IzzI B: Allergen Free Cupcakes Everyone Will Love

Do you have a child with food allergies? I do. It stinks. It’s not the end of the world, I realize that, but it certainly makes everyday events (and I really mean just about EVERY day in this town!)  like birthday parties a hassle. My son is allergic to dairy, egg, sesame, and tree nuts. OK, the sesame isn’t usually a cupcake issue. But there haven’t been a lot of options for dairy free or egg free desserts! And I have several friends whose children also need gluten-free food. ( Yikes!) There ARE products out there that you can bake yourself;  Cherrybrook Kitchen has a whole line of boxed items that you can order on-line and even purchase in some grocery stores. But the cakes and cookies from Cherrybrook are just -ok. They are not particularly tasty, especially for the sophisticated and discerning taste buds of the seven-year-olds in Fairfield County! And, you have to bake them yourself. 

But there’s a new kid in town and she is singing my song- her name is Pam Nicholas and she is the owner and baker at Izzi B’s Allergen Free Cupcakes. I recently purchased Izzi B cupcakes for my son’s birthday party and they were a colossal hit! Delicious, ‘B’utiful, fun, and 100% allergen-free, Pam is onto a great thing here. ALL the kids (and adults) loved the dessert and were licking the crumbs off the cupcake wrapper. And the icing is ‘B’yond! 

Here’s Pam’s story:

She is a chef who got her training at the French Culinary Institute in NYC. She has worked alongside professional chefs such as Mathew Kenney, Claude Troisgros, and Laurent Tourondel and has spent time as a corporate chef in some very prestigious establishments in New York and around the country. And then it happened - she had a daughter who was born with an egg allergy and the rest is (soon to ‘B’ ) cupcake history! Pam felt that there should be a way to create an outstanding dessert that children with or without allergies could enjoy. She worked on the recipe for months and these cupcakes are the result of her tireless efforts to make an outstanding product - an amazing, allergy free cupcake. These treats have no wheat, soy, eggs, gluten, dairy, nuts, or casein. They are mostly organic, vegan, and celiac friendly. They contain NO refined sugars and use only agave and evaporated cane juice as sweeteners. The vanilla frosting was a hit with my family. It was sweet without being sickening, very light, and flavorful. The chocolate frosting contains ONLY coca and agave - no cane juice what-so-ever and the result is ganache-y, chocolate-y, and yumm-y. These cupcakes contain NO honey, seeds, beans or apples and only a small amount of xanthan gum (which contains a corn derivative.) Pam has recently started baking cakes as well, and the results are out of this world. 

How can these ‘B’ good? I don’t know.  All I know is this : my son with the allergies loved them, my other son who hates everything unless it contains processed cheese loved them, my daughter who only likes vanilla cupcakes asked for another chocolate one, and even my fearless leader, CEO and COO of CTbites herself, loved them. And she’s the 80 pound gorilla of food critics! 

These Izzi B cupcakes and cakes are for children and grown-ups alike. Listen to this...Valentines Day is coming up and Pam has a special treat that YOUR lover will love - a box of mini chocolate chili spiced cupcakes mixed with mini chocolate cupcakes, decorated with Valentine's Day colors. These put that box of Russel Stover's mix that you were about to pick up from CVS to shame! (You know who you are!) Go the extra mile and call Pam. She'll fix you up!

For more information on the Izzi B cupcakes, you can check out her website. There, you will find Pam’s mission statement as well as a list of all the ingredients in everything she bakes. You can contact Pam directly by calling her at 203-810-4378 to order for your next event or you can order online by sending her an email at pam@izziballergenfree.com. Izzi B cupcakes are in the Stepping Stones Cafe' with Bull's Head Market as well as at the Ridgefield Organic and Specialty Market and will soon be at some BHM stores. She has had a stall at the Fairfield and Wilton Farmers' Markets and plans to do so again in the spring and will be starting a new stall at the Saugatuck Church Westport farmers' market. In a word, and a word not often associated with Allergy-Free products - YUM.