Help! I need to provide snacks and a birthday cake for gluten-free vegans

[professionalnomad]

There are four of us going away for a girls weekend 16th-18th September to the beach for a birthday.
The twist?
1 vegan, 1 vegetarian and 1 gluten-free and dairy free. I eat everything!
I am responsible for a birthday cake and a box of delicious snacks (savoury & sweet for us to take away with us (my choice - I ove these girls and want to surprise them)
Any ideas for items I can make, ideally ahead of time as I work full time and have a baby as well. Any tried-and-tested birthday cake recipes out there?

Snack wise I'd go for nuts, crisps (kettle chips are gf and the salt and pepper, salt and vinegar and ready salted all vegan too), olives, crudités with salsa and guacamole. Falafel, (could make in advance).

Agree with the snacks Atleast suggests.
It's easy to make a vegan cake, but a bit trickier to get the texture right for gluten free and vegan. If you are making one, the Ms Cupcake recipes are good, and easy to follow (although very sugary).
However, it might be something the supermarkets sell.

I'd sack off the cake tbh, it's not going to be very nice. Could you do a desert instead and stick a candle on top? I have had a Gf, DF vegan pavlova before that was made with chickpea water and coconut cream for the whipped cream.

Theloopywhisk.com does a reliable gf vegan chocolate cake. The mix makes good cupcakes as well which are easier to travel with. You can make instant ganache by heating up a can of full fat coconut milk and then dropping in a couple of bars of plain cooking chocolate, whisk it up and pour on. It sets nicely too. Serve with strawberries and coconut cream.

I believe you can get decent gluten-free chocolate brownies, M&S do a nice small, individual gluten-free chocolate brownie for example, perhaps one could be made or bought and decorated as a birthday cake of sorts? Alternatively, the M&S brownies could be a snack.

Parsnip/vegetable crisps with red pepper hummus for a dip is also nice.

Pistachios.

For something sweet, if you are up to it, look into vegan macarons.

I’ve made them before using aquafaba/chickpea brine and filled with a vegan chocolate ganache.

I’ve made vegan cakes before, but not vegan & gluten-free so I don’t have any advice there.

Forgot to say that Macs freeze very well, so they can be made ahead!

Lazy day chocolate celebration cake 🎂

downshiftology.com/recipes/paleo-chocolate-cake/

This is a recipe for a GF DF cake that you could use with egg replacer instead of egg to make it vegan.

Whoops forgot to say it's a delicious recipe!

Google Becky Excell gluten free cup of tea.

Buy the cake.

Save yourself the effort and buy a free from vegan cake, Sainsbury and Waitrose both do celebration cakes that fit the criteria.

THIS is easy ad fabulous and I've made it more than once. The photo is the cake I made - my cake!

Vegan Ganache:
• 350 g (12.5oz) vegan dark chocolate (40-70% cocoa solids) chopped.
• 350 ml (1 1/2 cups) full fat coconut milk

Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Fudge Cake:
• 360 ml (1 1/2 cups) almond or soy milk
• 1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
• 260 g (1 1/4 cups) caster (superfine) sugar
• 150 ml (scant 2/3 cup) sunflower oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 230 g (scant 2 cups) plain (all-purpose) gluten-free flour I used Dove’s Farm) plus xanthan gum (less than a quarter of a teaspoonful)
• 80 g (2/3 cup) cocoa powder (Dutch processed)
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 1/4 tsp salt

You simply whisk together the wet ingredients, sift together the dry, then mix the two together and bake.

1. Start by making the ganache; place the chopped chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Heat the coconut milk until it is just boiling then pour it over the chocolate.
2. Set aside for 2 minutes then stir until smooth and the chocolate is completely melted. Cover and place in the fridge for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, while you make the cake.
3. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Grease three 15cm/6inch round tins and line the bases with baking parchment (or use two 20cm/8inch tins instead).
4. Whisk together the almond/soy milk and vinegar in a large jug; the milk should curdle slightly. Whisk in the sugar, oil and vanilla extract.
5. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking p, bicarb soda and salt.
6. Gradually whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until smooth; be careful not to over-mix. Divide the batter evenly between the tins and bake for about 30 minutes.
7. Leave the cakes to cool in their tins for 30 minutes then carefully turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely (they are delicate so be gentle). If you are making them a day in advance, wrap in clingfilm once cool.
8. To assemble the cake, place one of the layers on a serving plate/cake stand. The ganache should be thick but spreadable, if it is too runny still then return it to the fridge until it is firm, or pop it in the freezer for a bit to speed up the process. If it is too thick then gently warm it over a pan of hot water until it has softened.
9. Spread a third of the ganache over the first cake layer and place another cake on top, spread over another third of the ganache and repeat. Decorate as you see fit - with fresh berries, vegan chocolates, candied nuts etc. Because there is no sweetener added to the ganache, make sure that the chocolate that you use isn't too dark and bitter, otherwise the ganache will be inedible. Go for around 40% cocoa solids if you prefer a sweeter, less intense flavour; and 70% if you want a richer, less sweet ganache. You can also use half dark and half (dairy free) milk chocolate for a less rich flavour; which I particularly recommend if you are going to be serving this cake to children.

It’s not very birthday cakey but this was very nice.

www.lazycatkitchen.com/vegan-lemon-drizzle-cake/

@abovedecknotbelow it’s really easy to make lovely vegan cakes! You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about

Minimalist Baker is great for vegan and GF cake recipes, I’d definitely have a look.

For snacks - nuts, crisps, crudités, dips (homous, guac, babaganoush suit all), nice bread (if your GF isn’t celiac) roasted peppers, some cheese for the non vegans, falafels (should be GF but check)

DS was allergic to eggs and dairy as a small child and I never found a decent vegan cake recipe, the best option was a carrot cake recipe that was at least tasty and had no weird substitute ingredients. It was a great relief when he was able to eat eggs, the substitutes usually taste pants. We have a couple of people in our family who have coeliac's disease and TBH it was easier to just do two different puddings a lot of the time rather than catering for multiple food issues.

Firstly, check if the dairy and gluten free person has clinically recognised allergies and intolerances or not. If they do then check how sensitive they are, some people can't have anything that is 'may contains' but others are less sensitive. If they are very sensitive I'd buy all my ingredients fresh and not put them into your cupboards that will have gluten in them and store them separate from any foodstuffs containing the offending ingredient. Flavour wise chocolate masks a thousand flavour issues and dark chocolate and cocoa are dairy free or you can do flapjacks with gluten free oats and coconut oil (just use a standard recipe with those substitutions). Or add lots of spices (probably why my vegan carrot cake worked although that did have gluten in it but could be done without. Be aware that gluten free flours behave differently from gluten). The Japanese make cakes with beans which is another gluten free option.

Savoury snacks are much easier, your starchy carbs potatoes, rice, corn(flour) and gram flour are naturally gluten free, and oats are as long as they are milled in a gluten free environment so you can probably cook most vegan savoury meals gluten free without too much work, it's processed food that has gluten everywhere.

I had a party and bought gu cheesecake pots, dairy and gluten free
Meringues are good oat cream and fruit
Savoury is east crisps, nuts hummus, falafel salad

Sorry, I just realised the gluten-free M&S brownie might not be dairy-free.

Also, these chocolates are excellent and might make a nice addition for people to dip into. There's a mix of flavours; they're both gluten- and dairy- free:

www.amazon.co.uk/Booja-5059-Gourmet-Selection-230G/dp/B00GTS8AFE

This one worked for me

Sorry it's not gluten free.

I wouldnt do cake and do like a personalised bun meetimg each dietry requirement

Try deliciously Ella website, the chocolate brownies are lovely, really easy to make. They’re are gluten free and vegan. I turn them into a cake by making 2 batches and fill using dairy free squirty cream and strawberries but fill at the last minute as the cream doesn’t hold as long as normal whipped cream!

Thank you somuch for all your suggestions. I should have added that I live in a part of the world where veganism isn't really a thing so a lot of the premade snacks aren't available. The recipes you all shared are wonderful and so I'm going to have a go at making my own cake!