I absolutely adore vanilla cupcakes. My sister makes them best and she used to often serve them with a cool glass of milk when I was smaller. THE BEST.

I’ve experimented with many gluten, sugar-free recipes and almost gave up hope that I’d create a cupcake I like. Then I made a perfect batch with a host of flours that aren’t easy to find. I’ve since back-peddled, and found the most perfect gluten-free mix, with no chickpea flour, that is divine for fairy cakes. But I’ll be honest, this cake doesn’t stay fresh for very long. On the third day, it gets crumbly and dry.

Stay with me though… because your body will appreciate you for attempting to make healthier cupcakes.

Top Tip: Because Xylitol is expensive I have resorted to making my own icing sugar. Blitz it in a blender until it resembles a fine powder.

Ingredients

150g Health Connection Wholefoods gluten-free self-raising flour (I buy mine from Dischem)

150g or 2/3 cups of butter at room temperature

3/4 cups of xylitol icing sugar (You can also buy this from Woolies)

3 large eggs at room temperature

75 ml Parmalat EasyGest milk if you’re lactose intolerant, or any milk you prefer

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees

2. Line a muffin tray with paper cases

3. Sift the flour three times.

4. Cream butter and sugar until it’s fluffy and aerated.

5. Add eggs one at a time and beat well.

6. Add vanilla, sifted flour and lastly add your milk.

7. Beat until there are no lumps.

8. Fill your paper cakes half full because the rise will be beautiful.

9. Bake for exactly 12 minutes, and test with a skewer or a knife.

Icing

150 g butter salted/unsalted

2 1/2 cups xylitol icing sugar

6 tbsp milk of your choice

Method

1. Cream butter until it’s fluffy and add your sugar, one cup at a time.

2. Add milk 1 tbsp at a time until the consistency of your icing is perfect. You may want to add less milk if you want a firmer icing.