Vegan baking essentials – Global pantry

We’re celebrating vegan baking! Keep on reading to learn how to create delicious vegan treats using affordable, accessible ingredients.

Dates
Dates can be used not only as natural sweeteners in vegan baking but also as substitutes for butter. They make great binders and can create deliciously fudgy brownies, pecan squares or even crusts for tarts.

Coconut milk
Coconut milk is a great dairy-free option to use instead of cream or milk. It can be used as a milk replacement in drinks, in cakes or for chocolate ganache icing.

Aquafaba
Aquafaba is the brine found in tinned chickpeas. It’s a cloudy liquid that looks similar to oil. When beaten with an electric mixer and some sugar, aquafaba froths up and becomes glossy, imitating the structure of a normal egg white meringue. You can make perfect vegan meringues using this liquid. Don’t throw those chickpeas away either! They can be used to make chickpea brownies, burgers or in delicious salads.

Flax seeds
Flax and chia seeds work as egg substitutes in vegan baking when combined with water. After they’re combined, the mixture becomes viscous and acts as a binder. Simply grind 1 tbsp of flax seeds in a blender for 30-seconds to to create a fine powder, then mix with three tablespoons of water. Sit for 5 minutes and use it as the equivalent of 1 normal egg.

Oreos
The delicious vegan cookie that we keep coming back for! These can be crushed and mixed with dates to make a chocolate crumb or tart base, added into frosting for texture or simply enjoyed as a decoration on top of vegan cakes.

Dark chocolate
Chocolate that is 70% or more is vegan friendly and delicious in bakes. Chocolate can be used in so many different ways. We love using chunks of it in brownies, melting it for cakes or using it with coconut cream as a filling to make a decadent tart.

Vegan baking is often seen as expensive and unaccessible, but breaking the process down to using simple ingredients and letting their flavours shine works a charm.

For example: Create a decadent chocolate tart by blending Oreos into a powder, mix with a few tablespoons of coconut milk at a time, or with a few dates, until you create a paste-like consistency. Press this crust into a tart case and refrigerate. Create a chocolate filling by warming coconut milk until almost boiling and combining with chopped dark chocolate, whisk until smooth and fill the tart shell. Refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight and decorate with more Oreos or fresh fruit. By using the above ingredients we have quickly created a fun, low-effort dessert.

for a more advanced vegan dessert, see:

Raw lemon & blueberry ‘cheesecake’