Vegan Lemon and Poppyseed Cupcakes

I know you've read that subtitle.

Here's the caution: if you're allergic to peanuts, don't start using peanut butter to prepare your cupcake batter. Don't use peanut butter, use apple sauce instead (same amount).

I would like you to take some guesses as to how I found out that cross-contamination definitely exists as someone who is badly allergic. Of course I did.

Anyways, let's move on to preparations. This vegan cupcake set (of 12) is a perfect recipe for someone who likes to get in their health kick whilst eating a sweet treat.

Part 1: Preparation

Ingredients:

• 2x Medium Lemons
• 2x Tbsp Poppyseeds

How To:

1. Zest the lemons into a bowl
2. Squeeze out their juice into the same bowl
3. Spoon the poppyseeds into the same bowl
4. Mix them together and put them in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes

Part 2: Cupcake Batter

Ingredients:

• 110g Brown Sugar
• 110g Plant-Based Butter
• 2x Tbsp Peanut Butter
• 110g Self-Raising Flour
• 1 Handful Pine Nuts
• Mixture of Lemon and Poppyseed from the Fridge

How To:

1. Preheat the oven to 180/C
2. Line a 12x Cupcake Tray with cases
3. Whisk together the butter, sugar, pine nuts and your mixture from the fridge for 5 minutes
4. Add your peanut butter and self-raising flour and whisk again until it turns to cake batter
5. Put one heaped tablespoon of batter into each cupcake case
6. Put the tray in the oven for around 15-18 minutes.
7. Wait for them to cool, decorate to your style (I used fondant and cherries) and enjoy!

Side-Note: the pine nuts add a lovely buttery texture to the cupcake whilst also providing crunch. I used to eat some pine nut muffins as a snack and I've never been able to find them again but they were delicious. You're talking to someone who doesn't like muffins all that much.

***

Allergy Warning:

As I was washing the dishes from my baking, I definitely smelt something weird. It was a heavy smell in the air. Now, I knew that I was allergic to peanuts and so, I didn't taste anything from what I baked but I had washed dishes from people eating peanut butter before and so, thought I would have no problem with it.

It wasn't before long that I had basically doubled over and couldn't breathe properly. I felt sick and I was wheezing, coughing and just feeling really light-headed and terrible. I didn't actually work out what had happened until I tried to analyse the room for what I had done differently. Why didn't I just use apple sauce instead to replace the eggs? Well, the apple sauce I had left went into a curd I was making and so, I had to use a different replacement. Using vinegar with the lemon in there was definitely a bad idea, so I was left with peanut butter.

I have never experienced this kind of sickness whilst using peanut butter in my baking before and so, this is testament to the fact that if you have an allergy, it can morph and change into something else entirely. It will not stay the same throughout your life.

Thankfully, I have not needed a doctor - I reasoned that a few hot drinks would loosen up my chest and since it has been a bit, it seems to have died down though my throat and chest are currently quite sore. If you have an allergy though, like myself, I would not recommend using peanut butter as a replacement for egg - stick to apple sauce.

Conclusion

Apart from the mishap whilst baking, this was quite a fun recipe which had many smaller elements to it including getting the lemon mix ready and doubling over from an allergic reaction. I was quite surprised to see that if you use peanut butter, the cupcakes tend to brown quicker and the batter has a stickier texture. But, I think that in the future, I might just steer clear of this one.

I would say though, make sure you clean your equipment and surfaces properly to stop cross-contamination from happening. Remember: allergies don't stay the same throughout your life. They can change and they can definitely get worse. I honestly could not believe it myself. But another thing is: please wash your hands after handling, you don't want that getting anywhere else.