Vegan Baking

This No Knead Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread is now my go-to vegan bread recipe because it's simple to make and is a great example of how wet doughs can create wonderfully light and spongy breads. The higher water content allows the gliadin and glutenin in the flour to align into tight gluten bonds over time so you can forget about all the kneading drama. The result is a fluffy, chewy loaf that's perfect for sandwiches. Feel free to use this bread as a starting point and substitute a ½ cup of the flour for things like wheat germ, wheat bran or oat bran. It's important to note that due to the wetness of this dough it's only suitable for baking in a loaf pan.

I've made this French Toast recipe for years for vegans, omnivores and carnivores; everyone loves it. It is so simple and only takes minutes to prepare, which is why I like it. I would give credit to where the recipe came from but I honestly don't remember. I think a vegan friend told me about it many years ago.

This Hazelnut Coffee Ice Cream recipe takes advantage of hazelnuts, also known as filberts for it's base and to enhance coffee flavors. Early trials of this vegan ice cream used toasted hazelnuts which brought out slightly deeper hazelnut flavors but left miniscule pieces in the ice cream which affected creaminess. If you have a VitaMix, go ahead and toast them. If you have a regular blender leave the hazelnuts untoasted so creaminess isn't affected. The ice cream will be delightful either way, especially when topped with Double Chocolate Sauce.

This Coconut Rum Raisin Ice Cream recipe is a great example of how suitable coconut milk can be as a rich, creamy base in vegan ice creams. The coconut flavor is further enhanced by the addition of toasted shredded coconut then complimented by just the right amount of rum soaked raisins. It's important to note that adding more than 2 Tablespoons of rum is discouraged because it will drastically increase the freezing temperature resulting in ice cream that's too soft.

This Buttermilk Pancake recipe takes advantage of soy milk's ability to curdle when exposed to acids. You can choose lemon juice or even cream of tartar as your acid of choice but I prefer the additional flavor complexity that apple cider vinegar contributes. Buttermilk flavor is also enhanced by adding Vegan Butter or margarine to the batter which also adds moisture and fluffiness. Hemp and almond milk will curdle to a certain degree but not as much as soy milk. Coconut milk and rice milk are not recommended for this recipe because they lack sufficient protein and will not curdle at all. Top these vegan pancakes with maple syrup, berries and/or a dollop of almond butter.

During the presidential election of 2009 my roommate told me about a pretty hilarious campaign funding tactic: Ralph Nader had an offer where if you donated a specific amount of money to his campaign you would receive his grandmother's hummus recipe in the mail. I'm about to one up Ralph Nader. I'm going to offer you my Three Bean Hummus recipe right here, for free. No donation to my upcoming presidential campaign required.

This Three Bean Hummus recipe features chickpeas, black beans and lentils which all contribute different angles of legume flavor. The result is a hummus with a more depth of flavor than regular hummus that's based off 100% chickpeas. This hummus is extremely versatile so don't be afraid to use this recipe as a base and swap out the legumes with any variety that you choose. Also feel free to swap out the tahini with any nut butter that you choose. I've been making this recipe for over a decade and I've done all sorts of variations with great results.

This creamy Rich White Chocolate Frosting is a more intensely flavored recipe alternative to other vegan white frostings. It's great for cakes where you may be concerned that a dark chocolate frosting would be too much chocolate (if that's even possible). It takes advantage of caramelizing sugar to the thread stage of 230F (110C) where it contributes a smooth velvety texture. It also utilizes cocoa butter as the main fat with soy milk powder (not to be confused with soy flour) to help with emulsifying and enhancing creaminess. Cocoa butter can be difficult to work with because when it reaches it's melting temperature range of between 93F (34C) and 100F (38C) it melts instantly. Whisking the frosting periodically as it gradually cools back to room temperature in the refrigerator solves this issue. The stiffness of this frosting can be adjusted by adding or subtracting 1 Tablespoon of water.

Have you ever noticed how some pastries, cakes or breads seem to transgress cultures? Such as banana loaf? Growing up in South Africa, it was one of my favorite breads. Having moved to the United States, I now realize that Americans too have sort of a love affair with this beloved treat. And why not. The combination of sweet, ripe bananas; creamy butter; sugar and more creates a luscious and tender treat that is irresistible. And there are as many recipes for it than there are bakers who love to bake it.

This Double Chocolate Brownie Chunk Ice Cream recipe was going to be called Triple Chocolate Brownie Chunk Ice Cream due to it's use of two different types of chocolate and brownie chunks mixed in. Then I realized that things were starting to get out of hand and I had to look out the window and count to ten. Its still full of chocolate though; This Category 1 chocoholic wouldn't lie. It's a great way to use up those extra vegan brownies you have lying around that you've desperately been trying to eat. Wishful thinking, no? Drizzling some Double Chocolate Sauce over the top is highly recommended.

This Sourdough Pizza Crust recipe has a little more oomph in the form of the acids produced by wild yeast fermentation, also known as sourdough. The wild yeast isn't enough to leaven the dough completely on it's own so it's spiked with some bread yeast to help it along. This vegan crust is great for cheeseless pizzas or other pizzas where you're not using intensely flavored toppings and you'd like the crust to contribute more flavor to the pie. It's also a great way to use the sourdough starter you've been keeping in your fridge. You do have a resident starter in your fridge right?

This vegan Plum Cake recipe is based on a traditional pflaumenkuchen, or German plum cake. I broke with tradition a little and enhanced the plums with a spash of rum and a dusting of sugar and cinnamon. I wanted the intense fruit flavors to be well balanced by a flavorful cake so I used the power of yeasted cake to add flavor depth in the cake department. Yeasted cake also has the benefit of utilizing gluten bonds for binding which frees us from needing to use any fancy egg replacers. I purposely designed this cake to be on the dense side because I felt that it helped to showcase the plums.The result is a fruit forward plum topping baked into a cake that can hold it's own. Black plums are preferred due to their high level of sweetness. Feel free to make this cake using any combination of other stone fruits you may have on hand.

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.

Lemon and corn both work to bring out each other's best qualities in this Lemon Cornmeal Pancake recipe; corn highlights lemon's tanginess and lemon enhances corn's savory flavors. These bright, savory flavors packed into a vegan pancake is a great way to start the day. Try them topped with a touch of almond butter, fruit and/or real maple syrup.

Strawberry and rhubarb together in a flaky pie crust is probably the most effective way to ring in the spring and summer months via flavor alone. Strawberry and rhubarb's sweet and tart flavors are married with a hint of orange zest in this vegan Strawberry Rhubarb Pie recipe. Both of these fruits let go of lots of water during baking which can make things on the soupy side. A generous amount of arrowroot flour and a longer baking time at a slightly lower temperature than usual solves this issue and gives the pie a chance to bake to it's juicy perfection. It's like a summer vacation in your mouth. Be sure to select firm rhubarb with as much red as possible for the best flavor.

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.