Cupcake cuties

My daughter got a cupcake machine for christmas, and i decided that since today was valentine's day, i would break it out and make some mini treats for my little ones. Of course i had to make two batters, as George is a chocoholic, and Miss Tina is the vanilla queen..so here goes: I used the same recipe for both, just added cocoa (3tsp) for the boy's. Basic recipe: 4 tsp each of flour, sugar and cocoa(if needed), add a pinch of salt, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda and 1/2 cup of milk. It is really that easy! Now i made little teeny, tiny ones, and it made 14, but i would say it would probably make around 6 normal sized cupcakes. I used the cupcake maker and it took about 6 minutes for each batch, but i would say if you are cooking normal cupcakes, i would go
with 12-14 minutes at 180. From this basic recipe
 you can add choc chips, dried fruit, dollops of jam etc to change the flavour- it is really a wonderfully versatile recipe.
 I finished them off today with a simple icing,
just icing sugar and water (i added cocoa for
the boy's icing, and pink icing to the girls).
....aren't they sweet?

Going coco for coconut!!

A friend challenged me to try my hand at coconut macaroons but i didn;t have any dessicated coconut to hand, so i dutifully went and bought some..at the same time another post popped up on my facebook for coconut and carrot bars, and i thought to myself..ooh, i have two carrots in the fridge, lets have a go at that :)
This led to a baking spree, and it was only after i had used my very last drop of golden syrup that i realised i hadn't made my coconut macaroons :(
So here you go- three ways to use up the dessicated coconut sitting at the back of your cupboard :)
First up the coconut and carrot bars! I used the recipe from cooking for busy mums (find it here )and they were lovely although i couldn't quite make up my mind wether they were supposed to be savory or sweet...they are rather moreish though!

Next up, chocolate zucchini muffins, i followed the recipe posted here by vegie smugglers here
  and finished them off with a chocolate icing-half a cup of
 semi sweet chocolate chips(dairy free of course), quarter of a cup coconut milk and a cup of icing sugar..check out these cuties...















And last but not least, little cups of sunshine...Hawaian coconut cupcakes! Again from vegie smugglers, follow the link here here these i finished off with a rather more grown up icing...I used the pineapple juice and icing sugar as suggested but i added 2 tablespoons of bacardi :D These are really delicious, even without the icing

So there you are, three delicious dairy free treats, all using that lovely dessicated coconut :) Enjoy!!!