A birthday cake for the birthday boy or girl is something unquestionable by the society we live in (it’s almost mandatory!). I think it’s a great idea, the most important thing being that you feel good about celebrating your birthday the way it makes sense.
However, for those with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), other gastrointestinal diseases or food intolerances and allergies, let’s be honest, you can’t find adapted birthday cakes in every department store.
To be honest I never liked the traditional birthday cakes that are sold, but I celebrated that tradition anyway. Even though I have IBD, I would consume these types of commercial cakes from time to time (not only on my birthday, but also on other people’s birthdays). With the diagnosis of IBS things got complicated in that regard. As much as I wanted to eat these kinds of baked goods I was constantly faced with the eternal dilemma: to eat or not to eat? Am I willing to risk it even if it means having pain, nausea, cramps, etc., or am I not willing to risk it because I don’t want to suffer the consequences? I know from my own experience that at birthday parties or family dinners there is always someone who says the famous phrase “just a little bit won’t hurt you”. But just a little bit can be enough for a night with pain, cramps, no sleep and other consequences that impact (and a lot!) on our quality of life. It is with this dilemma that a minority of people (possibly more than 1 million Portuguese) live their daily lives, feeling misunderstood and little integrated in a society where it is “banal” for anyone to go into a cake shop and ask for a cake.
So, for the last few years I’ve opted to make my own birthday cakes because this way I can guarantee that everyone involved will be able to eat them: including me! And I confess, that even though I wasn’t a fan of birthday cake for my birthday, adapting cake recipes and creating them has become a great passion – which I was previously unaware of! Just having a birthday (mine or someone else’s close to me asking me to make an adapted cake) is now a great motivation!
And this is the message I want to give you: if it’s your birthday and you want to celebrate it with a cake adapted to your condition, but tasty for all your guests, it is possible!
One of the first recipes that led me to create more and more was this one that I share with you today. It was even the recipe I chose for my 2021 birthday cake. The original recipe was not created by me, but by Margarida Gonçalves (author of Crohnology), who kindly authorized me to share it, even with some adaptations. I hope you like it and enjoy it without fear!
Chocolate Mousse Cake
Ingredients:
- 6 eggs
- 200g dark chocolate (70-75% cocoa)
- 2 tablespoonful of gluten-free oat flour
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
Method of preparation:
- Melt the chocolate either in a bain marie or in the microwave.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
- Separate the yolks from the whites, in different bowls.
- Whip the egg whites while the chocolate cools a little.
- After the chocolate has cooled down, add to the bowl of egg yolks and stir together.
- Add the beaten egg whites to the egg yolks and chocolate.
- Finally, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the mixture and stir in.
- Put the mixture in an oven proof dish and bake for 15 minutes.
NOTE: if you like you can add red fruits on top of the cake.
Ps: a thank you to Margarida Gonçalves, for not only giving me the permission to share and adapt, but also inspiring me to create more recipes of sweets and desserts adapted to the clinical condition of each patient.
