Elizabeth Banks

No gluten, no nuts, no refined sugars, no fun! For people with food allergies, which is basically everyone these days, baked goods are a minefield. With these cupcakes by Chicago Liz, everyone can indulge and keep their EPI pens in their purses. XX -EB

My daughter has a summer birthday. I used to think that meant planning for the easiest birthday parties around – old school bathing suit and sprinkler, pizza-ice-cream-cake-fun. You know, everyone a hot sticky mess, and the birthday girl ready for bed at 5pm (or maybe that’s just her mom). Sadly, these days, just about everyone’s got an allergy to something, so planning for a low-key party can be more challenging than you might expect. Until now…

I was struggling to find a gluten-free way to make cupcakes that didn’t rival cement, when I began to have this idea for watermelon “cupcakes.” Note here that when I’m using quotation marks, these are really not cupcakes at all, but watermelon cut into cupcake-sized chunks. I went square because it was easier, but I supposed you could really go Martha-style and cut them into circles. You’d just end up wasting a lot of juicy goodness.

I “iced” these cupcakes with raspberry jam and fruit. Just cut up whatever fruit folks don’t have an allergy to – I got lucky, because no one had any allergies to strawberries – and put the cut up fruit on top for decoration. Fruits I’d suggest: raspberries, blueberries, grapes, strawberries, kiwi, peaches…the more color contrast, the better. If you feel like going with candy on top, you can use jelly beans, chocolate chips, or gum drops for good effect.

Have fun! And if anyone asks…they are hypoallergenic.

What are your favorite “hypoallergenic” recipes?