I am super excited to share this week's recipe with you! Since becoming severely lactose intolerant, many things in my life have had to change- goodbye milk, see ya later cheese, peace out cream of anything. I think that because it wasn't a choice that I made, but one that was made for me, I was extra unenthused about it. Dairy Free, a lifestyle of asking every server and every party hostess what is safe and what is not safe for me to eat. Let me tell ya, it's NOT my fave thing. For me, the only way to get through this was to find some regular things that I could buy in a store, and cook like a normal person. Now don't get me wrong, I am a nut soaking, grinding, straining, weird ingredient buying and eating machine when it comes to homemade dairy free stuff- but I had to ease myself into that life. This recipe is one that I often fall back on, it's easy, it's good, and its dairy free all on it's own. It's even what we used for the cupcakes and wedding cake when I got married last summer. Seriously, we ate box cake at my wedding, and no one even noticed/cared/thought about it.
The ingredients are pretty simple, you can follow the ingredients to a TEE on the back of the box and you will have lovely dairy free cupcakes. (No, eggs are NOT dairy, I googled it to double check). I do have a little substitution of my own- I sub out the oil for applesauce. I know- it's crazy! Somehow applesauce does the same job as the oil, and it's applesauce, not oil! High five me! Ok, don't break your screen. (PS- you could sub out the eggs for a vegan substitute, and these would become VEGAN CUPCAKES OMG!).
I'm usually SO not into brands, I'm like totes better than that. But for this recipe, I must be very exact about what brands I used, because I've checked, and not all yellow cake mixes are made equal. Many, in fact, have a nasty little ingredient in them- dry nonfat milk powder. Seriously, if your going to put milk into something, why would you ever choose nonfat? So Duncan Hines is the one. We here at BTT are a west coast outfit, so if you are on the east coast, I have no idea if this is your brand. Sorry east-coasters! The same goes for the frosting, Pillsbury makes a classic white frosting that is milk free too! It's like a match made in heaven! Dairy free heaven!
So follow the back of the box directions, sub in applesauce, or don't and then if you would like (I like!) you can mix sprinkles right into your batter- making your own funfetti! Special note: mix (fold really) the sprinkles in AFTER mixing your batter thoroughly, the sprinkles will start to color your batter upon entry.
Then you know the drill, pour, bake, repeat.
Once your cupcakes are cool, you can start frosting. I frosted, then set on top of a cooling rack, in a cookie sheet. So that I could trap any sprinkles that were trying to escape.
Most of them didn't escape.
Of course at this point they are ready to eat, so scarf one down, and then start playing with food props and take the obligatory 17 shot because they are just so cute you can't help yourself, and then Instagram the heck outta them!
Later Gator!
