From thepost.co.nz
By Stewart Sowman-Lund
What makes a good pastry? Is it the crisp, flaky texture? The quality of the fillings? That feeling of satisfied regret after eating too many? Some combination of all three?
If you find your mouth watering just at the thought, have you considered the pastry I described could also be made with only plant-based ingredients?
I’ll confess, it’s not something I had thought much about either - until an opportunity arose to taste some of this year’s best vegan pastries.
The inaugural Vegan Pastry Awards were held on Monday, with dozens of the country’s best plant-based treats being assessed against a series of highly precise criteria, from overall appearance, to texture and taste.
Given my recent unscientific forays into writing about beer and wine for this publication, I felt both compelled and totally qualified to indulge in another of life’s great pleasures. And I was willing to put my taste buds on the line to see whether a vegan pastry could really be just as delectable without what I would have described as “the good bits” (butter, mainly).
I quickly learned that my preconceptions were totally unfounded; while you may be able to detect the absence of butter (emphasis on ‘may’), you could very quickly forget that what you’re eating doesn’t contain a single animal product.
From looking at them, you’d be even more surprised. My mind was most blown after slicing into a perfectly set custard square, which sans egg still tasted pretty much exactly like any other custard square I’ve ever indulged in (many). Apparently, the egg-yellow colour was achieved with just a hint of turmeric, but the texture was identical.
Amanda Sorrenson, national coordinator for the NZ Vegan Society, tells the Sunday Star-Times the awards are about demonstrating how plant-based equivalents to traditional foods can be just as good.
“Everyone's starting to explore this area, because these are foods that are good for dairy-free people, good for vegan people, people interested in sustainability, and also they're becoming cheaper for producers to make,” she says.
While it may feel as though veganism is as popular as ever, Sorrenson says the group frequently hears that it’s a dying lifestyle. Her theory is that while the number of people who follow a plant-based diet is steady, there are fewer options for consumers when they’re out and about.
Like everything, that’s probably a consequence of tight economic times.
“There's a perception that veganism is going away and it's judged by purchases, not by actual numbers. And so ... not only do we have our regular awards, but we've expanded our awards to include things like pastries, because a lot of bakeries are starting to make them.”
This is the first year of the pastry awards, but other competitions run by the Vegan Society include those for pies, sausages, cheese and chocolate.
It’s all about raising awareness, and the bar, of what’s out there. Because while these vegan pastries are the soya-cream of the crop, it’s not always as easy as switching out animal products for vegan alternatives.
“You do have to experiment somewhat,” says Sorrenson. “[Judge and baker] Philippa Stevenson had a lot to teach us about technicality and about moisture levels and how using plant-based butters can be a technical challenge. It's not just a straight swap.”
The top pastry was Tart Bakery’s pain au chocolat, with the judges impressed by its lamination, puff, height and glaze. Other top winners included Richoux Patisserie in Ellerslie, which won for its custard square and berry danish.
Comedian Tom Sainsbury is a vegan and helped judge this year’s top pastries (mainly, he confessed, because he’s an avid consumer). He says that while it’s been a while since he tasted a non-vegan pain au chocolat, to him, this year’s champion bake tasted exactly as he remembered.
“It was open to discussion, so we kind of had to fight our cause on some of them,” he says, still recovering from the challenge of taste-testing dozens of pastries.
“The supreme winner we all agreed on,” Sainsbury says. “And the Danish we all agreed on. With the croissant and almond croissant, there was back and forth.”
Having a set of criteria to judge on was very helpful, he adds.
“Even though my gut [was] saying this one's so good, that's just because it tastes good, but it doesn't kind of do all these other things as well.”
Before the judging day, he didn’t know what lamination meant (that’s the layers you’ll notice when slicing into a croissant, achieved through meticulous chilling and folding). Now, he’s an expert.
Adds Sorrenson: “There's an expectation that it won't taste as good. Hence, we have this kind of competition. You wouldn’t go, ‘Oh my God, I don't think this has animal products in it. I really don't like it.’ But there's still that level of, when someone's told you it was vegan, you're going to go, ‘Oh, I hate it’. People are coming around to the plant-based idea.”
I’d challenge anyone to have a bite of one of this year’s winning bakes and realise they weren’t eating a traditional pastry.
And of course, there’s nothing stopping you from adding a hefty wedge of butter at home - but you might think twice before doing so.
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