Allergy-Friendly Tiger Birthday Cupcakes

Get your party to a roaring start with these fun tiger cupcakes. Made with a moist, chocolate cake and topped with a vegan vanilla buttercream, this cupcake is decorated with allergy-friendly accessories to help all the guests at your party eat safely. These are free from: gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut & tree nuts; are vegan and top-8-free.

My little man went and had yet another birthday on me! He’s been a big fan of Daniel Tiger for quite some time, so I knew I wanted to do tiger cupcakes for his party.

However–due to food allergies, I can’t just run to a bakery or store to get “official” Daniel Tiger cupcakes. Plus–making a special cake for my boys on each of their birthdays is something I really enjoy doing. They have fun picking out a theme and being surprised at the end result.

I got my inspiration from this darling site: Chelsea’s Messy Apron, but unfortunately a lot of what she uses is not allergy-friendly. So, I went off on a hunt to find stuff that would work for us.

Decorations and Supplies Used:

Here is what I found. Be sure to read and contact any company yourself until you feel it’s safe for your own particular situation. Also, none of the products are sponsored. However, I did link to them on Amazon so you can see their packaging, or for ordering convenience. Amazon links are affiliate links.

Chocolate Cupcake base: https://allergyawesomeness.com/the-best-allergy-friendly-chocolate-birthday-cupcakes-gluten-dairy-egg-peanut-vegan/

Vegan Vanilla Frosting: https://allergyawesomeness.com/the-best-dairy-free-vanilla-frosting-gf-vegan-top-8-free/

Orange Sprinkles: Wilton Sprinkles (Orange Sugar)–Please note that on the label it says: “Made in a facility that also processes peanuts, tree nuts, milk, soy and wheat products”. I personally felt OK using them because I called Wilton. They said they take those statements seriously, and that they’re careful to put on labels whether they’re made on shared equipment, the same line, or a shared facility. Since she said it was not the same line or equipment I felt OK using it. Use at your own discretion. If you don’t feel comfortable with it, you can dye your own sugar, using this tutorial I found. I would assume you could use any food coloring, and that it wouldn’t have to be McCormick.

Black Gel for drawing the lines and mouth: Wilton Black Decorating Gel

Candy Eyes: Festival brand (found at Hobby Lobby). They do contain gelatin, so if you’re wanting it to be Vegan–you can use vegan marshmallows and an edible marker and draw a black dot on them. Or, you can use this recipe I found. Or, if you’re OK with it being made in a facility with soy (not shared equipment or lines) I’ve had good success with the Wilton Eyeballs too.

Cookie for the mouth: Enjoy Life Mini Cookies

Ears: Skittles

As most moms, I was up baking the cupcakes until 1 AM the night before. Even when I throw simple parties, it seems that they still take longer than I planned. I’m not one who goes crazy with decorations and I still feel pooped afterwards! Perhaps it’s because I was 36 weeks pregnant at the time. Remind me to not throw a party with a ton of little boys this late in my pregnancy again. I took all of the kids to a bounce house and so that tuckered them right out. It’s safe to say that we all slept good that night.

Despite the effort, cleaning and planning it takes (anyone else feel the need to have their house spotless for when parents come? #IWorryTooMuch) it was all worth it. My little man is such a special guy and he deserves every minute it took me. When he saw the cupcakes he said “I love my cupcakes, mom!” And that just melted my heart. I’d make them a hundred times over.

I hope this either helps you make your own tiger cupcakes for a jungle, or zoo theme–or for your own Daniel Tiger party. Or, that it helps you see some different ways and items you can use to spruce up some allergy-friendly cupcakes. If you want to serve your kids more delicious cupcake recipes, you can try my Oreo cupcake recipe!

To many safe and happy birthdays!!

DON’T FORGET TO PIN IT, SO YOU DON’T LOSE IT! ALSO, BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER ALLERGY-FRIENDLY PINTEREST BOARDS.

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If you’re looking for other sweet, decorated treats, check out some of my favorites:

Bunny Sugar Cookies (Gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut & tree nut free; top-8-free; vegan)

Frankenstein Krispies (Gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut & tree nut free; top-8-free; vegan option)

Monster Eyeballs (Gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut & tree nut free; top-8-free; vegan)

Spider Sugar Cookie Bars (Gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut & tree nut free; top-8-free; vegan)