Vegan Baking

The concept of reading words and numbers and using them to direct you to make something to eat is a strange thing. This simple list of directions is often the only companion you have in your quest to replicate what the original baker created. It's a good thing she meticulously listed all of the ingredients, their measures and thoroughly described all of the steps in an easy to follow manner. Or did she? If we were to go back in time a little over a hundred years or earlier, we would need a large heaping spoonful of luck for many of our recipes to turn out as they were intended. Luckily, recipe writing has evolved. Read on to find out how to write a recipe so it's interpreted in a clear, fun and informative way.

With the holidays rapidly approaching and funds dwindling about as fast, you might be wondering how in samhain you're going to pull out all the stops and deliver a memorable gift this year. Or you may be dreaming up ideas on getting yourself into a chocolate induced coma so you can cope with the stresses of life. Either way, now is the time to take matters into your own hands, put on your DIY hat and make a box of chocolates.

Like most things that are a little time consuming, the rewards of doing this are pretty big. I mean, the probability of having extra chocolates on hand is extremely high. I repeat: You're going to have tons of awesome chocolates after you do this! So what are you waiting for?

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.

Sometimes when working with things like chocolate, custards and fondant it's important to have slow, even, consistent heating. This ensures that your ingredients don't become too hot too fast or too much, which can cause them to break down. Other times you might want to work with something like melted chocolate for an extended period of time and not worry about constantly adjusting the heat to ensure that it's evenly melted. This is where a double boiler comes to the rescue. It's like cruise control for your heat!

A double boiler is a specific piece of cookware consisting of two fitted pots. The bottom pot is filled with 1 to 3 inches of water and the top pot fits above it and holds the ingredient that you're heating.

In these trying times purchasing baking ingredients to sustain your sweet tooth/hobby can add up. Many of us have more time than funds these days so it can be fun to discover the art producing things we take for granted. This is the heart of what DIY culture is all about. It's fascinating to create, learn and save some dough in the process.

Lately I took that approach to vanilla extract and was able to create a vanilla extract that was comparable to high end extract for slightly more than half the cost.

To do this first you'll need to obtain a proper vessel. The little 5 oz. bottles that hot sauce comes in is perfect for home brewed vanilla extract. Transfer the hot sauce to a small pyrex container and thoroughly wash the glass bottle a couple times to wash away all the hot sauce remnants. 

I've always recommended to have at least one thermometer in the oven at all times. Do you really want to trust that other shady built-in oven thermometer? Last I saw that dude he was blinking 12:00 like it was actually that time (maybe it was). The fact is, your built-in oven thermometer is usually off and it's a good idea to take steps to correct oven temperatures before you wake up and realize that you've grown into an adult at the same house accompanied by almost 1,053 slightly burned Friday night pizzas.

During the Fall there are few things better than pumpkin infused treats like pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins and pumpkin cookies. Probably the least understood part of making these treats is getting the pumpkin purée out of the pumpkin. There are lots of different ways to make pumpkin purée. Some methods use boiling pumpkin chunks in water, others use baking the pumpkin in the oven. Still other methods detail using the microwave. Each method has it's pros and cons. Read on to find out how to select the best pumpkin and recommended steps for making good quality pumpkin purée.

I love baking with vegan margarines like Earth Balance because they taste almost as good as butter and contain no hydrogenated oils. Hydrogenated oils are oils where hydrogen is forced into oil at high pressure. This chemically changes the unsaturated fatty acids into saturated ones. The benefit of this is that the oil is solid at room temperature and has an extended shelf life. The drawback of this is that trans fats are created during this process. In the 1980's food scientists began to notice adverse health affects associated with trans fat intake. This finding has led to a disaster in the food industry as food processors scramble to re-engineer their food to forgo hydrogenated oils but allow them to retain their flavor, shelf life, consistency and profit margins.

One of the reasons Fall is the best time of year for baking is the plethora of fruits and vegetables that have been growing to perfection all summer. Of these, apples are one of the most appreciated and varied. It's common to dedicate a whole afternoon to apple picking, searching for our favorite varieties in nature's perfect form and discovering new varieties along the way.

Read on for our recommendations for the best apple varieties to use for baking your apple pie, strudel, apple butter, apple cake, apple galette, etc.

By now you may have decided to try this whole vegan baking thing and unlike most other hobbies, noticed how satisfying it is to voraciously consume the results when it works out. If you haven't been consuming the fruits of your labor in secret, perhaps the boss is a little farther away from laying you off in these hard times due to the ongoing appearances of your apple struedel at the office. In conclusion of our series, we give you Part 3 of Building Your Vegan Kitchen where we divulge the useful tools that make vegan baking more convenient, cost effective and fun. 

This is Part 2 of a 3 part series on how to get your kitchen dialed in for easy vegan baking. In Part 1 we talked about essential cookware that we recommend to make things nice and easy. In this article we'll detail ingredients that will make your vegan baking adventures easier so you're not running to the store trying to find that one ingredient you forgot about at 1am. Part 3 will detail specific tools that aren't necessities but are worthwhile additions to your vegan baking armory.

Father's Day is coming on Sunday, June 21st so you'd better get on it and show Dad that he's #1 (or you might get grounded). We've compiled a list for all you sons and daughters out there who have been trying to figure out what to get dear ol' Dad while somewhat keeping with the theme of vegan baking. A stretch? Possibly. As you lead a cruelty-free lifestyle, It's important remember to give gifts that don't say "I'm vegan and I got you this vegan gift". Read on for our recommendations.

Whether you choose to indulge in chocolate chip or something a bit more exotic, there’s nothing better than a freshly baked, warm and delicious cookie. Unless, of course, that cookie is also of the vegan variety. While there are a number of great vegan cookie recipes out there, it’s sometimes important to get back to basics and look at what really makes a cookie come out great, as even the best recipe can be botched by a lack of attention to detail.

Mise en place, pronounced 'MEEZ ahn plahs', translates to "put in place". It means to have all your ingredients, cookware and your kitchen prepped and ready to go before doing your cooking or baking. With mise en place, recipes are reviewed and necessary ingredients and equipment are checked. Mise en place is used extensively in the food industry and is of equal importance to the recipe itself.

Mise in place is simply the act of just reading the directions, fully understanding and preparing yourself for the task you're about to do. If you bought furniture that needed to be assembled, you'd want to practice a variant of mise en place called "reading the directions first" for best results. You should get in the habit of mise en place every time you bake.