From marthastewart.com
By Randi Gollin
A Great British Bake Off finalist shares her tips for converting conventional baking recipes to vegan treats
If you want to explore vegan baking, in addition to trying specific vegan recipes, you can also make your favourite baking recipes vegan. As much as we adore classic cookies, cakes, muffins, and quick breads, it turns out that baked goods free of dairy and eggs can also be downright decadent—as long as you swap them for the right substitutes. "I'm a firm believer in no one missing out on the goodness of food and the joy of baking, irrespective of diet choice," says Ruby Bhogal, an author and baking expert adept at making traditional and plant-based bakes equally delicious. She shares her top tips and ingredient swaps so you can make vegan versions of all your go-to baked goods.
Why Embrace Vegan Baking?
Bhogal is at home in both lanes. As a contestant on the first-ever Vegan Week on The Great British Bake Off in 2018, Bhogal experienced a very public cake catastrophe when her epic creation turned into an epic fail. The episode had an upside, fuelling her fire to create fail-proof recipes—including those that employ plant-based ingredients.
Now, in her cookbook One Bake, Two Ways, she showcases 50 like-for-like recipes, pairing one traditional bake with its vegan iteration, brilliantly illustrating how taste never needs to be compromised, regardless of dietary preferences—or a kitchen low on traditional baking supplies.
"Taking a more flexitarian approach opens up a whole new world of baking," she says. "For instance, when I want to bake a cake but have run out of eggs, there is no sweat. There is a recipe that I can fall back onto and be assured it'll guarantee a delicious result."
Matt Russell
Making Your Favourite Baking Recipes Vegan
Before diving in and adapting tried-and-true recipes, it helps to be aware of the role staples like eggs, sugar, and fat play in the recipe and ensure each of those bases is covered with a plant-based alternative, advises Bhogal.
Vegan vs. Plant-Based
It's helpful to discern between vegan and plant-based terms since they're not exactly the same.
- A vegan diet eschews all animal products, including dairy, meat, fish, eggs, poultry, and honey.
- Plant-based regimens revolve around eating mostly fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in their natural state. Some adherents don't eliminate animal products.
Egg Substitutes
Some ingredients can also have several uses. Eggs, for instance, can be a binding agent, uniting the ingredients, or a leavening agent, allowing the ingredients to rise. In her book, Bhogal offers the following guidance for successfully trading one egg:
Binding Swaps
- Flax egg: Whisk together 1 tablespoon flaxseed and 3 tablespoons water.
- Chia egg: Fifteen minutes before using, stir together 1 tablespoon of chia seeds and 3 tablespoons of water.
- Unsweetened applesauce: For each medium egg, use 1/4 cup applesauce; for a large egg, use 1/3 cup.
- Banana egg: Use 1/3 cup mashed banana.
- Aquafaba egg yolk: Use 1 tablespoon aquafaba (aka the viscous liquid in a can of chickpeas).
Leavening Swaps
- Baking oil egg: Five minutes before using, whisk together 2 tablespoons baking powder and 2 teaspoons vegetable oil.
- Aquafaba egg white: Whisk 2 tablespoons aquafaba and 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar till stiff, but not dry.
- Aquafaba whole egg: Whisk 3 tablespoons aquafaba till foamy.
Dairy Substitutes
"Typically, nut and plant milk can be used in lieu of cream and whole milk, but when it comes to baking bread and cakes, you are looking for the option with the highest protein level to assist the gluten to build structure and texture," says Bhogal. Soy milk is optimal; almond milk, her fall-back for those with intolerances.
Buttermilk Swaps
There are dairy options to use if you don't have buttermilk, but here are Bhogal's vegan alternatives.
Swap a scant 1/2 cup of milk for the same amount of soy/coconut milk, and choose one of the following:
- Mix with 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice, and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes till lightly curdled.
- Mix with 1/4 tablespoon white wine vinegar and let it sit for 5 minutes till lightly curdled.
- Mix with 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar and use straight away.
Or mix a scant 1/2 cup plant-based yogurt with 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice and use immediately.
Sour Cream Swaps
Switch a scant 1/2 cup sour cream for the same amount of plant-based heavy cream and mix with 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice or 1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar. Allow to sit at room temperature for 24 hours till thickened.
Alternatively, mix a scant 1/2 cup of plant-based yogurt with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and use right away.
Sweeteners
When converting a recipe that calls for honey, Bhogal exchanges maple syrup, agave, or date syrup. Otherwise, most sweeteners are usually fine to use in plant-based diets. "When in doubt, I have switched a refined sugar for coconut sugar, which works great as a substitution, whilst offering up a delicious flavour profile," she says.
Butter—or Not
When trading out butter, Bhogal reaches for plant-based butter. "Plant-based ingredients have come a long way, and where you can substitute a like for like (i.e. butter); other options (i.e. eggs) require a little more creativity," she says.
Fruits and Other Ingredients
The recipes in One Bake, Two Ways also encourage bakers at all levels to experiment outside the box. If cherries are no longer in season, for instance, opt for plums. "Offering and encouraging substitutions, allowing food freedom and not being too prescriptive hopefully provides the reader with a softer dive into the world of carby goodness," says Bhogal.
Sweet Success
When making a recipe vegan, you may be working with a host of new-to-you ingredients, so have patience, and don't be disheartened if you don't achieve perfection the first go-around. "Food is a privilege, and it should be fun. Play to your likes, lean into your creativity, and see your confidence (and repertoire) grow," says Bhogal.
https://www.marthastewart.com/vegan-baking-substitutes-8693534
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