookKitchen.com.

Shipping additional. Prices and flavor availability are verified at publication but are subject to change.

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