Vegan & Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes!

Vegan & Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes!

I'm not usually a fan of vegan baking because i feel the butter in making just makes it and it is rally hard to replace that with something and make it taste the same. Now that i am not only gluten but also dairy free I've decided to give vegan baking a go and make it my new thing for 2013. 

These vanilla cupcakes were the first vegan thing i have ever made. I wasn't too sure how they were going to turn out just because i had never made any baking without dairy (butter and milk) and eggs! I was pleasantly surprised though! The cupcake part was really fluffy and a lot better than i was expecting. Because of my gluten intolerance they had a wheat free baking mix not usual wheat flour and that never tastes the same but again seemed pretty nice to me! The recipe did say to use vanilla flavoured soy, rice or almond milk however i only had plain soy milk, so with a stronger vanilla flavour i think it would have been more tasty just because i LOVE vanilla! The icing again was still really fluffy and nice! I used the dairy free spread 'Olivani' which worked well instead of butter. Enjoy the photo...

White Chocolate Cake Pops!!

White Chocolate Cake Pops!!

The first time and really up until now i had always thought, ew cake pops, how weird a cake on a stick, not planning to ever make those. Then i was a shop and came across the cake pop sticks and decided to give them a go, so here goes, not be bad for a first attempt i i may say so myself...

These are vanilla cake pops covered in pink white chocolate! I didn't make them gluten free as i didn't want the temptation to eat them but i had great complements from my brother and his friend! I don't know why i never like the sound of them and i still think it is odd to eat a cake off a stick covered in chocolate. I have taken quite a few photos of the great mess i made creating these on my late night baking adventures. I was a bit of a cheat when making them i do admit. There is something about making a cake and then attacking it with a folk and icing that i just couldn't do if i made it myself. So i got a Betty Crocker box which i did feel a bit guilty about, but im not the one eating them so i didn't feel so bad. I didn't expect it to be able as easy as it was to form the ball, freeze it and dip it in chocolate. They look really nice though and i am planning to be making more adventurous flavours soon!

MORE Chocolate Chip Cookies!

MORE Chocolate Chip Cookies!

I love warm chocolate cookies with the big melted chunks of chocolate in the middle yum! Again these were gluten free with the wheat free baking mix, coconut and almond meal. These were made for my friend Rach made with my my amazing kitchen aid. Not really much else to say enjoy the photos <3

Merry Christmas, Happy new year and Hello 2013!!

Merry Christmas, Happy new year and Hello 2013!!

Yes i know i have been very slack in uploading anything since November 2012! But i am back now with some of my summer cooking and baking! Hope you are all enjoying you holidays and time off!

On Christmas day i was lucky enough to open a big heavy box and inside a bright pink (raspberry ice) KITCHEN AID!! It had been on my wish list for a very long time and i cant even explain how good it is compared to my old sunbeam broken beaters! I know they cost a lot but i recommend them to anyone as in the last 4 weeks that it has been mine everything i have made using it is so much easier, nicer and i just love it.

Before Christmas you may already know i had been gluten free for about 5 months... i am now also trying dairy free so expect to see a lot more gluten free,dairy free and vegan baking and food and i attempt to try and make it as good as regular baking!! 

Here are some of the photo of our family Christmas day food and drinks:

Taken on Christmas morning of my new favourite kitchen appliance!

I just thought i would add this in as its the beautiful view we had looking out on Lake Rotoiti, New Zealand on Christmas night of the sun setting!

Classic Pavlova with berry coli and fresh strawberries and whipped cream yuuum

Summer has always been my favourite because of all the amazing fruit including these cherries which i ate a lot of!

Another Caramel and pecan cheese cake! This was for my Dads 50th birthday that we had down in Queenstown, New Zealand the week before Christmas!

Carrot muffins that were gluten and dairy free made for morning tea with the family!

Brandy snaps with fresh berries and cherries with my bestie Georgia <3