Finding 180C - Embrace the beaters Part 1

I don't think I really baked until I had Cooper.

I know it sounds lazy, but why would I when there are perfect cakes and biscuits in fantastic shiny packaging just waiting for me grab them off their shelves and throw them into my trolley.

When Cooper was diagnosed with Fructose and Sucrose Malabsorption, we were already dealing with his dairy, soy and egg intolerance. I had no choice but to make friends with my oven and embrace the beaters. I couldn't see him miss out. Being a child and eating bikkies and the odd cake go hand in hand.

So, Cooper thank you to my first introduction to baking. Now my baking isn’t the kind that would win medals at the local show. All I care is that Cooper eats it and enjoys it. I didn't go this alone I had the help of a dietician who was fantastic and gave me great recipes as starting points. We adapted these over the course of time. I also scoured the web for inspiration, but most of these recipes substituted sugar with honey, fructose (aaahhhh) or some artificial sweetener with the numbers 405, 505 and names I could not pronounce.

I have to say the cakes and biscuits we bake are not what I would choose to go out and buy myself. But when the majority of your food is either Beige or Green, then this is a real treat.

Children with Fructose malabsorption often can't tolerate wheat either because of the fructans in it. They also can't tolerate a lot of sugar, because sugar is made up of one molecule of sucrose and one of fructose. So, too much sugar and their system may not cope, because it can't absorb the fructose. Imagine making a cake with no wheat, no dairy, no egg and no sugar. No easy feat. My husband would take a bite of a biscuit and screw up his face. My reaction was, ‘well you make a biscuit out of nothing that resembles the ingredients’, and see how you do.