When you think of vegan cakes, you tend to think of brown flour, seeds and quite a dense bake. How wrong was I?! Talking to Ross at Bora Coffee in Shirley, Birmingham, we coined the phrase 'The Indulgent Vegan' meaning cakes that are just as gooey, chocolaty and sugary as any other bake after all, if you go out for coffee and cake, its as a treat and an indulgence.
My first sponge cakes used egg replacements such as those you can get in health food shop; these worked well but I found that they rose well in the oven but dropped quite quickly when coming out of the oven giving a slightly disappointing end to them.
My revelation was in reading Ms Cupcakes Naughtiest Cakes in Town. The methods used in this book omitted egg replacements entirely and just used raising agents to give a far more stable rise. Quick mixes as you would do when making muffins and regular 'tapping' of the mixture in the bowl and tin rather than creaming methods ensured that the agents didn't start working before they went in the oven. It actually made the mixing process very straightforward, but you have to be quick!
The book also gives ideas for toppings and fillings, some of which seemed a little odd to start with but actually worked brilliantly.
I am definitely a fan of vegan baking, especially if the indulgent nature of cakes can be maintained. I'll be using the principles I have learnt to adapt my current favourites and coming up with new combinations, some of which will be sold in Bora Coffee!
All of the bakes below are totally vegan and totally indulgent!
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| Pecan caramel slice and apple, date and ginger oat squares |
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| Raspberry, blueberry and almond crumble muffins Red velvet and coffee and walnut cupcakes |
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| Scones! |
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| Lemon and blueberry loaf |
