Recipes: Cakes and Biscuits
Vegan cakes are very easy to make and don't taste any different to egg-cakes, so you can simply make one cake for everyone to share, which makes life a lot easier!
There are three alternative ways to make a vegan cake, the first being the least effective at altitude, the third usually being the best:
- use a standard cake recipe and replace:
- eggs with egg replacer
- butter with same amount of vegan marg, or two thirds the amount of veg/sunflower oil
- use the above butter alternatives, and instead of the egg replacer
try using all the following together:
- a teaspoon of baking powder (as well as using self-raising flour)
- some fruit puree, such as banana or cooked apple, or some soya yoghurt
- follow a vegan cake recipe, of which there are many on the Internet and some of my favourites here.
serious carrot cake
It doesn't have any sugar in because it doesn't need any. Adapted from "Cook Vegan". Great for teatime, and can be eaten by itself or with marg or nut butter.
- ingredients: 8oz grated carrots, 6oz self-raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp grated/ground nutmeg, a pinch of chilli powder if you dare, handful sultanas, handful chopped nuts/seeds, big squeeze of a lemon/lime, 5 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1-2 Tsp of dessicated coconut (optional).
- preheat oven to 180C (170 if fan assisted)
- grate carrots & mix in dry ingredients.
- add oil & lemon and mix to stiff dough.
- place in a well greased cake or loaf tin, covering with foil.
- bake for about 50 mins until a pin/knife comes out clean
- leave to cool for 10 mins before turning out onto cake rack.
fruit puree cake
- ingredients:220g self-raising flour, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 50g sugar, 100g vegan margarine (or 70g vegetable oil), 360g fruit puree, and 50g carob powder / dessicated coconut.
- puree suggestions: jar of unsweetened fruit puree, liquidised tinned fruit in most of juice (not syrup), or home-made puree.
- preheat oven to 180C (170 if fan assisted)
- cream marg and sugar, then mix in the puree
- sift in the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly
- spread immediately in a greased lined baking tin
- bake for about 50 mins until a pin/knife comes out clean
- when cool, optionally ice with a blend of fruit puree, icing sugar and creamed coconut, or simply sprinkle with dessicated coconut
plain vanilla sponge cake
Simple recipe from the Vegan Society's baby and toddler recipes page - just as good for adults though!
- ingredients: 250g self raising wholemeal flour, sieved 70g sugar (ideally raw cane), 125g margarine (or about 90ml oil), 3 tsp baking powder, 275ml vanilla soya dessert or custard, 4 tsp almond essence and/or vanilla essence, pinch of sea salt, soya milk
- Over a low heat dissolve margarine and sugar. Allow to cool.
- In separate bowl mix together dry ingredients. Add margarine mixture to dry ingredients and mix well.
- Add soya dessert or custard and essence. A soft dropping consistency is required, so add extra soya milk if necessary.
- Place in two square baking tins and bake at 180F for 25-35 mins or until cooked.
- Remove from oven and cool a little before removing from tins. Remove from tins and cool completely on wire tray.
- Sandwich with jam or 'butter', icing can be made with vegan margarine and icing sugar
- variations: add dessicated coconut and glace cherries; try another flavour of custard or vegan yoghurt (e.g. strawberry).
Black forest gateau
A yummy recipe from Karen, expert vegan skier.
Pre-heat oven to 150*C. Grease and line sandwich sponge cake tins using vegan margarine.
- Ingredients for cake: 240g Self-raising flour, 250g sugar, 3T cocoa (or more if you want!) (unsweetned), 2 1/4 t bicarb soda (or baking powder is fine too), pinch of salt, optional choc chips and walnut pieces, 225mL choc / vanilla /plain soy milk, 100mL sunflower oil, 3t cider or white wine vinegar, vanilla essence
- Ingredients for filling: 1 tub Soyatoo UHT soy cream, Thawed raspberries, Chocolate slivers (use a potato peeler to shave a block of chocolate)
- Ingredients for icing: vegan margarine, icing sugar, cocoa - in right proportions to cover top of cake and taste nice!
- Topping: dessicated coconut and slivered almonds
- Mix dry ingredeients together. Mix wet ingredeients together.
- When oven is hot enough, add wet mix to dry and mix together thoroughly but do not beat. Put into tins and bake straight away until skewer comes out dry.
- Turn out when cooled for about 5min and let cool completely before icing. Put filling and sandwich the cake just before serving.
- If you like alcohol a litttle Cherry liqueur or kir (if they are vegan) would make it even more ilke black forest gateau.
Exmoor Lodge cake
Got this recipe years ago from Exmoor Lodge B&B, run by a nice bloke called Nigel.
- preheat oven to 170C
- sift together: 11oz plain (pref fine wholemeal) flour, 3 tsp baking powder, 2 oz light carob powder (or cocoa powder if don't have carob)
- whisk together: 2 ripe mashed bananas, 1/2 pt water, 5oz soft brown sugar, 1/4 pt sunflower oil, 2 tsp vanilla essence
- whisk/beat wet and dry together
- spread in two greased lined baking tins
- bake for about 40 mins
- cool in tins. When cold, sandwich together with black cherry jam, ground almonds or maple syrup
- top with fudge icing if wish
fudge icing
Also from Exmoor Lodge B&B.
- melt together: 2oz marg, 3 Tsp water
- beat into marg mix: 9 oz icing sugar, 1 tsp vanilla essence, and carob powder if desired
- spread on a cooled cake
strawberry muffins - lose your veginity with these!
This is a doddle of a recipe and makes yummy muffins for tea or breakfast (try less sugar for breakfast ones). It's at www.vegnity.com where there are many other raptuous recipes by Mark Senn, who has recently become one of my favourite recipe writers, along with Tony Bishop-Weston.
banana cookies
This recipe is foolproof and tasty and a good way to use up slightly too ripe bananas. It comes from Ali_31 on WVD Forum.
- Ingredients: 3 large bananas, 1 cup chopped dates, 2 cups rolled oats, 1/3 cup cooking oil, 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Stir in oats, dates, oil and vanilla. Mix well and let set for 15 minutes.
- Drop by teaspoonsful onto an ungreased cookie sheet/baking tray.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until brown.
- Serves: 3 dozen
cup cakes and muffins
These are great for kids parties and adults like their indulgence too. Since there are already some good recipes on the web for these we'll list them here:
- vegan coconut cupcakes look really scrummy!
- Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemony Frosting
- heart of darkness: black cocoa "fauxstess" cupcakes - look great for adults!
- Post Punk Kitchen Muffins for Jenn
And if you've got kids who don't like chocolate, try replacing the cocoa powder with carob powder, or just a bit more flour and a couple of teaspoons of vanilla essence. Solid chocolate can be replaced by carob bars, or a different kind of icing.
Recipe Listings
Recipes are listed under breakfast ideas, starters, mains, sides and sauces, desserts and cakes. However, ideas can be mixed around between courses. More recipes will be added to each section as time goes on.