eggless baking

Burfee Bliss…an eggless cupcake!

Yudhika's Eggless Burfee Cupcakes...

Yudhika’s Eggless Burfee Cupcakes…

No matter how much time you spend in a kitchen, there are always some things that are not your forte. For me eggless baking has never come easy…perhaps my attempts are sabotaged by some of my first attempts which were always disastrous. From cakes that looked like rubber to cupcakes that felt like tennis balls…my earlier attempts made me cringe with embarrassment. Thankfully, much to the encouragement and constant requests from my readers and Facebook family, I come up with a cracker every now and then…don’t get me wrong, there are more disasters than victories.

When it comes to eggless cakes and bakes, I often find beautifully decorated cakes that can set you up for disappointment. One bite and the cake is either too dry, heavy and the bicarby bitterness overwhelming. I have been playing with a recipe for an eggless cupcake for a while and why not make a celebration cupcake? Last week, I did a feature in the Post Newspaper and featured my Eggless Burfee Cupcake creation. The recipe has been tested for a while and each time I made a batch, I thought of ways to improve the texture and flavour. Taking inspiration from an Indian speciality fudge, I added Klim and dessert cream to the recipe…it was one of those recipes that go something like this….a few tablespoons of that, let’s add a little cream, stir and check consistency, then a few pinches of cardamom….lick the spoon and, ‘Aha, it needs more sugar!’ For a quick and easy flop proof burfee recipe, click here, https://yudhikayumyum.com/2013/10/31/idiot-proof-burfee/ and check out my latest competition to win a 30cm skillet valued at R3200 from AMC Cookware here, https://yudhikayumyum.com/2015/05/04/cookware-for-queens-and-a-few-kings-too-the-amc-cookware-competition/

The baked burfee cupcakes...a little scone like on the surface!

The baked burfee cupcakes…a little scone like on the surface!

I develop recipes over the weekend and get my kids to take notes on my ramblings and document the recipe changes. I took a peek at these cupcakes while they were in the oven. They looked like scones and my heart sank momentarily. It’s a case of not judging a book by it’s cover…the scone like appearance masked the deliciously light, moist cakes. I topped them with a generous slathering of cream cheese frosting but you could use butter cream or whipped cream if you prefer.

Eggless Burfee Cupcakes....deliciously light and moreish!

Eggless Burfee Cupcakes….deliciously light and moreish!

Eggless Burfee Cupcakes

Makes 18

125g soft butter

125g sugar

100g Klim milk powder

100ml dessert cream

200ml full cream milk

5ml vanilla essence

210g cake flour

7,5ml baking powder

5ml bicarbonate of soda

Pinch of salt

2,5ml ground cardamom

Here’s how:

Pre-heat the oven to 160°C.

In a free standing mixer or with a hand held beater, ream the butter until light in colour.

Add the sugar gradually and continue creaming until fluffly.

Stir the mix powder into the mixture and continue creaming

Gradually add the dessert cream.

Combine the full cream milk and vanilla essence.

Sift the dry ingredients.

Add half the sifted flour to the mixing bowl and beat until smooth.

Add half the milk and mix well, followed by the remaining flour.

Pour the remaining milk and beat until smooth.

Divide the mixture into a cupcake pan, lined with paper cases.

Bake for 22 – 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when the cakes are tested.

Remove the cakes from the tin immediately and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Cream cheese frosting


120g soft butter


375ml icing sugar


230g plain cream cheese 


5ml Vanilla paste or extract

Tinted almonds, to decorate

For the frosting:

Cream butter and gradually add the icing sugar until light in colour.
Add the cream cheese and continue beating.
Add vanilla essence.
Continue beating until smooth – do not over-beat as the frosting can split.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, frost them using a spatula and decorate with tinted almonds.

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Eggless Faking…

Faking it...the Lemon Coconut Cupcakes

Faking it…the Lemon Coconut Cupcakes


I have never been a fan of eggless cakes…they always tend to be hard, dry and just not quite ‘quite’. The last one I tasted was at a birthday party. I was given the largest slice – I suppose my greedy reputation does follow me around but in this instance, it worked against me. The cake was horribly bitter and I had to eat all of it as I was being eyed out closely. I decided to swear off eggless cakes. My troubles with eggless baking were just beginning….

Some months passed and there have been the Facebookers that request eggless recipes. I gave it a bash again and it was a disaster. The Red Velvet Cake looked like melted plastic and it was as hard as a rock. My kids were most amused and so was Rob. I instructed my assistant to ‘chuck out’ the cake and not to mention it again. I skulked off and sulked in my room for the rest of the day. I came out a few hours later when the giggles subsided.

I started working on a Diwali Show for Saffron TV. Unfortunately, the channel closes in a few days so the Diwali show will not be airing. I will share my eggless experiments with you anyway! In the first season of ‘Sugar ‘n Spice’, the eggless brownies (https://yudhikayumyum.com/sugar-n-spice-on-saffron-tv/saffron-tv-eggless-chocolate-brownies/) received a heartwarmingly positive review…One of the best recipes so far was the Eggless Lemon Coconut Cakes….I have never been a fan of faking anything…but these luscious cakes know just how to fake it. They are simply delicious….light and fluffy with the perfect crumb, smothered in a delicious light and fluffy lemon frosting! Hallelujah…I think these cakes are going to save my reputation after my previous mishaps!

Perfecting these cupcakes has been an adventure! I watched this evening as Rob tucked into one…I am so so pleased with the results…its been a long road…buttermilk versus milk, baking powder versus bicarb….vinegar or not? The options were endless…it resulted in milk, baking powder AND bicarb without any vinegar! I think that adding the yoghurt, adds a lot of magic to this recipe. You should try this out not because of its status…try it because it is just so good.

A word on the ingredients…I love the Spar packaging and buy the sugar etc in these cartons – I have been training my kids in the kitchen and this really minimizes the mess while measuring out the ingredients. The lid on top of the packaging makes sealing the sugar a breeze so no more ants in the sugar! Another product that I really love is the Spar branded Greek Yoghurt….I use it for baking, dips and raita. It’s got a thick creamy consistency and makes a killer raita…the down side is that it does contain gelatine….I don’t mind it at all…but please check the labels when choosing a yoghurt. I also used the Spar yoghurt in the Semolina Cake which was featured on Sugar ‘n Spice. Here is the link: https://yudhikayumyum.com/sugar-n-spice-on-saffron-tv/semolina-cake/

Here is the recipe…

Lemon Coconut Cupcakes

Lemon Coconut Cupcakes

Lemon Coconut Cupcakes

The Ingredients...

The Ingredients…

Ingredients

125g Spar Butter, at room temperature…please!
125g Spar White Sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
125ml desiccated coconut
60ml Spar Double Thick Greek Yoghurt
250ml full cream milk, at room temperature
375ml cake flour
10ml baking powder
5ml bicarbonate of soda
5ml vanilla paste

For the Lemon Frosting:
125g Spar Butter – at room temperature
375ml Spar Icing Sugar
45ml fresh cream
30ml fresh lemon juice

Lemon Zest to decorate cupcakes

Here’s how:

Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees celsius.
Line a 12 mould cupcake tin with paper cases.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy – I used a Kenwood Chef for this but you can use a hand-held electric beater if you prefer.

My Kenwood Chef...does all the work for me!

My Kenwood Chef…does all the work for me!


Scrape down the bowl often and then add the lemon zest.
Add the coconut and beat for a few seconds.
Combine the yoghurt, full cream milk and vanilla paste in a jug.
Sift the dry ingredients and add them to the creamed butter.
Pour in half the milk and yoghurt and beat on low, gradually adding the remaining liquid.
Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula and continue beating until the ingredients are well combined.
Divide the batter into the 12 prepared paper cases.
Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when the cakes are tested.
Leave to cool slightly before placing the cakes on a wire rack.

Ready for tasting...

Ready for tasting…

Prepare the frosting:

Cream the butter and add the icing sugar gradually.
When the butter is very light in colour, add the fresh cream.
Continue beating for a few seconds, then add the fresh lemon juice.
Beat until the frosting is fluffy.
Scoop the frosting over the cupcakes and use a palette knife to spread.
Garnish with a few slivers of lemon zest.