Art You Can Eat - part one {allergy free recipe}

These yummy cupcakes were made for my daughter's 8th birthday!

 She's my little artist in residence and I gave her an art themed birthday celebration. She loved every minute of it!

You can get the recipe on my other blog, Life is {Sew} Daily. 3 ingredient cupcakes that are egg free, dairy free and peanut free. Moist and delicious.

If you make some, give me a shout and let me know how you like them!

Thanks for stopping by! {I made another allergy-free artsy treat for her - come back to check it out soon!}

Cheers!

Marshmallow Fondant {Dairy-free, Egg-free, Nut-free}

I saw this on Pinterest several months ago and finally decided to give it a try. When I saw the recipe, it wasn't listed as allergy-free, but immediately pinned it to my allergy-free foods board because it totally meets my requirements. I think you'll love this, too. It is VERY easy and quick. It's also very fun to make. My 4 yr old thought it was play-doh at first and when I gave her a cupcake on her birthday, she said, "You put play-doh on it?" This is a great way to decorate your cupcakes and cakes, especially if you aren't so great at doing frosting techniques. I'm a messy froster, so this was probably the neatest cupcake I have ever decorated and I'll definitely do it again!

I'm linking with these sites!

2 Ingredient Cupcakes {Dairy-Free, Egg-Free}

These are the easiest cupcakes you'll ever bake allergy-free. {Depending on the cake mix you buy, this is allergy-free. I used Duncan Hines Devil's Food and it contains wheat.} All you need is two ingredients and you're good to go! I've made cupcakes with Sprite before, but these are easier and less sticky! So, if you're looking for egg-free cupcakes or cake, this is your best bet! My mom actually saw this on Dr. Oz, so she gets the credit for me finding this! Not only are these allergy-friendly, they are low-cal and still taste delicious!

Monkey Cupcakes

Tonight we were having a special snack in our children's class at church so I had to come up with an allergy-friendly version for my daughter. The theme was monkeys and the rest of the class was having cupcakes/cake, so naturally I chose to make my girl a monkey cupcake. It was actually fun and turned out pretty good, so I thought I'd share it with you. {Just don't pay too much attention to my lack of artistic ability in the cupcake decorating!}

Use your favorite cupcake recipe. I used a boxed yellow cake mix from Duncan Hines because it contains no milk or nuts and I substitute the 2 eggs with Ener-G Egg Replacer.

Buy or make your favorite chocolate frosting. I used Pillsbury Milk Chocolate which actually has no milk in it....go figure. Always check the label, don't take my word for it.

After you bake and frost your cupcakes, get out 3 solid color cookies that are allergy-friendly. I used graham crackers because that is all I had on hand. Round cookies are ready for use, but if you are using graham crackers, carve out two small half circles and one larger circle to use for ears and the nose/mouth area. See pic.

Next, use white frosting or mini marshmallows to make the whites of the eyes. Then, add a dark pupil on each side. {I used tiny hot chocolate style marshmallows because that's all I had on hand.} You can make the nose and mouth by piping chocolate frosting accordingly or by melting chocolate chips like I did and using a toothpick to draw it on. I didn't have much time, so I went the easy route.

I'm sure you could do a better job, so if you make these, post them on our facebook wall here. I'd love to see your version!

I've Got a Trick up my Sleeve {egg-free cupcakes}

You are going to L-O-V-E this! I am amazed at this little trick! Someone left me a comment about this trick and just in case you haven't heard about this absolutely genius trick, I'm going to let you in on it. Until I made these, I have had the worst time coming up with a good cupcake recipe. Every substitute for egg that I've used in cupcakes has left me wanting a more consistent, less falling-apart-in-the-middle kind of cupcake. Well, I'm here to declare that I have found it. Take your favorite boxed cake mix {read the label to make sure it doesn't contain your specific allergens} pour into a mixing bowl. Add 12 oz of Sprite (1 can) or similar {I used Publix brand}. Mix well. Fill cupcake liners 1/2 full. Bake according to directions on box. That's it! Isn't that crazy simple??

Go try it for yourself! It's absolutely amazing. And easy as pie...only it's a cupcake.

Mini Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting {Dairy-free, Egg-free, Nut-free}

I can hardly wait for my girl to get home from school today so she can try these homemade cupcakes! They are delicious and the frosting - oh.wow. - you just have to try it!! I adapted this recipe from The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook by Cybele Pascal (p.92). If you are going to make full-size cupcakes, I suggest using her exact recipe. My recipe only works well for the mini-cupcakes because of the ingredients I used. These mini's would be great for a brunch, tea party, after-school snack, dessert, etc.

On second thought, when is a mini cupcake not a good idea?

Mini-Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting {dairy-free, egg-, peanut-free}

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 heaping T cornstarch

1 tsp double-acting baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup almond milk

1 tsp cider vinegar

1/2 cup shortening (I used Crisco Butter-flavored - it's dairy-free)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp corn syrup

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 recipe Vanilla Frosting (as follows)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin pan. (I didn't have liners on hand, so I just greased the pan. I recommend liners, though!)

2. Whisk together the flour mix, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. Combine almond milk and vinegar. Set aside.

4. In mixer bowl, combine shortening, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Sift in the flour mixture, alternating with almond milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, about 30 seconds.

5. Fill liners 3/4 full with batter. Smooth tops with a butter knife or spatula.

6. Bake in center of oven for about 15 minutes. (This is for the mini's.) Transfer cupcakes to cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.

FROSTING:

1 cup shortening (dairy-, soy-free)

pinch of salt

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup almond milk

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. In the bowl of stand mixer, cream shortening and salt on medium speed for about 1 minute.

2. Add the sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. You can either pipe or spread frosting onto the cupcakes.



Update: My daughters LOVED these cupcakes. The consistency (in the mini's) was perfect compared to that of a boxed cake mix where I normally substitute the egg. The boxed mixes do not work nearly as well as this. These were easy and lots of fun to make!