3 tasty student-friendly vegan bakes

Vegan baking can be a highly contended topic, but it is not as hard as it may first seem. A lot can be easily substituted, even when a recipe says it requires eggs! There is so much potential for vegan baking, so why not make a start by checking out my 3 favourite vegan baking recipes:

Cookies

Cookies are a staple bake, and something that can be easily veganised by substituting ingredients (see the end of this article for some common subs). One of my favourite recipes to use for cookies is this one from Jane’s Patisserie. It uses simple ingredients and has an easy to follow recipe, perfect for any first time bakers.

This picture shows one time I made these cookies – I used extra cocoa powder in place of a bit of flour to make them extra chocolatey.

Lemon cake

BBC Good Food is actually often one of the best sites for vegan recipes, from bakes to main meals. This vegan lemon cake is filling yet light, and even works well if made gluten free. With minimal core baking ingredients, the chances are you already have the necessary items in your cupboard for this bake. It is also an all-in-one method, meaning you can just chuck all the ingredients in a bowl, mix, and then bake – easy! Find the recipe here!

Bounty cupcakes

Recipes passed through families often prove to be some of the best loved bakes I’ve made! This recipe was passed to me from a friend and it has never failed me. Though a slightly more complicated recipe than the two above, even just loosely following the instructions should guarantee you a good bake. If the idea of coconut is putting you off this one, you can just leave this out in order to make regular chocolate cupcakes. Slather with icing for some indulgent fudgey goodness – I like to use Betty Crocker chocolate fudge.

Ingredients:

To make the “buttermilk”:

200ml Soya Milk (can be any plant based milk but Soya works best)

20ml Apple Cider Vinegar

Dry Ingredients:

170g Self-Raising Flour

30g Cocoa Powder

30g Desiccated Coconut

200g Caster Sugar

¼ tsp Salt

¼ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

¼ tsp Baking Powder

Wet ingredients:

80ml vegetable oil

1 tbs vanilla extract

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/330°F/gas mark 4
2. Mix together the buttermilk ingredients and leave to one side for 10 minutes
3. Mix together all the dry ingredients
4. Add the oil and the vanilla to the buttermilk mixture and briefly mix
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients
6. Mix until just combined and then spoon into cupcake cases
7. Bake immediately for approximately 15 minutes or until well risen
8. Decorate as desired

Substitutes

I’ve talked a bit about substitutes, but if you don’t know what to choose, these are some of the best subs to know:

Vegan margarine – some own brands are vegan, brands such as flora have vegan ranges, but there are also specifically vegan brands like vitalite

Eggs- banana, applesauce, aquafaba (the water from a tin of chickpeas)

Buttermilk – like in the bounty cupcakes recipe, mix a plant based milk with apple cider vinegar and leave for (minutes)

Bonus cheat-cake method

Though not labelled or certified as vegan, many of the Betty Crocker cake mixes and icings are made up of vegan ingredients. A general rule of thumb is if there are no obviously non-vegan ingredients and the box is labelled vegetarian, it should be ok! To make them vegan, take your choice of cake mix and just add almost a full can or around 300ml of a carbonated drink. As said, even some of the frostings are vegan, and it works with the gluten free box mixes too!

Some popular options are:

• Velvety Vanilla paired with Vanilla Buttercream (I would use sparkling water or a can of lemonade)
• Devil Cake or Tempting Chocolate paired with Chocolate Fudge Icing (I would use a can of cola, perhaps cherry flavoured for a Black Forest vibe)
• Carrot cake with Cream Cheese Style icing (I would use ginger beer)

World Baking Day is on the 17^th of May – why not try one of these recipes and share with use on social media? Happy baking!