<b>Forget everything <br>you&#8217;ve heard about <br>health-conscious baking.</b> <br><br>Simply, <i>BabyCakes</i> is your key to an enlightened, indulgent, sweets-filled future. This is important news not only for parents whose children have allergies, for vegans, and for others who struggle with food sensitivities, but also for all you sugar-loving traditionalists. The recipes in these pages prove that there <i>is</i> a healthy alternative to recklessly made desserts, one that doesn't sacrifice taste or texture.<br><br>Having experimented endlessly with alternative, health-conscious sweeteners, flours, and thickeners, Erin McKenna, the proprietress of beloved bakery BabyCakes NYC, developed these recipes&#8211;most are gluten-free, all are without refined sugar&#8211;in hopes of combating her own wheat, dairy, and sugar sensitivities. In <i>BabyCakes,</i> she shares detailed information about the ingredients she uses (coconut flour, xanthan gum, and agave nectar, for example) and how to substitute them properly for common ones&#8211;all the while guiding you safely through techniques she&#8217;s spent years perfecting. <br><br>When BabyCakes NYC opened on Manhattan&#8217;s Lower East Side in 2005, it helped propel the gluten-free and vegan baking movement into a new stratosphere. Suddenly there was a destination for those with wheat allergies and other dietary restrictions&#8211;and, soon enough, celebrities and dessert lovers of every kind&#8211;to indulge freely in delectable muffins and teacakes, brownies and cookies, pies and cobblers.<br><br>Enclosed within these pages are all the &#8220;secrets&#8221; you&#8217;ll need to bring the greatness of BabyCakes NYC into your own home as well as raves and recommendations from devotees such as Natalie Portman, Jason Schwartzman, Mary-Louise Parker, Zooey Deschanel, and Pamela Anderson.<br><br>For confectionists of all kinds, delicious alternatives lie within: Red Velvet Cupcakes, Chocolate Shortbread Scones with Caramelized Bananas, Strawberry Shortcake, and BabyCakes NYC&#8217;s celebrated frosting (so delicious it has fans tipping back frosting shots!), to name just a few. Finally, Erin&#8217;s blissful desserts are yours for the baking!