There are some ingredients I’m always sure to keep stocked for whenever I have the desire to bake (which, let’s be honest, is most days). Keep reading to see what ingredients you’re likely to find in vegan dessert recipes, why recipes call for certain ingredients, and brands I recommend.
What is Vegan Baking?
A vegan diet is one that excludes all animal products and by-products. In baking, this means using no eggs, dairy, or animal by-products. Some ingredients, like flour and sugar, stay the same in vegan baking, however many are different and they all serve very important purposes. If you want to read more about vegan baking, check out this post. If you want to see how to swap non-vegan ingredients for vegan ones, read this one.
Can you still make all your favorite desserts?
YES, with a few minor exceptions. A quick google search of “vegan [+ dessert of choice]” will typically give you hundreds if not thousands of options to choose from. Cakes, cookies, brownies, macarons, puddings – it’s all possible. There are a few things you may have more difficulty veganizing than others, but it’s always fun to play around with recipes and taste-test the failures!
Common Ingredients in Vegan Baking
When looking for vegan dessert recipes, you will probably come across many (if not all) of the following ingredients. I’ve rounded up some of the most common ingredients in vegan baking with descriptions to help you understand the purpose of each ingredient.
All-purpose flour
This is used very often in baking, vegan or not. It holds structure in cakes, cookies, brownies, and more.
Apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, or lemon juice
You’ll need this to make vegan buttermilk. Acidic ingredients are often used in baking to react with baking soda, leavening baked goods.
Aquafaba
This is one of the more “weird” ingredients on this list, however, it has recently become very popular in vegan baking as an egg white substitute. Aquafaba is the liquid that you would typically discard when straining a can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans. When beaten, aquafaba fluffs up, similar to how egg whites fluff up when beaten. You will come across this ingredient in meringue recipes, macaron recipes, and others.
Baking powder and baking soda
These are the leavening agents you will need. They’re especially important in vegan baking as you aren’t using eggs as a leavener.
Cake flour
This is occasionally used in cake recipes, as it will cause lighter baked goods than all-purpose flour.
Cocoa powder
This is often used in chocolate cakes, chocolate buttercream, brownies, and more. You will typically want to use unsweetened natural cocoa powder, but you may also see recipes that call for Dutch process cocoa powder. To be safe, I do not recommend using Dutch process in place of unsweetened natural. If you see a recipe simply call for “cocoa powder,” it’s safe to assume it’s calling for unsweetened natural cocoa powder.
Flaxseed meal
You may come across recipes that use flax eggs in place of chicken eggs. When combined with water, flaxmeal has similar binding properties that eggs have. I rarely find the need for flax eggs in baking, however, I find that they are commonly used in others’ recipes.
Granulated sugar and brown sugar
Granulated sugar is refined beet or cane sugar, and is sometimes referred to as white sugar or more often as just “sugar.” Brown sugar is a combination of granulated sugar and molasses – make your own with my recipe here! The addition of molasses causes the brown color and makes the sugar moist and acidic. I typically prefer light brown sugar, however you will come across both light and dark brown sugar. In most of my cake recipes, I use granulated sugar to keep them light and fluffy. In cookies and brownies, I use a combination of granulated and brown sugars.
Non-dairy chocolate baking bars
You may come across recipes that call for chopped chocolate (such as in chocolate ganache). Many semi-sweet and dark chocolate baking bars are made without animal products – just check the ingredients!
Non-dairy chocolate chips
You’ll want to have these on-hand – classic chocolate chip cookies wouldn’t be the same without them! You may also need to use them in brownies, cakes, and more. Trader Joe’s brand chocolate chips are “accidentally” vegan and Enjoy Life has dark chocolate morsels, mini chocolate chips, and chocolate chunks.
Non-dairy milk
You’ll need this for many vegan dessert recipes. I use this to make vegan buttermilk, as an egg replacer in cookies, and to smooth out buttercream. I prefer to use soy or oat milk when baking, however you can typically use any non-dairy milk.
Powdered sugar
Powdered sugar, also called confectioners’ sugar or icing sugar, is made from finely ground granulated sugar, typically in combination with cornstarch. You’ll need this to fluff up and sweeten vegan buttercream.
Pure vanilla extract
This is used in a lot of desserts. It adds a rich flavor to baked goods and should not be omitted. Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
Salt
Salt is widely used in baking as it helps bring out other flavors without making the resulting product taste salty (although some recipes are meant to be salty, like salted caramel or salted chocolate chip cookies).
Vegan butter
Vegan butter is made from oil rather than cow’s milk. You’ll see recipes that call for vegan buttery sticks – I use Earth Balance Buttery Sticks, Miyoko’s Cultured Vegan Butter or Country Crock Plant Butter. You’ll also see recipes that call for vegan margarine or buttery spread – this comes in a tub. My go-to is Earth Balance Buttery Spread.
Vegan sour cream
Vegan sour cream adds moisture and richness to desserts.My go-to is Tofutti. If you can’t get your hands on vegan sour cream, you can typically substitute it with plain or vanilla vegan yogurt.
Vegetable oil
Oil adds fat and moisture to baked goods. When a recipe calls for vegetable oil, you can use any kind you like. You can typically use melted refined coconut oil, as well.
Let me know your thoughts!
If this helped you in any way, leave me a comment with a rating below. I also love to see your creations on Instagram, so make sure to tag me @marykatesvegancakes so I can see!
