Vegan Baking

 Vegan baking is easier than non-vegan baking. You just need to know how to replace eggs and milk. It is the use of producing baked products without the practice of any animal things. It means you don’t use any dairy products (eggs, milk, cream, honey, etc) for your cakes, donuts, Pie, or any baked goods. Sometimes vegan bakers use ingredients derived from plants. So, they can achieve similar tastes and textures in their recipes. 
Veganism is increasing day by day. Research reveals the approximate number of vegans in the world is less than 1.1 percent of the world population. But it's increasing rapidly in the UK and Australia. If you’re looking for a gluten-free and vegetarian diet, Vegan baked goods can play a vital role in achieving your goal. If you are new to dairy-free baking. I have some delicious plant-based recipes for you. For this, you need to read the complete article.

Plant-based baking for beginner

You can start your cruelty-free baking journey as early as you want. There is no rocket science in it. You need to select a recipe wisely. You must learn how to make the essentials without milk, butter, or eggs. Here are some substitutes of main ingredients which you can use in vegan baked goods.

Vegan baking substitutes chart

These days, there are vegan substitutes for all the essential ingredients that are available in just about every supermarket.

Traditional Ingredient Vegan Substitute

Eggs - Flaxseed or chia seed "eggs" (1 tbsp ground seeds + 3tbsp water) Applesauce(1/4 cup per egg) Mashed bananas (1/4 cup per egg) Commercial egg replacers

Butter - Vegan butter or margarine, Coconut oil- Nut butters

Milk - Almond milk, Soy milk, Coconut milk, Oat milk 

Cream - Coconut cream- Cashew cream

Yogurt - Plant-based yogurt- Coconut yogurt

Honey - Maple syrup - Agave nectar

Gelatin - Agar-agar (for gelling purposes)- Vegan-friendly gelatin alternatives

Buttermilk - Vegan buttermilk (1 cup non-dairy milk +1 tbsp vinega or lemon juice, let sit for 5-10 mins)

Cheese    -   Vegan cheese

Chocolate  - Dark chocolate (check for dairy-free) ,Vegan chocolate chips

Whipped cream - Coconut whipped cream- Cashew cream

All-purpose flour - All-purpose flour (often vegan)- Whole wheat flour - Almond flour Coconut flour

Basic vegan baked goods

Vegan baking is easy and fun to do. Here are some plants based and gluten free baked goods to try.
⦁ Gluten free banana bread
⦁ Whole grain seeded bread
⦁ Gluten free peanut butter muffins
⦁ Blueberry breakfast cookies
⦁ Vegan cinnamon rolls
⦁ Chocolate zucchini bread
⦁ Fruit Crisps
⦁ Vegan scones
⦁ Vegan cornbread
⦁ Plant based artisan bread

Best vegan baking recipes

Vegan vanilla cheesecake

Ingredients

⦁ 100g coconut melted oil

⦁ 300g vegan digestive biscuits

⦁ 800g vegan cheese

⦁ 175g light brown sugar

⦁ 100g vegan vanilla yogurt

⦁ 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

⦁ 1 tbsp cornflour

⦁ 100g mixed berries

Method

STEP 1

Oil the sides of a 23cm loose-bottomed cake dish and spread the baking paper evenly. Grind the biscuits in food processor to fine crumbs. Then mix with the melted oil. Press the crumbs into the tin with spoon or spatula. Put it in the fridge and make the filling.

STEP 2

Pick a large bowl and put cheese in it. Whisk it with electric mixer until smooth. Mix the yogurt, vanilla bean paste and cornflour in a small bowl. Then add this into the soft cheese mixture and whisk again to combine until you get smooth texture.

STEP 3

Pour the mixture over the chilled biscuit base and smooth it with a spatula. Put again in fridge for 6 hrs until set. Put a knife under hot running water. Then drag it around the side of the cheesecake to loosen it from the tin. Garnish it with some blueberries. Its ready to eat now.

Vegan Scones

Ingredients

⦁ 400g self-rising flour, some extra for dusting

⦁ ¼ tsp salt

⦁ 1 tsp baking powder

⦁ 2 tbsp caster sugar

⦁ 130g vegan vegetable spread

⦁ 150ml soy milk + extra to glaze

⦁ jam, to serve

⦁ vegan whipping cream alternative

Method

STEP 1

Pick recommended quantity of flour, salt, baking powder and sugar in a bowl. Rub all these things in vegetable spread until it looks like breadcrumbs. You can also use food processor until it resembles breadcrumbs.

STEP 2

Gradually add milk in the mixture. When it will become a dough. Then sprinkle some flour on the board and knead it for 30 seconds to 1 minute until it become smooth. Then gently roll out the dough until 2cm thick. Transfer it in a baking tray striped with baking paper. And put in the fridge for 30 minutes.

STEP 3

Take out the dough from the fridge, cut out the scones with 6-7m cutter. Put them, top side down, onto another baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving at least a 2cm gap between each one. You can continue rolling and cutting until it got finished.

STEP 4

Preheat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Brush with the extra milk. Bake for 20-25 minutes. It will be golden brown. Leave to cool slightly, then serve with jam and whipped or you can use any kind of spread which you want.

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Brownies

Ingredients

⦁ 1 avocado

⦁ 1 cup sugar (can be a mixture of white and brown sugar)

⦁ 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

⦁ 1 teaspoon vanilla

⦁ 1 cup flour

⦁ 1/2 cup cocoa powder

⦁ 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

⦁ 1/4 teaspoon salt

⦁ 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

STEP 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease 8x8-inch baking pan. Put the avocado in food processor until smooth.

STEP 2

 Add avocado puree, sugar, applesauce, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Mix for almost 5to7 minutes until well combined.

Add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl and whisk it. Then add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add the vegan chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the baking pan and put it in the oven.

STEP 3

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. A toothpick inserts into the centre if it comes out with no moist crumbs. Then its cooked well. Let it cool in the pan for almost 10 minutes. After that cut the brownies into squares and eat.

General tips

Make sure the ingredients should be in room temperature except it is stated in the recipe that milk, butter or eggs etc should be cold.

There are different kind of doughs. You should be familiarized with every dough. Each dough has different properties and consistency. 

If you are making a baked layers cake. You should make layers a day before. Because fresh can’t stay stable for long time. It should little bit hard.

Vegan and gluten-free recipes need more power in terms of leavening. So, for the desired result you need to add the combination of baking powder and baking soda in vegan baking.