Vegan Dessert?

Question

Am out of ideas for good (and quick to make, if possible) vegan desserts; no chocolate, coffee or tea (am allergic).
And please don't tell me to stick to fruit w/out dessert, I need veg for myself and dessert for my guests...

Answer 1

Don't leave the fruit idea behind, so quickly. People do like fruit and, if prepared nicely, can be quite fancy. Consider a compatible vegan dip. For example, you can make a dip from one fruit (pureed berries, perhaps) to use with another.

Fruit makes good sorbet.

Want something fancy? Hollow out lemon and orange peels, make (or buy) sorbet, and put INSIDE the peels. If done carefully, your guests will have what looks like a piece of fruit but, when opened, contains sorbet.

You can also do variants, like ices and granitas.

I think this sort of dessert will go over well with non-vegans.

There are vegan desserts, of course. Soy milk-based ice "cream" and puddings and such are commercially available in stores like Whole Foods. You can also make your own. I once had a mousse (it was chocolate, but you could change to some other flavor) made with tofu.

The problem with these, I think, is that non-vegans tend to not appreciate soy-based "dairy." While some can be quite good, many do have a noticeable taste and texture difference. And if your guests ask and you say "it's tofu mousse," they may be turned off (even if too polite to say something). I had the mousse, but I have to be honest... it just wasn't the same as dairy.

There are plenty of vegan cake recipes. I've had dozens of cakes made without milk. Check cake recipes. You'll find hundreds without animal ingredients, easily. The trip-up ingredient is butter, but many recipes can allow for vegetable oil or margarine, need be. Eggless recipes are common.

Consider Amish Shoo Fly Pie. If you can find (or make) a vegan pie crust, the filling contains no animal ingredients. With a simple alteration of the recipe, you could add nuts and make a vegan pecan or walnut pie.

Cookies. Like cake, there is no requirement to use milk in thousands of cookie recipes. Again, butter can be a trick. And, unlike cake, I find that it's easy to tell what butter hasn't been used in a cookie recipe that calls for it. Texture can really suffer.

Avoid soy cheesecake at all costs.

One idea is to take a good vegan cake mix and turn it into biscotti! You'll need to make it thicker (use significantly less water) so that it can be formed into a loaf. Bake until semi-hard. Cut into strips and then bake again (at a low temp) until hard.

Crepes are really fancy. While they are, officially speaking, high in eggs and milk, they can be made without.

If you and your guest are OK with alcohol, consider an after-dinner drink such as a glass of port, cognac, ice wine, or the like. Accompanied by a simple cookie, this can be quite deluxe.

I hesitate to suggest it, but you might consider chocolate substitutes. While carob is passee and can taste yucky on its own, you can buy some pretty good "carob cocoa powder" these days in high-end health food stores and gourmet catalogs.

Candy! Think of all the kinds of vegan candies that are possible. Some candy is nothing but sugar and flavor. Want something unusual? Make "adult" lollipops with ginger, anise, (worm-free) tequila, or whatever other flavoring hits you. Heck, some quality orange or lemon extra will deliver a lollipop that's 100 times better than what you'd give the kids. They are easy to make.

Cotton candy. This is making a return as a gourmet treat, really. Harder to make without equipment, but if you happen to have a machine (or can borrow one), it can be a nice surprise. Dress it up with unusual flavors (see above) or (if you really want to go all-out) culinary gold flakes (can be found in gourmet stores and catalogs).

Homemade pretzels. Nothing but flour, water, sugar, and salt in these babies. And then, dress 'em up with interesting sauces and dips (e.g., maple syrup or mustards). If you look, you can find how to replicate those Auntie Anne's pretzels found in malls.

In the end, I do want to come back to fruit (especially when served frozen). It's easy. I recently had a dinner part where I received raves because we'd served sorbet. "Better than ice cream" said one guest.

Answer 2

Well, these are not super-formal, but they are easy, and very good. Vegan Sugar Cookies 1 cup vegan margarine (try Earth Balance) 1 cup vegetable oil 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar 1 cup white vegan sugar 3 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 1/2 cups unbleached flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/2 cup white vegan sugar 1. Preheat oven 350 degrees. 2. In a large bowl, cream together the vegan margarine, oil, confectioners' sugar, and 1 cup vegan white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in pre-mixed egg replacer and stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar; stir into the creamed mixture. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and then roll the balls in remaining white sugar. Place onto ungreased cookie sheets and flatten with a fork. 3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges begin to brown. Cool on wire racks, if desired. *You can also mix food coloring with white sugar for rolling the cookies in, to make them more festive. I highly recommend these cookies!

Answer 3

y dont you make a
big fruit platter with nuts, cheese, biscuits, after dinner mints, dips, pickled onions, carrt and celery sticks... etc...
and make a strawberry mousse for the guests as well with choc flakes or something

Answer 4

Buy two books:

Sinfully Vegan
And
Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

You'll think you died and went to heaven.

Answer 5

have a look at this site:
http://www.boutell.com/vegetarian/dessert.html

There are a few vegan recipes using silken tofu. I would try them and I'm not vegetarian.

Answer 6

I'm sure plenty of these don't have chocolate, coffee or tea:

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?categ=168%2C87

Answer 7

you might find something you like at this website, he has lots of vegan recipes for Indian deserts, if you like that..

http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/indian1.htm (mostly rice)
http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/indian3.htm (more rice)
http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/indian4.htm (sweets)
http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/indian5.htm (more sweets)
http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/indian7.htm (rice pudding, vegetable dishes, yogurt sauces)
http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/indian8.htm (more vegetable dishes, dosas)
http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/indian9.htm (curry dishes, indian ice cream)
http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/indian10.htm (curries, koftas, beans, nan)