Gluten Free, Dairy Free cupcakes – as easy as 1, 2, 3

It’s amazing where your best recipes come from. This was my son’s maths homework. His male, non-cooking teacher sent home a recipe that was to be used to practice multiplication. He sent home the ingredients for 6 cupcakes, and asked students to make him 12 or 18 at a time. With my kids being on a gluten free diet, I substituted the self raising flour mix by Doves Farm. I also substituted the caster sugar for some coconut sugar I had just picked up from the organic shop (less processed = better for the soul). The recipe was already dairy free.

It’s one of the only cake batters I’ve made that does not contain milk or at least a liquid substitute, and I was convinced it was going to be rock hard – not so. Eggs are mighty little ingredients. Recipe below makes 6 cupcakes – but can easily be multiplied, as my son can vouch for.


Ingredients

• 60g margarine (softened)
• 60ml packed grated palm sugar
• 60ml self raising flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 C, then beat margarine and palm sugar until fluffy, then add egg, and beat well.  
2. Shift to a wooden spoon and stir in sifted dry ingredients.
3. Put into cup cake pans and bake for 10 – 12 minutes or until springy.

Ice if you like, but really, they’re lovely in their simple state, especially warm from the oven! These could easily be altered for school lunchboxes by switching the cocoa for vanilla or orange zest, and halving the sugar.