i want to bake a cake/cookies for a vegan can i use a regular recipe but sub vegan stuff?

Question

i've baked a vegan cake before using a reciepe from a vegan website this time i just want to see if i can use a regular cook book but substitute ingredients if so are the amounts of ingredients the same

Answer 1

Many cookies that call for butter really do mean butter, unfortunately; when I use vegan margarine substitutes it's not nearly as crumbly, and it rarely comes out like the picture, or like anything worth snacking on at all. You should stick to tried-and-true vegan recipes, but if you like experimenting, give it a try. I would suggest exact same amounts of margarine as butter; I would suggest half a cup of unsweetened applesauce per egg; there are vegan versions of chocolate chips that you can buy at health food stores, or just use cocoa powder; and use vegan cane sugar instead of white, processed sugar.

Answer 2

My experience (which may not be everyone else's) has been that for light and airy cakes, like sponge cake, chocolate gateau etc, which normally use a lot of eggs, substituting does not work - you have to use a vegan recipe, or it goes wrong.

However, heavier cakes, like fruit cake, and cookies, often work fine when I just leave out the eggs all together, no egg replacer or anything like that, just using a little extra soya milk to mix to the right consistency and extra baking powder to make sure it rises. And I use vegan margarine instead of butter, of course.

It depends on the amount of eggs in the original recipe - if only one or two eggs are used, the chances are that they're included more for moisture than for their binding or raising properties, and you can probably do without them.

Answer 3

Baking using substitute ingredients can be hit and miss. Some recipes work out ok, but some don't when it comes to texture and density. This is especially true with low-fat baking. If this is one of your first attempts, don't worry about making it low fat -- after all, desserts are treats!

I would use Earth Balance buttery spread instead of applesauce and granulated vegan sugar instead of maple syrup or agave nectar. When it comes to egg replacement, sometimes it's better to use blended flax seed meal and water (I like it for muffins and quick breads) and sometimes it's better to use a commercial egg replacer such as Ener-G (I like it for cakes and cookies). As for milks, I prefer soy, but have also had good results with almond. Rice milk is a bit thin, I think.

Ultimately, though, the best way to find out what works is to experiment. If you don't have time to experiment, I would consider buying "The Joy of Vegan Baking" by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. Everything I've tried from that book so far has been great.

Answer 4

I am not a vegetarian or an vegan but I occasionally eat meatless meals and snacks. I can tell you a vegetarian recipe I just discovered and it's good. It's a Middle-Eastern or Israeli salad recipe. Tomato-Basil Couscous Salad (serves 2)* 3/4 cup cooked couscous (whole wheat or Israeli) One tomato, chopped 1/3 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed 2 scallions, chopped 1 teaspoon of extra-virgin oliveoil 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh basil Lettuce Combine the couscous, tomato, chickpeas, scallions, oil, lemon juice and basil in a bowl. Toss and serve on a bed of lettuce. *If you don't have access to fresh basil. Or if you don't use basil often, then buy a Mc Cormick. Do the best you can!

Answer 5

Earth Balance margarine (as long as it isn't "light") works just like butter. You can find lots of recipes at www.vegweb.com. Everything there is vegan and they have a search box so you can find things easily. I know you said you wanted to use a regular cookbook, but sometimes substitution doesn't work as good as good vegan recipe.

Answer 6

My brother is dairy, egg, gluten, soy, wheat free. Knowing from his diet and baking, it is very hard to subsatute different things for baking. For cooking however, it is much easier to subsatute butter for olive oil. But unforutnetly it's not hat easy in the baking world. I know BABY CAKES in NYC is an "everything free" bakery, you should call them and see if you can order a vegan cake or something, cuase they taste just like the real thing without the dairy, egg, gluten, soy, and wheat. Good luck!

Answer 7

From what I have read, if there are lots of eggs in a recipe, using vegan replacers may not work. If there are between one and three eggs, it probably will. I use the Ener-G Egg Replacer to good effect.

To replace milk, you can use soy milk, rice milk, or nut milk. Soy milk is cup-for-cup; rice milk is slightly less than a cup per cup of milk, as it's thinner.

I usually use Willow Run buttery sticks in baking, and it works for me. I use Earth Balance for putting on my potatoes and biscuits.