How To... make Delicious (No Dairy) Marmalade Ginger Cupcakes (Guest Post) - Red Ted Art

Aaaaah today we have an extra special Guest Post for you -not only is it scrummily delicious, but it is by the lovely Bev from I Bake Without! As you will find out below, Bev started baking “without” when discovering that her young son had a number of food allergies – rather than take the joy and fun out of food, she put it back in! And I think these cupcakes are PERFECT for the (Uk) Mother’s Day just around the corner… quick quick go and make some for your mum!

Visit her wonderful blog I Bake Without for lots of yummy recipes, from Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes to Choc Chip Cookies.

Over to Bev!

I am so excited to be doing my first guest post here on RedTedArt. I hope I do this fabulous blog justice. I am certainly no great writer but I do love to bake, craft, garden and especially to bake (or did I already say that?)!
My love of baking was certainly challenged when at a few months old my youngest Levi was diagnosed with multiple food allergies. These include; eggs, dairy, all types of nuts, soya and most strangely potato. Let’s say I saw this as an obstacle that I was sure could be overcome. I wanted my little man to be able to have birthday cakes and the occasional treat and that would mean learning to bake in a whole new way. Luckily the web is a treasure chest of ideas so through that and a lot of experimenting I have gradually found ways to replace eggs and dairy in baking so that really you cannot tell the difference. My other son Ollie is just as happy with my offerings and I am happy that the crumbs are safe crumbs.

This recipe is really a mixture of lots of recipes. When I was younger I remembered making a marmalade ginger cake from a cookbook with my mum and have always loved ginger cake, the smell and the sticky deliciousness of it. I am pleased to say that my little Levster has inherited more than just my crazy hair and that this is his very favourite cake. You can either bake cupcakes as I do or make a larger cake, you just need to increase the cooking time should you make a bigger cake.

For me a recipe should be as simple as possible, no one wants to spend hours in the kitchen to create a few cupcakes and for this recipe you really don’t have too. The cake is quite light, a little spice from the ginger and cinnamon and a lovely delicate orangey flavour from the marmalade. You can make a darker version be replacing the golden syrup with black treacle, I did this for Christmas and it went down very well. Sometimes I just drizzle with a glaze of icing sugar and orange juice but this time I used an orange butter cream frosting.

These cakes do not use any special or remarkable ingredients and if you make them please do replace the dairy free butter with ordinary if you are ok with dairy. Do not think they are just for allergic people. These cakes are for everybody and anybody who loves cake.

Marmalade Ginger Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C.

Take two bowls. In one bowl mix the “Dry Mix”;

300g plain flour
1 tsp bicarb of soda
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon

In the other bowl whisk together “Wet Mix”;

100g dairy free margarine (like Pure) , very soft or melted
50g dark brown sugar
200g golden syrup
125g marmalade
zest of 1 orange (save juice for frosting)

Make a hollow in the dry mix and gradually mix the wet mix into this until everything I combined. Spoon this into cupcake cases about ¾ high. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 12-15 minutes until golden. When you put a knife into them it will come out clean. Leave to cool completely before icing.

Orange Butter Cream Frosting

If you have a food processor this is very quick to make otherwise a little elbow grease does the job too.

250g icing sugar, sifted
80g dairy free margarine, softened
finely grated zest of 1 orange (optional)
1 tbsp orange juice

Cream together the sifted icing sugar and margarine. Once combined and creamy add the orange zest (if using) and then the orange juice.

For me this created just the right spreading consistency but feel free to add more orange juice should you need to.

Spread or pipe onto cakes, I used a teaspoon. Decorate as you like; I used homemade candied orange peel.

A little warning. When letting a two year old lick the bowl out with a spoon, turn you back at your own peril for it is likely he may decide to use the bowl as a hat…..

One last note. If you do invite a child with allergies to a birthday party do remember they love cakes and treats too. Please include them. There are so many things you can make and the look on that child’s face when they realise they can eat something is just magical.