Serving a tasty vegan dessert can be challenging, but may be made a whole lot easier by substituting various, quality vegan ingredients for the dairy products usually associated with these rich culinary creations! Best of all, vegan desserts can be quick to make, super delicious, and nutritious. You’ll surprise your family and friends by serving your own, homemade, delectable confections, and no one will ever know they are vegan… unless you tell them.

To get started, try using mashed bananas or whipped tofu to replace eggs in many baked goods recipes. This works especially well when making muffins, brownies, and many basic cake recipes. Instead of using processed white sugar (which sometimes is made by being filtered through animal bone char) or honey (yes, it is an animal product, made by bees), try using agave syrup, organic maple syrup, or organic, vegan brown sugar. These savvy sweeteners all produce a delicate, but satisfying sweet taste and can often be mixed and matched in many baked goods recipes. Furthermore, using organic pastry or whole-grain flours in place of over-processed varieties, adds a hearty taste and texture to your baked creations, and adds extra nutritional value, as well.

When creating compassionate chocolate confections, always use dairy free, fair trade, darker chocolate, which keeps it vegan, while being healthier for the planet and helping to build equitable and sustainable trading partnerships by creating opportunities to alleviate poverty. To top off your sweet works of art, consider making a vegan whipped topping by blending together organic, silken tofu with some agave or maple syrup. Blend until smooth and creamy in texture, and then refrigerate for three hours, (or more) until very well chilled. For added color and taste, try adding some raspberries (for pink colored topping), or blueberries, (violet hued) presenting a sensational accompaniment to any cake or pudding dessert.

Instead of using butter in your home baked goods, make sure to use a vegan spread that is non-GMO and trans-fat free. A great substitute for butter is the Earth Balance brand of spreads, which works well as a replacement for butter in any recipe you may be preparing!

All of the ingredients mentioned here are available in most local supermarkets, nationwide. So, with a little extra thought and some key ingredients, you can easily make rich desserts and moist baked goods without using any animal products! The best part is…it tastes fantastic!

Here's a video of Laura showing you how to whip up her Incredible Banana Muffins.