When Lillian Murtha, an Edgewood mom, was approached by the Edgewood PTA with the task of baking 400 cupcakes — 25 of them allergen-free — for the Edgewood Centennial celebration, she didn’t hesitate. “So many kids have allergies now, my own kids included,” she says. “It’s not easy buying something from the store because you either have to read every single ingredient or give bakeries the third degree! I started baking so my kids could have treats they weren’t allergic to.”

Lillian now runs her own online baking venture, Once Upon a Lil Cupcake, specializing in nut-free and gluten-free goodies. The 25 special cupcakes she made for the Centennial celebration were also free of egg, dairy and soy. She baked all 400 cupcakes in three days — with just four cupcake pans and one oven!

Here’s what 400 cupcakes looks like:

The fondant toppers with the letter “E” were made five days in advance and the most time consuming part. “I wanted them to be perfect,” Lillian says.

So would she do it all again? “It was a lot of work. I think my kitchen was covered in a fog of powdered sugar!” Lillian says. “But I had a lot of fun making them and would gladly do it all again.”

To order your own personalized cupcakes, allergen-free or otherwise, contact Lillian at Once Upon a Lil Cupcake.