Sharing desserts with family and friends seems like a lot of fun, but lately, more and more people are avoiding longtime staple baking ingredients like wheat flour, butter, and eggs. This can often pose a dilemma for party hosts. Fortunately, there are ways to make desserts just as sweet without these ingredients. Skeptical? Our easy tricks and recipes will make you a believer.
Story and recipes by Robin Asbell
FOR VEGAN BAKING
ANIMAL-FRIENDLY SWEETENERS
Strict vegans often avoid white sugar because it’s filtered through cow-bone charcoal. However, raw sugars aren’t filtered that way and are considered vegan. Instead of honey, which vegans leave to the bees, you can use maple syrup, or a fruit-based honey replacement.
REPLACING EGGS
To bake without eggs, you need to replace the binding power of egg whites. Use binders made from ground flaxseeds or starches, such as arrowroot, potato starch, or tapioca. To replace 1 egg, whisk 1 tbsp of finely ground flaxseeds with 1/4 cup water. Or whisk together 1 tsp arrowroot, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp guar gum, and 3 tbsp water. A store-bought egg-replacer powder, such as Ener-G brand, combines a few starches with some leavening. For moisture and body, use a purée of banana, pumpkin, or tofu. Silken-tofu purée is great in cheesecakes and can replace half the fat in cookies and muffins.
PANTRY STAPLES
Vegan sugar, ground flaxseeds, maple syrup, egg replacer, pumpkin purée, silken tofu, raw cashews.
FOR GLUTEN-FREE BAKING
FLOURS
Most grocery stores now carry at least a few gluten-free flour blends. They typically contain four kinds of flours, including starches like potato or tapioca to help bind and tenderize. If you are trying to go low-carb, seek out nut- or bean-based blends, which are generally higher in protein, fiber, and other nutrients; use them in recipes with chocolate, spices, or other strong flavors that mask the flour’s slight beany notes. For lightly flavored cakes, such as angel food, choose a mild-flavored blend with white-rice flour at the top of the ingredients list. Single flours like almond, coconut, and quinoa work well, too, but be sure to add a binder.
BINDERS
When baking without wheat, you need to add a binding ingredient to re-create the gluten-based structure that forms when wheat flour is mixed with liquid and that serves to hold ingredients together. Otherwise, your goodies will fall flat or crumble. Replace 1/4 cup liquid with one egg. For a vegan alternative, mix 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds with 1/4 cup water in place of one egg—or try xanthan or guar gum, powdered binding ingredients sold at health food stores. For bread, use 1 teaspoon of gum per cup of flour; for cakes and cookies, it’s just half a teaspoon—any more and they turn out rubbery.
PANTRY STAPLES
Gluten-free flour blend, eggs or flaxseeds, xanthan and guar gums.
FOR NONDAIRY BAKING
VEGETABLE OILS
Replace butter with liquid plant-based oil rather than using margarine, which contains processed or partially hydrogenated oils. It’s an easy swap in buttery cookie recipes: Just use 1o tbsp oil for each cup of butter. Choose a heart-healthy option like extra-virgin olive oil (rest assured, the grassy flavor bakes off), or walnut or canola oil. For flaky results in pastries, such as pie crusts, scones, and biscuits, chill the oil first and drizzle it into the flour slowly, then quickly add any remaining liquid and shape the pastry. Or replace butter in pastries with equal parts chilled and solidified coconut oil. To use, simply grate oil into flakes and toss with the flour. Try raw-nut purées or nut butters to add richness in baked goods: Replace half the fats with peanut or almond butter in granola bars, cookies, and cakes.
CREAMINESS
Replace milk or cream with nondairy milks; almond and coconut are the most neutral tasting and have good body for baking fluffy cakes and muffins. Higher-fat canned coconut milk is more like cream, great for ganache or ice cream. To make “whipped cream”, chill a can of coconut milk overnight. Pour off watery liquid and scoop solid cream into a chilled bowl. Add 1–2 tbsp confectioner’s sugar and whip until fluffy. Chill until ready to serve. For a stand-in for cream cheese or sour cream, make cashew cream: Soak 2 cups raw cashews overnight, drain, then purée in a food processor, gradually adding water until creamy. This yields 2 1/2 cups thick or 3 1/2 cups “pourable” cream. Sweeten
with agave or maple syrup.
PANTRY STAPLES
Olive or canola oil, nondairy milk, canned coconut milk.
Vegan maple-pecan pie
Serves 12
Cashew cream combined with a hint of apple and cinnamon creates a luscious filling perfect for the holidays. A maple-pecan topping adds a sweet crunch.
3 tbsp refined coconut oil, plus extra for greasing
8 oz graham crackers
1 cup maple syrup, divided
2 tsp cinnamon
2 and a 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight and drained
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
3/4 cup raw cane sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp arrowroot
1 tsp vanilla
1 and a 1/2 cups pecan halves
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 10-inch springform pan with oil. In a food processor, grind crackers to fine crumbs. Drizzle in ¼ cup syrup and 3 tbsp oil; add cinnamon, and process to mix. Sprinkle crumb mixture into pan. With damp fingers, press firmly into pan, leaving slightly thicker edges. Bake, 10 minutes. Let cool.
In a food processor, grind cashews until they form a thick paste. Gradually add almond milk, processing until smooth and creamy. Add sugar, applesauce, lemon juice, arrowroot, vanilla, and a pinch of salt, and process to mix. Spoon cashew mixture into crust, spreading it smoothly. Bake 30 minutes.
In a saucepan, bring remaining ¾ cup syrup to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, stirring frequently, 5 minutes. Arrange pecans on top of pie in concentric circles to cover the surface. Drizzle hot syrup neatly over nuts.
Bake until pie is slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 minutes. Let cool on a rack, then refrigerate to chill. Serve cold.
NUTRITIONAL INFO 465 calories per serving, 25 g fat (6 g saturated), 56 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 7 g protein, 161 mg sodium
Gluten-free cranberry upside-down cake
Serves 10
In this luscious dessert, tangy cranberries are encased in just enough buttery cake, while a blend of spices and orange zest adds exciting flavor.
8 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 cup light-brown sugar
2 cups cranberries (thawed, if frozen)
1 and 1/2 cups gluten-free flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs Zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
Heat oven to 350°F. In an 11-inch springform pan, melt 4 tbsp butter in oven, 5 minutes. Sprinkle pan bottom evenly with brown sugar and cranberries.
In a bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, cloves, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum. In a stand mixer, cream remaining 4 tbsp butter. Beat in sugar, stopping to scrape down sides as needed, until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Set mixer on low; add flour mixture and orange zest, and process to mix. Scrape sides. Slowly mix in buttermilk and vanilla until smooth. Set mixer to high and beat, 2 minutes. Drop spoonfuls of batter evenly over cranberries; gently spread to cover berries.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs, about 40 minutes. Let cool in pan on a rack, 5 minutes. Place a plate over the cake and, holding firmly, flip to invert the cake onto the plate. Let cool.
NUTRITIONAL INFO 307 calories per serving, 12 g fat (6 g saturated), 49 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 4 g protein, 219 mg sodium
Dairy-free double chocolate chunk cookies
Makes 14 Cookies
Plentiful dark-chocolate chunks and vegetable oil make these chewy cookies rich and satisfying. No milk chocolate or butter is necessary.
1/2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
2 tbsp olive or canola oil
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup light-brown sugar
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sweetened dark-chocolate chunks
Heat oven to 350°F. In a double boiler over medium heat, combine baking chocolate and oil. Heat, stirring, until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Let cool to room temperature. Whisk in egg and vanilla.
In a bowl, whisk together sugar, flours, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the chocolate mixture. It will be stiff, so use your hands to knead it all together. Mix in chocolate chunks.
Divide dough into 14 pieces and roll into balls. Place 3 inches apart on 2 parchment paper–lined baking sheets. Dampen hands with water and gently flatten the balls to 3/4-inch thick.
Bake cookies for 5 minutes. Exchange the position of the baking sheets and bake until cookies are slightly puffed and darker around the edges, 5 minutes. Cool on sheets, 5 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool completely.
NUTRITIONAL INFO 141 calories per serving, 7 g fat (3 g saturated), 21 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 2 g protein, 137 mg sodium
Robin Asbell is a chef and author of eight cookbooks, including Sweet & Easy Vegan
