cruelty-free cupcakes

No post last week — I was busy baking and icing for Cupcake Day for the RSPCA. I’ve been involved in charity fundraising before, so I knew the way to people’s wallets is thru their tummies. So whipping up some cakes to help fight animal neglect and cruelty? Too easy. I was in.

One of the loveliest parts of the whole event was that once I emailed my workplace to let them know my plans, three other ladies offered to bake goodies for the cake stall too. Isn’t that wonderful? It really swelled the offerings — actually, at first I was afraid we wouldn’t sell them all!

But we did. People came early in the morning and bought one, two or three cupcakes, they came back at morning tea and just before lunch and then at afternoon tea time. They bought cupcakes for themselves, their co-workers, their children and partners at home. They bought a cupcake and gave extra coins, which was so generous.

We started with easily 150 or more cupcakes (I was so busy setting up and selling I didn’t count, but I know I contributed 66). By the end of the day, I reckon we had only ten left standing. And at $2 a pop (half price from 3pm on to really shift them) we raised over $300 for the RSPCA. Woo!

I love a hustle for a good cause. I donned an cupcake-printed apron over my work dress and the chef’s hat from the RSPCA kit, and accosted people in the corridors: ‘You haven’t bought a cupcake from me yet! Or anyone else from your area — come and buy a cupcake or two!’ I did the big sell at the cake stall: ‘Try these ones — they are amazing! Hasn’t she decorated these so prettily? Tell the others in your corridor to get over here!’ A smile, a silly hat and loads of chocolate-frosted cupcakes and no one is offended.

Cruelty-free cupcakes in the pink striped paper cases; in the first pic, they are the ones on the far right still in the baking tins

So let’s get down to the cakes. I made old favourites, recipes I knew would not let me down on a busy day in the kitchen. My boozy sultana cakes, with fruit soaked in sherry for two weeks in advance. Butter cakes in little loaf tins, which I then sliced in half and filled with strawberry jam and whipped cream to make very pretty versions of a Victoria sponge. And Merle’s lamington recipe with the crack-cocaine of a chocolate frosting, guaranteed to induce the biggest sugar high (and crash). I used a massive six cups of icing sugar on Sunday for all the icing and frostings I made — I don’t want to see that white stuff for a very long time!

As this was for the RSPCA, I wanted to do a vegan cupcake — to be truly cruelty free. But I had a hard time finding something I liked, with not too weirdy ingredients (if you have one, I’d be interested for next year). So in the end I went for a dairy-free one, using olive oil and soy milk; and eggs from mum’s chooks, who are very lucky girls who get feds lots of greens and who can roam as freely as they wish.

When I had one warm from the oven, I was surprised at how light and fluffy it was. As well as being ethical cupcakes, they are also very practical ones: no need to soften butter, which is a big plus when your kitchen is cold or you have to whip up a batch very quickly. Their simplicity and speed would make these a great go-to for any cake stall baker; you could churn out — and sell — dozens of these in no time at all.

The other ladies bought their cakes after I took this photo; the table was groaning; then the crowds descended!

Cruelty-free cupcakes

Use free-range eggs to bake, eat and sell as many of these with an easy conscience. This made — oh, I forget how many this batch made; all I remember is the massive 66 cupcakes I had stacked up in my kitchen at the end of the day! Adapted from a taste.com.au recipe.

• Preheat your oven to 180 and prep some cupcake tins.
• Use electric beaters to whisk up ¾ cup soy milk, 2/3 cup light olive oil, 2 large eggs, 1 tspn vanilla, and ¾ cup sugar.
• Fold in 2 cups SR flour. And that’s it!
• Ladle into your tins (it’s a very runny batter) and bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly golden and baked thru.
• Allow to cool before decorating. For these ones I mixed up some icing sugar, lemon juice and pink food colouring then sprinkled with silver cachous. I can’t tell you the quantities — it was late in the day, I had icing-fatigue, and desperately needed some salty vegemite on toast! I just threw stuff in a bowl and mixed until it was a reasonable consistency.