Dairy Free: Tom Yum Cupcakes

Before you run away screaming 'why, noooo, aaargh the horror!!', these cupcakes do not actually have prawns, or chilli or any of the other savoury tidbits you'd usually find floating in a delicious tom yum soup. What they do have is lime and lemongrass and COCONUT and plenty of it. Luckily, that also means no lactose! Hurrah!

These are elegant, fragrant little cakes that would make a classy offering to a dinner party or some such, where they'd probably saunter in, and casually start speaking fluent Thai, or something.

Dairy Free Tom Yum Cupcakes (Makes 12)
You will need:
For the cupcakes:

• 125g creamed coconut
• 100ml warm water
• 100g caster sugar
• 2 free-range eggs, beaten
• 125g self-raising flour
• zest of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
• half stick fresh lemongrass, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp melted coconut oil, plus extra for greasing

For the icing:

• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 tbsp coconut milk or warm water
• lime zest, to decorate

Make it!

The cakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F/ Gas Mark 4. Grease a 12 hole cupcake tin with coconut oil. (I used a silicon tray, but you might want to use paper cases in a metal tin).
2. Break the creamed coconut up into a bowl and pour over the warm water, stirring until it has reached a creamy consistency. 
3. Pour into a large mixing bowl, along with the caster sugar, and beat together. 
4. Add half the egg, along with a tablespoon of the flour and beat together. Repeat with the rest of the egg. 
5. Gently fold in the remaining flour until there are no streaks remaining. 
6. Add the tablespoon of coconut oil to the diced lemongrass and mash into a paste using a pestle and mortar, or the back of a spoon. 
7. Stir into the mixture, along with the lime zest and desiccated coconut. 
8. Spoon into the cupcake tray, filling 2/3 full. 
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until risen and a skewer comes out clean. 
10. Cool in the tin until ready to ice. 

The icing:

1. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl.
2. Add the coconut milk or drizzle in the water and stir until the sugar reaches a thin paste. 
3. Spoon over the cooled cakes, and decorate with some more lime zest.