Tips for Vegan Baking: Egg and Butter Substitutes

[sembaa9]

Hi everyone,

I have been baking as a vegan for almost two years and the experience as been fun. Although many of these healthier versions are still loaded with carbs, I tend to bake sweets less for that reason. Share your experiences as a vegan baker if you will. I would love to learn new ways to replace eggs and butter, also alternative sweeteners. What works for you? What doesn't work for you?

 

[Cheerio]

Let me first say that I am not a vegan baker, but I would like to learn how. I buy vegan baked treats at the farmer's market and have fallen in love with them. I am trying to approach my diet from a more organic and local foods standpoint. I've been looking online at vegan recipes. There aren't many desserts that are actually "good" for us, but if we are going to eat them, it doesn't hurt to know how to do it in the best way possible.

 

[sembaa9]

Let me first say that I am not a vegan baker, but I would like to learn how. I buy vegan baked treats at the farmer's market and have fallen in love with them. I am trying to approach my diet from a more organic and local foods standpoint. I've been looking online at vegan recipes. There aren't many desserts that are actually "good" for us, but if we are going to eat them, it doesn't hurt to know how to do it in the best way possible.

I am learning new ways to bake on a vegan diet everyday. There are lots of ways to do it. I found out that replacing eggs, butter, and refined sugar was very easy. I use coconut sugar, or agave, Earth Balance, and applesauce or flaxseed to replace eggs.

 

[dazzlingblue]

To replace eggs, use chia gel! Shake 1tbsp of chia seeds with 3 tbsp of water. It really turns into a gel. Some people like to crush the seeds a bit in a food processor or with a mortar/pestle, but I've never had issues with using them whole. If you don't want the seeds to stand out in your baked goods (though they just turn out looking like you put in poppy seeds), they sell white chia seeds. Really, you can't tell the difference.

 

[Josie]

I'm not vegan, but in my search for clean/gluten free, I've found a zillion recipes (especially on good ol trusty Pinterest). I don't have any tips, as I just blindly follow the recipes most days, but it's a great place to find what you need!

 

[kierakelly]

Hi everyone,

I have been baking as a vegan for almost two years and the experience as been fun. Although many of these healthier versions are still loaded with carbs, I tend to bake sweets less for that reason. Share your experiences as a vegan baker if you will. I would love to learn new ways to replace eggs and butter, also alternative sweeteners. What works for you? What doesn't work for you?

I love replacing butter with coconut oil in recipes. It works great for me! I'm not really vegan, but I was a nanny for a child who had a ton of allergies, so I have a few tricks here and there

 

[Becky]

I love replacing butter with coconut oil in recipes. It works great for me! I'm not really vegan, but I was a nanny for a child who had a ton of allergies, so I have a few tricks here and there

That's a good tip! My friend recently turned vegan and I'm cooking for her this weekend. I think I might make some peanut butter blondies for dessert, and the recipe I found uses coconut oil. Can't wait to try it!

 

[lleulu]

I am actually vegetarian, but I try not to eat too many eggs or butter and cut down on sugar, I need it for sure after Christmas! I found the best sweetener is Stevia white powder. It's a tropical plant from South America, and it's leaves are naturally sweet! There is white powder made from this plant, which is 300 times sweeter than sugar! If you put it into your cakes or cookies, you really use just a pinch so the powder lasts a long time. And the best thing is that it's 100% natural, has no calories and is suitable for diabetics! It tastes a bit different than sugar, but you can get used to it. Lately I've even started to use it to sweeten my tea or coffee in the mornings. You just have to make sure that there is nothing else added in the powder. I've seen companies just add chemicals and flavourings in it.
You can buy it here
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_st?k...5086&rh=n:3760901,k:stevia&sort=relevancerank

 

[Dough Girl]

I am a vegan baker who not only is gluten free but sugar free as well! It makes it quite challenging to come up with something that my family will eat but between the great new gluten-free flours available now and sticking to natural sweetness from fruit, I manage to produce things that even my kids will eat!

 

[alexiskilgannon]

I am not a vegan, but I do make many vegan pastries and cake-like goodies. My favorite substitute for eggs is 1/4 cup of applesauce. There's really no difference in texture and taste, which blows my mind. It always comes out delicious.

 

[cupcakechef]

I'm not vegan either but I appreciate any delicious sweets - whether it's vegan or not!

I do have a few friends who are vegan though, so if I'm baking for an event that they're attending I always try to ensure I make something they're able to eat too. Honestly most of the time you can't even tell that something is vegan - if it's a tasty recipe, you just think it's something that has all the dairy and eggs and butter and so forth in it.

 

[TeeMee]

Hi everyone,

I have been baking as a vegan for almost two years and the experience as been fun. Although many of these healthier versions are still loaded with carbs, I tend to bake sweets less for that reason. Share your experiences as a vegan baker if you will. I would love to learn new ways to replace eggs and butter, also alternative sweeteners. What works for you? What doesn't work for you?

I make things vegan if I'm to eat any of it. I do though use dairy when making things for others, sometimes. I like soy and beet sugar and a few other things. I dislike bean and corn products for sweets. I've found that, in general, substitutions work best with from scratch recipes.

 

[Elinor Kugler]

I'm not a vegan, but have a lot of vegan sweet treats on my blog.

I replace butter easily, with coconut oil, or olive oil sometimes. Tastes great too!

I find that a banana always works for me, tahini is a good binder, and a flax seed egg. 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds and 3 tablespoons of water.

I try to bake refined sugar free treats, and instead, use natural sweeteners, pure date syrup, maple syrup, coconut sugar, unrefined raw cane sugar.

Good luck