Ever since middle school, Max Spady has been perfecting his delicious vegan cupcakes. Because of his food allergies to milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, beef, and sesame, it’s hard for Spady to eat a lot of popular dishes or desserts. Spady admits that his allergies have made it easier for him to go vegan: “I’m just giving up pork and other meats. With the rest, I’m pretty much already there.”

Spady uses soy milk and an egg replacer for his tasty concoctions. To top them off, he uses powdered sugar and vegan butter for the frosting. He loves to bake his cupcakes for friends and teachers.

“If I didn’t make vegan cupcakes I just wouldn’t be able to eat cupcakes, and that’s true for pretty much everything I eat, and I just want other people to be able to eat them.”

Arram Dreyer, Spady’s government teacher, got to taste his vegan cupcakes when he gave them to Dreyer as a present: “The cupcake was more than a cupcake. It was ambrosia for my soul,” dotes Dreyer. He explains that Spady presented him with the sweet treats after noticing that Dreyer was experiencing some stress. “I think this says a lot about Max. It says that he’s a caring, loving person, and we need more people like that in the world today.”

Here’s Spady’s recipe for vegan cupcakes from allrecipes.com;

Vanilla Cupcakes

2/3 cup softened butter (Earth Balance)

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup self rising flour

3 eggs worth Energy-G Egg Replacer

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven 350 degrees

Cream butter and sugar

Slowly blend in egg replacer

Mix in flour and vanilla

Fill cupcake tins a little over halfway

Bake for 18-20 minutes (check at 18)

Put a toothpick through the center of a few- if it comes out clean, it is done. If not, check it after every two minutes.

Here is Max’s recipe for vegan buttercream frosting from twosisterscrafting.com:

Buttercream Frosting 

4 cups of powdered sugar

1 cup softened butter (Earth Balance)

3 teaspoons of vanilla

1-2 tablespoons of soy milk (Vanilla Silk)

Mix butter and vanilla

Mix in powdered sugar

If it’s too thick, very slowly add Silk. If it’s too thin, add powdered sugar. Balance it to taste.