Today is the 1st anniversary of starting this blog. Do you call it a blogiversary? It has been quite a year. Although I think I’ve always been a fairly competent and adventurous cook, my creativity and output has come on in leaps and bounds this year thanks to this project. To think that I used to be satisfied with having one slightly inferior cupcake recipe, now I’m not happy without being able to make everything ‘friendly’! And I’ve grown and learnt so much, connected with, been inspired by and made friends with so many amazing people along the way.
Even just this week, I received some lovely comments from parents who had discovered my blog, and as a result cooked foods they never thought they would be able to offer to their allergic child. This is so wonderful to hear and exactly the reason I started blogging. Each comment makes it all completely worthwhile to me. And I also have this wonderful record of what I’ve been doing.
I only realised on Sunday evening that my blogiversary was this Wednesday, so it meant a frantic rummage in the cupboards to get some inspiration. I mean, I can’t celebrate without cake can I? We were all out of cocoa and caster sugar, only had 200g of flour and a couple of Meyer lemons in the fruit bowl, and here is the result. Happy birthday to Lucy’s Friendly Foods blog! Many thanks to everyone who reads it or follows regularly through any medium: Twitter, Pinterest, (and now) Facebook. I have so many ideas to come, so expect another busy year.
Zingy Meyer Lemon Cupcakes (dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, sesame-free, soya-free, vegetarian and vegan)
Makes 12
- 200g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Zest of 1 Meyer lemon (any lemon would do!)
- 80-100g sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 100ml sunflower oil
- 150ml oat milk
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp lemon juice
– Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade/gas mark 4
– Line a cupcake tray with pretty wrappers
– Combine the oat milk, 1 tsp lemon juice and bicarbonate of soda. Set aside.
– Sift together the flour and baking powder.
– Stir in the sugar and lemon zest.
– Then add the oil and extra lemon juice to the oat milk, and pour into the flour.
– Gently mix until fully combined and no raw flour remains.
– 1/2 fill the cupcake cases and bake for 20 minutes, until lightly golden and a knife comes out clean.
– Cool on a wire rack.
Zippy Lemon Icing
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
– Combine to make a smooth, thick icing. Add more sugar or lemon juice as required.
– Spread on top of he cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with lemon zest.
27 Responses
Happy Blogiversary! I stumbled on your blog last week while looking for a pancake recipe for Pancake Day for my 2-yo, who is allergic to dairy and egg. Your pancakes worked a treat and were very popular with the whole family, and I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes (especially the brownies!). Many thanks!
Fantastic… So pleased you found my blog. I hope you find some good egg-free ideas on it 🙂
My two girls are both allergic to dairy and eggs (among other things!)…. Let me know if there’s anything you’ve wanted to make them and I’ll try and see if its possible 🙂
Congratulations for your blogiversary!
These cupcakes look delicious!
Thank you so much 🙂
Congrats on your first year and wishing you many more years of “friendly” recipe blogging!
Thank you so much 🙂 I have a lot of ideas to try!
Happy blogiversary!… I love Myer lemons and can imagine how delicious those cupcakes must be.
Thank you so much. I’ve read about Meyer lemons for ages but only recently found some to buy – wow, they’re delicious!
Happy Blogiversary!! The cupcakes look wonderful. I’m so glad I “met” you and have been reading your blog for this long. Your recipes are just wonderful and I look forward to every new one!
Thank you so much, and that’s for following and all your lovely comments 🙂 I never imagined I’d make such lovely ‘blog-friends’ when I started x
Happy Blogiversary. I am flagging this so I can come back and try it using perhaps rice milk instead of oat milk. No frosting for a couple of weeks because I have to avoid corn and cornstarch is in powdered sugar.
Rice milk would work fine… I just use oat milk as its safer for the kids as their is a slight risk of arsenic in rice milk which is best avoided in little ones. X
Happy happy! I love reading your posts, so keep the blog going, pretty please! And have a cupcake for me. They look delish! 🙂
Thank you so much….. No sign of my ideas stopping so far! Wish I had a lovely garden like yours to grow some beautiful herbs and veg in though! X
One of my best gardens ever was in London on a 5th floor balcony. Except for the time that the birds ate all my blueberries. But that blueberry bush is still alive and well at my friend’s house in Clapham!
I’ve always quite fancied a balcony garden…. Just never had a balcony! You obviously gave your blueberry bush a good start in life ;-)…. I’m thinking a blueberry bush old be a good way to start growing fruit this summer, big S would live to pick her own blueberries 🙂
Happy Blogiversary 🙂 Mine one year is this week as well!!
Happy blogiversary to you too…. I guess you could say we’re almost blog-twins! 🙂
Nice! Happy bloggersary!
thank you 🙂
Wow just found this blog when searching for a suitable cocoa powder that doesnt or may contain milk! My son is almost 14 and is severly allergic to milk, eggs, nuts and fish and has been since a baby 🙁 Im always experiementing with cooking and baking but often get frustraited as things dont always go to plan! so glad ive found this site and thankyou for sharing you fab recipes 🙂
Your story is exactly why I started this blog! I found it so hard to make food so my daughters didn’t feel they were missing out. Now I’m on a mission that anything (almost) is possible! Hope you keep reading and any challenges would be happily received! 🙂
Thankyou and i will keep checking in my son wants me to make the lemon cakes first 🙂
Hi again. Been reading on the internet about this spread called lotus biscotti spread, apperntly its vegan and nut free just wondered if you have heard of it? Its only available in waitrose.
Yes it’s totally dairy and nut free. If you’ve tasted the lotus caramalised biscuits it tastes just the same but in spread form! I’ve used it quite successfully in a few recipes and it’s a great salty/sweet replacement for nut butters.
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Oh yes! Yes you did! A very happy blogiversary to you my dear! What a fantastic treat to celebrate with!