Vegan Baking

“What's an apple cider doughnut?”, I asked at my recipe club meeting. I think my friends were as surprised as I was that I didn't know of it's existence. Come to find out, I've learned that many other West Coast (USA) natives are unaware of this cake doughnut that's infused with a hint of apples. This is because apple cider doughnuts are mainly a Northeast (USA) phenomenon. In colonial times, doughnuts were served in the Fall months in the Northeast when exotic dough recipes for beignets, imported from France and Holland, started to evolve and the seasonal butchering provided enough fat to fry things. Combine this with the apple harvest being at it's peak in the Fall and you have a food collision course in the making.

The sweetness of apricots and the earthiness of 100% rye flour complement each other, especially when accompanied by molasses, cardamom and espresso powder in this Apricot Rye Muffin recipe. Rye flour contains a low amount of gluten compared to wheat based flour so in order to enhance binding, the batter is mixed for 1 minute to allow the starches in the flour to become activated. The pectin in the apricot preserves also acts wonderfully as a binder in these vegan muffins.

There's something about bananas and walnuts that just makes a perfect sweetbread. This Banana Walnut Muffin recipe delivers it to your tastebuds thanks to the help of cinnamon, nutmeg a touch of vanilla extract. A slice of these vegan muffins topped with almond butter is a great thing.

What if you could have a fanny pack with a secret stash of caramel flavor that you could just dust onto things like apple cider donuts, fold into apple pies, work into cake batter and sprinkle onto ice cream whenever you wanted? Now you can! Caramel significantly enhances everything from chocolate to apple to vanilla, making this Caramel Powder a great thing to have in your kitchen flavor arsenal, or your fanny pack. Caramel powder is just sugar, water, oil and salt brought up to an amber caramelization temperature of 345F (174C) on the Candy Temperature Chart. If you'd like a slightly deeper caramel flavor feel free to experiment with temperatures up to 375F (191C).

My grandmother used to make the best cookies I've ever tasted. They were oatmeal raisin cookies that had a barely crisp exterior that gave way to a chewy, rich center that would release the most amazing oatmeal flavor. I asked her for the recipe once and she said she just made them by heart. How did people ever do that? It's amazing to me when something as exact as baking can be done without a recipe and be consistently amazing every time.

The only thing I like better than flaky, buttery, vegan croissants is flaky, buttery, vegan croissants wrapped around just the right amount of chopped dark chocolate so that it barely oozes out the sides as it's baked to perfection. In these chocolate croissants, also known as  Pain au Chocolat, I used chocolate croissant dough which is made by mixing a little sugar and cocoa powder into the fat block that forms the base of the croissant dough. The result is hundreds of layers of chocolate buttery heaven; an exquisite pastry that elevates chocolate to a whole different level. Be sure to use dark chocolate that is 60% cacao to achieve optimum balance between bittersweet chocolate and the buttery notes of the croissant dough.

These cookies are one of the standards of our Christmas baking celebrations. They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The crunchy pecans and tart-sweetness of the cranberries really make a complex and well rounded flavor and texture. They are really, really delicious!

Before my family and I changed to a plant-based diet, one of our absolute favorite recipes was the Tuna Puff or others may call it Chicken Pillows. So I decided to come up with a vegan version of one and the ending result being Creamy Spinach Pillows. They turned out better than I actually thought they would :) I tried looking for a vegan croissant brand but I couldn’t find anything like that in this town. So I had to make it from scratch. I’ve never made croissants from scratch in my life so I wanted to be safe and try a trusted recipe for the crust. So I went with Zeke’s Ve-gastronomy. I substituted a few things and steps for my purpose, but followed it for the most part.

I have this theory that those who don't care for croissants just haven't experienced the the real thing: the flaky outer crust shattering as you sink your teeth in, releasing a buttery aroma and uncovering a heavenly tender, fluffy, rich interior. At the end of the experience you might have to get up and shake yourself off. Many croissants start out this way but after about a day they turn into croisoggies as they quickly stale and don't have quite the same effect on the palate.

A croissant is a variation of laminated dough that starts out as dough wrapped around a buttery core. Samurai swords are made in a much similar way with molten metal being wrapped around a red hot iron core. Coincidence? I think not! This dough is folded and wrapped around itself to the point of where there are several dozen layers of fat and dough. When baked, steam is released and trapped between the layers which provides a leavening lift as well as flaky goodness. These vegan croissants feature a mix of Vegan Butter and shortening to mimic the similar fat content of butter. Do not use tub margarine for croissants if you don't want to waste your time. It's all about having a high-fat Vegan Butter so there's more distinction between the fat and dough layers.

Traditionally, fudge is made with a caramel base that lends a delightful chew and contributes extremely rich flavors. This is because when sugar is caramelized, hundreds of flavor compounds are created. One day someone got lazy and decided that making caramel was too much drama and they turned to marshmallow fluff to take its place. This is the new school way of fudge making. Marshmallow fluff is sticky so it contributes to the chew of fudge but it severely lacks caramel's rich flavors. The result is a fudge that is slightly easier to make but flat on flavor. I'll take the old school approach thank you very much.

I haven't yet met anyone who isn't a raging pizza fan. It was one of the hardest foods for me to give up when I lit the vegan torch. Luckily, I've developed a vegan pizza crust recipe that's easy to make and features a rich flavor with a crispy exterior and chewy interior. This has come at a price. The uneven road leading to this crust has made past girlfriends almost dump me over failed pizza prospects. I've lost many highly anticipated meals and wasted lots of time. Yes, the lowly pizza crust depends on some fundamental ingredients and methods that are to be mastered in order to bake itself to crispy perfection.

Apple Turnovers are perhaps one of the rare baked treats that suit the season any time of year. Perhaps the sweet, gooey apple paired with buttery, flaky puff pastry being one of the ultimate flavor combinations is why. This vegan treat would hit the spot on a cold winter morning, a hot summer day, or as a midnight snack. Put leftovers in the toaster oven for a few minutes to make them taste like they just came out of the oven. For the ultimate dessert, top it with some vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

I used to own a vegan baking company called Enchanted Oven Baking Co. This Ginger Almond Madness Cookie was one of the cookies I sold, individually packaged, to health food stores around the San Francisco Bay Area around 2003-2005. Here it is in all it's glory. This recipe has been modified from a 200 cookie batch so please excuse the wonky measurements.

Molasses, ginger, cinnamon, almond extract, cloves and just the right amount of almonds really bring out the best in these dense, chewy ginger snap cookies.

This Hearty Breakfast Muffin recipe was created because I wanted a healthy, hearty vegan muffin that provided good energy for the first meal of the day without giving me a mega-dose of sugar like most other muffins often do. These muffins contain no refined sugar, more protein, complex carbs and fiber than most other muffins because they feature ingredients like dates, raisins, walnuts, rolled oats, hemp protein powder or soy flour, maple syrup and molasses. These ingredients lend a delightfully complex taste and contribute to a dense hearty texture. They're easy to make and provide about one week of breakfasts. Try them topped with almond butter.