Morgan - Ms. Cupcake: the naughtiest vegan cakes in town

Ms. Cupcake was born back in 2009 in the lil ol kitchen of my tiny two-bed flat in South London. You see, when I was making the leap from vegetarianism to veganism, I had a good look around London but couldnt find the cake I wanted to eat. I wanted decadent, indulgent, celebrate-your-belly kind of cake that also happened to be vegan. At that time, no one in the UK was doing what North America had long cottoned on to across the pond theres a vegan bakery in every big city! Not being the type to weep into my mixing bowl, I pulled on my apron and got baking. I had never worked in the food industry, nor had I ever run my own business, but what I did have going for me was a ridiculous amount of determination and a desire to show the world that indulgence and veganism can work together.

It was a cold day at the beginning of April 2010 when Mamma-Cupcake (my mum actually flew over from Canada for the start of it all) and I set up my first market stall in Greenwich Market. I think I sold 36 cupcakes that day, and my goodness was I on top of the world! I dont pretend that I knew what the heck I was doing in those early days, but I was willing to graft and learn. I was quite a sight on the market stall a nutty Canadian gal dressed as a 1950s housewife with a hat adorned with cupcakes and within a few months word had spread (partially through the glory of social media) and people were queuing up for the decadent free-from cakes theyd been hearing about.

I began to get asked about providing bakes for even more diets, so I set about broadening my range to include gluten-free, soya-free and pretty much anything-free you can think of! Back then I was pulling 18-hour days, 7 days a week and crawling into bed absolutely exhausted each night. I hired staff and had friends pitch in (thanks Liz!), but something had to give. I needed guidance. So I closed my market stall for a couple of weeks and boarded a plane to the east coast of America, to talk to other vegan bakers and find out how they made it all work for them. Meeting Barbara from Gone Pie, Heather and Allison from Sweet Freedom and the beautiful Danielle, Jake, Kristina and Ann over at Sweet Avenue Bakery made me realise, If they can do it, so can I!

Every penny we made from cupcakes in those early days we reinvested in the business, and I am proud to say that on 1 April 2011 we opened the doors to Londons first entirely vegan retail bakery, Ms. Cupcake, in Brixton, on my home turf in South London. My choice of location may have raised a few eyebrows, but I didnt care. I love Brixton. I love the people, the vibe and the passion of the area. I figured if people wanted to buy vegan cake, theyd have to come down to Brixton and maybe fall in love with it too. Besides, if you dont help your local community to grow, who will?

Our mission at Ms. Cupcake is to make cakes youd never know were vegan. I want our cakes to be considered just as good, or even better, than cakes made with traditional ingredients. A few weeks after we opened, one of our regular customers, who had been buying our cakes since our very first day, asked us, So what is this "vegan you put in all of your cakes? Brilliant, I thought, mission accomplished!

My staff are the cornerstone of our success. Hand-picked from all over the world, they are the most passionate and committed people I know. Without their dedication and love, our customers wouldnt keep coming back.

We all work incredibly hard, but we wouldnt have it any other way. We believe that everybody deserves great cake and it is our job to create indulgent and decadent cakes for them regardless of what they can, and cannot, eat. Every time a mum brings in her child, who is battling serious allergies, and tells them, You can eat anything here, its all safe. I cant help but well up. This is why we do what we do! Help us to continue to spread the love by baking up a vegan storm and sharing your results with your friends and family.

I never read the introductions to cookbooks, so well done for reading mine! Whenever I get my mitts on a new book I just want to get into the kitchen and get on to the good stuff the baking! However, if you have never baked a vegan cake before or have had less-than-perfect results, have a gander over this and youll be fully equipped for vegan baking success! Take time to read the tips, tricks and knowledge sprinkled throughout the book. Youll find some real gems discovered by us over all the years weve spent creating unconventional bakes. These tips might just transform your cake from okay to spectacular.

Nowadays you can get a hold of loads of dairy replacements or plant-based milks at your local supermarket. These include:

SOYA MILK
RICE MILK
OAT MILK
COCONUT MILK
NUT MILKS (ALMOND, HAZELNUT ETC.)

The list goes on. Soya is the most versatile of milks and the one that we use the most. It has great binding properties that help hold the cake together, but it is an allergen and some people prefer to avoid it in their diets. Our next favourite is rice milk. Its flavour wont come through in your baking so the other ingredients can do the singing. Rice milk does give cakes a slightly different texture than soya and you may find a few tiny holes, or air pockets, in the sponge. Do play around with different milks until you get the results you are after. We tend to use the unsweetened varieties, but sweetened versions will do in a pinch.

Manufacturers in the UK have realised there is huge potential for growth in the free-from market, so there are plenty of non-dairy margarines out there. Check the packaging to make sure there is no whey in them, as this is a dairy derivative. Non-dairy margarines have a more fragile structure than butter, so you may need to include a vegetable fat or shortening in the recipe to get the right texture. These are also readily available have a look in the butter aisle of your local supermarket.