Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Carb Factor For gluten-free Cake

tabdegner

Recommended Posts

tabdegner Apprentice
tabdegner
Posted

My son and I are both type 1 diabetic and I have made a gluten-free Pantry cake mix w/chocolate frosting. Does anyone know if there is a different carb factor for gluten-free Cake versus a nonGF cake. I have a salter scale and can weigh the cake out and it will give me the carbs if it is a nonGF cake. But I'm wondering if gluten-free cake has a different carb factor.

This is more of a diabetic question, but my diabetes forum will probably not know about carb factors specifically for gluten-free cake.

THANKS!!

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


RiceGuy Collaborator
RiceGuy
Posted

Well, I don't have a specific answer, but what I'd do is compare the percentage of carbs in wheat-based cake flour with the flours in the blend you used. I have some data on gluten-free flours, so if you know the blend, I may be able to do some rough calculations.

I don't see how weight alone could be accurate, especially since the recipe can vary so much in egg/dairy/fat/sugar content.

tabdegner Apprentice
tabdegner
Posted
  • Author
Well, I don't have a specific answer, but what I'd do is compare the percentage of carbs in wheat-based cake flour with the flours in the blend you used. I have some data on gluten-free flours, so if you know the blend, I may be able to do some rough calculations.

I don't see how weight alone could be accurate, especially since the recipe can vary so much in egg/dairy/fat/sugar content.

A carb factor is the percentage in weight (in grams) of a food that contains carbs. For example, a banana's carb factor is 0.20. If the weight of a banana is 100 grams you multiply it by .2 and get 20 grams of carbs. This is a very very accurate weigh to measure how many carbs are in a food and is very widely used in the diabetic community (because we dose insulin based on how many carbs we eat) and by the USDA Food Nutrition Database.

The salter scale has built in carb factors that are provided by the USDA food database. So I can type in to the scale "yellow cake with frosting" then weigh the cake and it will give me a very accurate carb count.

Rice flour has more carbs than white flour, but it also weighs more -- so I'm thinking that if I weigh it on my scale it will be close to correct.

But really I'm looking for a specific carb factor....

RiceGuy Collaborator
RiceGuy
Posted
A carb factor is the percentage in weight (in grams) of a food that contains carbs. For example, a banana's carb factor is 0.20. If the weight of a banana is 100 grams you multiply it by .2 and get 20 grams of carbs. This is a very very accurate weigh to measure how many carbs are in a food and is very widely used in the diabetic community (because we dose insulin based on how many carbs we eat) and by the USDA Food Nutrition Database.

The salter scale has built in carb factors that are provided by the USDA food database. So I can type in to the scale "yellow cake with frosting" then weigh the cake and it will give me a very accurate carb count.

Rice flour has more carbs than white flour, but it also weighs more -- so I'm thinking that if I weigh it on my scale it will be close to correct.

But really I'm looking for a specific carb factor....

I see. Well, I would agree it can be accurate for foods that are made in the traditional manner, but gluten-free foods have a tendency to be very different from one recipe to another. For instance, when I make a cake, I use no dairy, eggs, or sugar. One tsp of Stevia is a lot lighter than a cup of sugar, so that alone would change everything. Not to mention Stevia is zero on the glycemic index, no carbs, no sugars, no calories. Completely natural too :)

If it were me, I'd add up the carbs and divide the total by the ratio of a single serving. In other words, if the total carbs in the recipe is 200 grams, and a serving is 1/12 of the cake, then 200/12 is your answer. You could use the same basic idea with the weight too I suppose. So if the cake weighs 1lb, and a serving is 2oz, then the answer is 200/8.

Incidentally, the carbs in a banana change as it ripens. See the following for more:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      127,748
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Jojo W.
    Newest Member
    Jojo W.
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121k
    • Total Posts
      70.4k
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      High blood test numbers - with scales. Any advice?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I agree with @RMJ, you have multiple positive tests so celiac disease is likely.  This article might be helpful. It breaks down each type of test, and what a positive results means in terms of the probability that you might have celiac disease.     
    • trents
      Newly gluten free… withdrawal?

      By trents · Posted

      One small study found that 50% of celiacs react to the dairy protein "casein" like they do to gluten. It is also common for celiacs to be lactose (the sugar in milk) intolerant, though that often disappears in time as the villi heal. About 10% of celiacs react to the oat protein "avenin" like they do gluten.
    • K6315
      Newly gluten free… withdrawal?

      By K6315 · Posted

      Thank you so much Trents (Scott?)! I have started working with a dietitian and did a deep research dive as soon as I got the diagnosis. I am aware of what you mentioned in the first two paragraphs, and was not aware of anything in the third, so I am grateful for that information, and will talk to the dietitian about that. I think I was most interested in the withdrawal process - it gives me hope that, although I have felt unwell recently, I just need to be patient (not a strong suit). I have printed the article you sent and will look at it more closely. Thanks again!
    • Sandi20
      Gluten Free Daily Vitamins for Kids w/ Celiac

      By Sandi20 · Posted

      I really like Thorne!  I've researched thier products.  Thank you so much.
    • trents
      Newly gluten free… withdrawal?

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to the forum, @K6315! Gluten withdrawal typically lasts for a period of a few weeks. But there is a real learning curve involved in actually attaining to a gluten free dietary state. Much more is involved than just cutting out major sources of gluten such as bread and pasta. It's all the places that gluten is hidden in the food supply that is difficult to ferret out, like soy sauce and canned tomato soup, canned chili and canned pork n' beans, some "lite" pancake syrups, potato salad, flavorings, etc., etc. Gluten-containing grain products are hidden through alternate terminology and found in places you would never expect.  There is also "cross contamination" where naturally gluten free foods come into contact with gluten-containing grains during farming, transportation, storage and manufacturing processes. Then there is the issue of "cross reactivity" whereby you may be having gluten-like reaction to food proteins whose structure is similar to gluten. Chief among these are dairy, oats (even gluten-free oats), soy, corn and eggs. I am including this article that you might find helpful:   
×
×
  • Create New...