One of the major challenges of becoming vegan is learning to eschew eggs. Eggs, which have formed a part of traditional breakfasts for years the world over; milk, butter, cheese and cream are the key ingredient in cakes and bakes… these ingredients are found in so many foods and food products that they can be very difficult to avoid. Here are some vegan substitutes for traditional baking ingredients.
Vegan substitutes for milk
Soy milk or almond milk will often work very well as substitutes for dairy milk when baking. These will help retain the richness and moistness that dairy milk helps to impart to baked goods. Many recipes are such that you can also replace regular milk with rice milk but this ingredient is less suitable for baked items since it lacks fat content. So rice milk may mean some trial and error.
Vegan substitutes for eggs
There are of course commercial replacements for eggs that offer great results when you make cakes, muffins, and cookies. But in many recipes it is possible to use other substitutes as well. Mashed bananas or applesauce can be great as a thickening or binding agent in some recipes – for instance bananas work well for cookies and pancakes.
Typically you will also need to use baking soda when you’re not using eggs since eggs are a rising agent and help make baked items light and fluffy. Flaxseed can also be used instead of eggs in a number of recipes such as waffles, oatmeal cookies and heavier cakes. Tofu is another useful egg substitute for baked items such as quiches, brownies, pancakes and so on – a great thickening agent that doesn’t alter the taste of the dish.
Vegan substitutes for cream and cheese
There are several commercial non-dairy substitutes for cream available. You can use these instead of regular cream to get much the same results in most of your dishes. Other cream alternatives are coconut cream and tofu. In particular, coconut cream works very well as a substitute for whipped cream. Cream cheese can be replaced with heavy coconut cream and lemon juice.
Soy cheese is among the best substitutes for cheese when you’re baking. Nutritional yeast is another cheese substitute that has a cheesy flavor. There are also other cheese substitutes such as Non dairy vegan parmesan cheese.
Substituting milk, cream, cheese and eggs with non dairy ingredients may take some getting used to and quite a bit of trial and error. So see what works for your favorite dishes and what ingredients help retain the best taste.