Today is Australia’s National Holiday and everywhere there are picnics, bbqs, parades and parties to celebrate.  I was invited to a friend’s house this morning and my job was to bring cupcakes.  My friend Jan has trouble with gluten so I made my first gluten free cupcakes.

I’ve never tried to bake gluten free before so I took the chicken’s way out and bought a mix.  I told myself when I went to bed that I wouldn’t use the package mix, I’d get up early and use a recipe I found on the net.  When I didn’t wake up until 9:30am all my “from scratch” ideas went out the window and the package got opened.

I made the icing by combining the standard Wilton type icing with a block of cream cheese.  Turned out really creamy.

Our friend Jill and her husband are headed north tomorrow for a couple of months of fishing at the top end of Australia.  Their caravan is packed, the dogs have been clipped and all they need is the food and then they’re off.  During the wet season there’s always a risk that the roads will be flooded and you’ll either be in for the duration or can’t get to your destination.  I should say that the top end is very remote.  Fingers crossed that they get there with no trouble at all.

My cupcakes came out really good so maybe I needed to try a mix before going it alone.  Now I know what the consistency of the batter should be.  It was thicker than a normal cupcake batter and the box instructions were to beat on high for 4 minutes.  Normal cupcakes beaten that long would be like hockey pucks.

The wrappers and sugar crystals are yellow and green – Australia’s colors.  If you visit here in the spring time you’d know why.  There are wattle trees everywhere in Australia and the leaves are green and the springtime flowers are yellow.  All along the highways you’ll see yellow and green.

Our flag is red white and blue but our national colors are yellow and green. Have I confused you yet?

So I’m off for another outing with friends.  No more cupcakes!  Normal Aussie sausages this time and we’re hoping it doesn’t rain.  We’ve had more than our share of rain over the past few days.  About 15 inches of rain has landed on us since Monday.  Even the grass is begging for a day of sun.  No sun til next Monday or Tuesday the weatherman says.  Happy Australia Day!

Do you  have a good gluten free cupcake recipe you could share with me?