Chocolate Cupcakes

VEGETARIAN, VEGAN, FISH FREE, EGG FREE, DAIRY FREE, NUT FREE*

Cupcakes

This vegan cupcake recipe is light, moist, and more delicious than any cupcake recipe I've ever used made with dairy and eggs! This is my modified version, inspired by 'Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World' by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.

Although I do occasionally eat free range eggs, I can't stomach the thought of eating raw eggs - so this batter is spoon-licking good, and I love it it as much uncooked as cooked!

* 1 cup soymilk (I use vanilla soy)
* 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
* 3/4 cup raw sugar
* 1/3 cup pureed prunes
* 1 tablespoon canola oil
* 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 cup plain flour
* 1/3 cup cocoa powder
* 3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a muffin tin and line with patty cases. This makes 9 large or 12 small cupcakes.
2. Whisk the soymilk and apple cider vinegar together, set aside to curdle for a few minutes. Add the sugar, prunes, oil, vanilla and beat till foamy.
3. In a separate bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, bicarb, baking powder and salt. Add half to the wet mixture, stir, add remaining dry ingredients and beat using electric mixers.
4. Pour into patty cases so they are approx 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer come out clean. Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to rack and cool completely.

Chocolate Frosting

This recipe by Ashley Skabar makes enough frosting to be piped onto the cupcakes, with a little leftover. It keeps well in the fridge and makes a delicious alternative to the chocolate cream in the stuffed strawberries!

* 2 cups of icing sugar, sifted
* 1/4 cup vegan margarine, softened (I use Nuttelex)
* 1/4 cup soymilk (again, I like to use vanilla)
* 3/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Cream sugar and margarine together with electric mixer till thick and well combined. Add soymilk, cocoa, vanilla and mix until smooth.

* Be sure to check individual ingredients for any trace amounts or ingredients that vary between brands J

Remember to check out Party Bags 4 Kids for birthday and special occasion party bags! Gluten free always available.

Strawberries & Coco Cream

VEGETARIAN, VEGAN, FISH FREE, DAIRY FREE, EGG FREE, NUT FREE, GLUTEN FREE*.

1 punnet fresh strawberries

1 small can (140ml) full-fat coconut cream

1/8 cup of cocoa powder

1/8 cup pure icing sugar (or to taste)**

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Open coconut cream – it should be nice and thick (thick enough to pipe) – if not, transfer to a bowl and leave uncovered in the fridge overnight. Mix in sifted cocoa powder, sifted icing sugar and vanilla extract. Place into a piping bag and refrigerate to thicken.

2. Using a paring knife, trim the strawberries and hollow out a section from the top of the strawberries without cutting all the way through. There is a slight ‘core’ to the strawberries so this is easier than it looks !

3. Pipe the chocolate cream into the top of each strawberry until just overflowing... and enjoy! You will have some chocolate cream left over with this recipe – it can be refrigerated for a few days if you want to make another batch. Or just eat it straight from the container ... not saying I did ;)

* Be sure to check individual ingredients for any trace amounts or ingredients that vary between brands J

** Pure icing sugar is gluten free but soft icing sugar and icing sugar mixture may contain flour so make sure you read the fine print!

Don't forget to check out Party Bags 4 Kids for some goodie bags that cater to your special requests!

Vegan Pancakes

VEGETARIAN, VEGAN, FISH FREE, EGG FREE, DAIRY FREE, NUT FREE*.

This is my favourite Sunday breakfast recipe! These pancakes are dairy and egg free but are still deliciously light and fluffy. They take about 5 minutes preparation, 10 minutes to cook, and make 6 medium sized pancakes.

* 1 cup of plain flour
* 1 tablespoon of sugar (I use raw or brown sugar).
* 1.5 tablespoons of baking powder
* 1/8 teaspoon of salt
* 1 cup of soymilk**
* 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
* 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1. Heat a medium pan on the stove on a medium heat.
2. Combine the dry indredients - the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. Add the soymilk , vanilla extract and oil to the dry ingreidents and mix until smooth.
4. Pour enough batter into the heated pan for one medium pancake, flipping when you see bubbles appear on the surface and cook for a few more minutes.
5. Repeat until batter is gone.

* This recipe is naturally nut free, but be sure to check individual ingredients and brands for traces for nuts.* I like to use vanilla soymilk for extra flavour, but try to use full cream soymilk rather than reduced fat in vegan cooking.

Serving suggestion: I love my pancakes with sliced banana and maple syrup, but they also work well with lemon and sugar or with a banana chopped up and added to the batter!

Welcome

Welcome to Hard Nut to Crack! 


I have created this blog because as an Early Childhood Educator working with young children, I've found that more and more children have special dietary requirements... and finding easy, tasty, kid-friendly recipes that cater for these requirements can be tough. 


So I've given myself a challenge - to give you some vegetarian, vegan, dairy free, egg free, fish free, gluten free and nut free recipes that little ones (and hopefully big ones too) will love. 


What are you looking for? I'm open to suggestions and I don't mind how difficult you feel your needs are.


I have a friend whose niece on the Autism Spectrum who only eats red food, so stay tuned for a red delicious solution!


Erin. 


PS Don't forget to check out Partybags4kids for some made to order goodie bags that cater to your needs! Gluten free always available.