A Guide To Baking Vegan
If there’s one thing I’ve learned this semester, it’s this: you don’t need eggs or butter to bake great things. The myth of French cuisine! Any baked good (challenge me!) is vegan-izable, and it doesn’t have to be super processed and sugary. Here, I’ve compiled what I’ve learned about substituting from the internet, trial and error, and endless Instagram videos. And, after, some of my favorite recipes for any occasion.
Egg
Flax “egg”
1 tbsp flax meal + 2 tbsp water
Mix, then allow to gel for 10 minutes
Starch
Adding some starch (tapioca or corn) will add chewiness. This isn’t always necessary.
Butter
Coconut Oil
Or Vegan Butter. Coconut oil will work in any cake or cookie, but if you want a buttery-er taste for a crust or shortbread, I would just recommend buying vegan butter! It’s literally as cheap or cheaper than regular butter.
Milk
Any plant milk will work. Literally anything. Maybe with the exception of making cappuccinos… which you’ll need to find a frothier, more emulsified plant milk for. Oatly’s Barista Blend Oatmilk is great, or Califia Farms Almondmilk.
Buttermilk
Curdled plant milk
Mix ~1 tsp vinegar for every ½ cup of plant milk a recipe calls for, and let it sit out for 15 minutes. It may not look curdled, but it will help any baked good rise just as well as buttermilk would.
Caramel
Date paste
Use medjool dates OR soak deglet dates for about an hour in hot water. Then, blend using a food processor with any liquid or plant milk until you have the consistency you want – this can be used as a caramel sauce, or a thicker paste. Add some salt for salted caramel.
Yogurt
Applesauce or banana work well to moisten cakes.
Cream Cheese
Cashews
Soak these, then blend in a food processor.
Vegan Blueberry Scones
3/4 cup coconut milk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar (ACV)
2 cups all purpose (AP) flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup cold vegan butter (any brand or spread is good, solid coconut oil works, too)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup wild frozen blueberries (the little ones)
Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp plant milk
Oven: 375 F
Mix coconut milk and ACV, set aside to curdle ~15 min.
In a medium bowl, mix flour and baking powder. Add vegan butter and cut into the flour until mixture is crumbly.
Mix in sugar and salt.
Mix in vanilla and curdled coconut milk to form dough.
Rinse frozen blueberries once or twice and mix into dough (make it blue!).
Remove from bowl, form dough into two circles (about 3/4” thick), and cut into eighths (wedges).
Bake on parchment paper 18-20 min.
While scones are cooling, mix powdered sugar and plant milk to form glaze
Drizzle glaze over scones and enjoy!
Vegan Pecan Pie
Crust
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup coconut oil (solid)
4 tbsp water
Vegan Pecan Pie Part
1 cup dates (soaked in hot water 10 min-1 hour, medjool are better here than deglet)
1 cup brown sugar + 2 tbsp molasses
2 flax eggs (each is 1 tbsp flax in 3 tbsp water, 15 min to gel)
2 cup pecans chopped (very finely)
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp corn starch
1/2 cup coconut milk cream part
Crust:
Mix together flour, sugar, and salt. Mix in coconut oil.
Pie:
Prepare the flax eggs and set aside.
In a food processor, blend the dates into a paste (this is where the caramel flavor will come from).
Mix together the brown sugar, molasses, and flax eggs. Mix in the cornstarch, salt, and coconut milk cream.
Mix pecans in, and pour into pie crust.
Bake for 1 hour, and let cool a bit before serving.
Vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
1/2 cup coconut oil, solid (not melted at all)
3/4 cups dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons water
1/3 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix!)
2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (be sure not to pack your flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice to taste (we used a lot)
1 and 1/2 cups chocolate chips (use vegan chocolate chips if vegan), divided
Flaky sea salt
Oven: 375 F
Beat oil and sugars until combined and fluffy, then beat in water, pumpkin puree, and vanilla.
Add in all dry ingredients and mix.
Add chocolate chips and flaky salt on top.
Bake 10 min (or more if electric stove) until slight browning on the edges.
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) vegan coconut spread butter, slightly softened to room temperature 1 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp almond milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons tapioca starch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 bar of chocolate chopped
Oven: 350 F
1. Cream together vegan butter and sugar for 5 min with a hand mixer. Mix in vanilla and almond milk.
2. Add in all dry ingredients and mix well.
3. Mix in chocolate + chocolate shavings.
4. Form balls on baking sheet – bake 10-15 min (want edges a lil brown, centers white and puffy, slight crackling).
5. Let cool.
Vegan oatmeal raisin cookies
Dry ingredients
2 cups oats + 1/2 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp almond flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
Wet ingredients
3/4 cups almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 flax egg (1 tbsp flax meal + 2 tbsp water sit in the fridge 10 min)
Flavor (optional)
A little molasses
1 cup mixies (chocolate chips or raisins)
2 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
Oven: 375 F
Bake time: 8-10 min
Mix together dry ingredients.
Add in all wet ingredients.
Add flavors (optional).
Bake 8-10 minutes, at 375 F.