The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Baking - Donna Diegel [2]
Part 6, Cakes and Cupcakes, is perhaps the sweetest part of the book, with vegan recipes for chocolate, vanilla, carrot, coconut, and spice cakes—and the yummiest vegan frostings to top your masterpieces! These chapters will prove to you that vegan baked goods really do taste terrific! And if that’s not enough to tempt you, I include the creamiest, best-tasting “cheesecakes” this side of vegan heaven!
And last, but certainly not least, I’ve included a glossary of terms and further resources at the back of the book to make your adventure into vegan baking a little easier.
Extras
Sprinkled throughout The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vegan Baking, you’ll see little sidebars full of important information, tasty tips, vegan definitions, and potential pitfalls you might want to know before you put on your apron. Familiarize yourself with these sidebars—they’ll help you navigate these delicious pages:
VEGAN VOCAB
These sidebars explain vegan and nonvegan baking terms you might not be familiar with.
BATTER UP!
Check these sidebars for interesting information about a recipe, ingredients, or just fun trivia.
BAKERʹS BONUS
You’ll find time- and money-saving tips and tricks for vegan baking in these sidebars.
DOUGH-NOTS
These sidebars alert you to possible baking boo-boos or common mistakes you’ll want to avoid.
Acknowledgments
No book would be complete without a note of thanks to all those who helped along the way. My appreciation goes to Allen O’Shea Literary Agency’s Marilyn Allen who had faith in me and e-mailed me with a brilliant idea; to Senior Acquisitions Editor Paul Dinas, who oozed patience beyond measure; and to Senior Development Editor Christy Wagner, who put the book in good order and oohed and aahed over all my photos.
I’d also like to thank my husband and best friend, John, for sticking with me through this project, during the late nights baking and writing; and for tasting all my successes and failures throughout our many years together. They’ve all been worth it babe!
My son, Brad, gets special kudos, as he baked every recipe I threw at him during the writing of this book. Thanks, dude, you did a great job!
To the rest of my family, Kerri, Erika, and John, for their love and support—diving cold turkey into a vegan lifestyle years ago. We always said, “a family that bakes together, stays together.” Thanks to my mother-in-law, and my late Mom and Grandma, who each had their own culinary specialties and taught me how to cook and bake. Thanks to all my guinea pig friends who tried all my recipes—now you have to buy them!
And finally, heartfelt thanks to my Dad, who—since I was 6 years old, has done everything from licking the mixing bowl and eating everything, good or bad, that came out of the tiny pink Easy-Bake Oven, to tirelessly washing all the pots and pans at the bakery, to being my present day vegan taste-tester—has been my hero.
Special Thanks to the Technical Reviewer
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vegan Baking was reviewed by an expert who double-checked the accuracy of what you’ll learn here, to help us ensure that this book gives you everything you need to know about baking delicious vegan breads, cakes, cookies, and more. Special thanks are extended to Leslie Bilderback, CMB.
A Certified Master Baker and culinary instructor, Chef Bilderback has written six Complete Idiot’s Guides on cooking, as well as a monthly column in a local Los Angeles magazine, The Arroyo. She teaches baking and pastry at Ecole de Cuisine in Pasadena, travels through the LA Unified School District teaching nutrition to kids, and trains chefs for the U.S. Navy.
Trademarks
All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be or are suspected of being trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Alpha Books and Penguin Group (USA) Inc. cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of