The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Baking - Donna Diegel [9]
Earth Balance also produces Natural Shortening, which mimics traditional solid shortening but is nonhydrogenated. Also made with an expeller-pressed natural oil blend (palm fruit, soybean, canola, and olive oils), Natural Shortening contains slightly more calories from fat (130 per serving) than Crisco. Spectrum brand also makes good solid vegetable shortenings.
Vegans wishing to substitute other products for butter in their baking can use a variety of vegetable oils such as canola oil, olive oil, and coconut oil, and many others. These oils may do the job, but none will have the buttery taste nonvegans are accustomed to. When substituting, 1 cup vegan butter or ¾ cup vegetable oil = 1 cup butter.
Fruit purées can also be used as part of or all the butter in certain recipes. Where moisture is desired, you can use prune, plum, pear, peach, pumpkin, or squash purée; applesauce; or fruit butter. Try using half fruit purée for half of the fat in your recipes as a substitute for all butter or nonhydrogenated margarine or oil. You can also use all-natural sugar-free fruit or vegetable baby food purée as part of the fat. This will, however, change the taste of whatever’s being baked. When substituting, ⅓ cup prune purée = ½ cup butter.
Mooove Along, Milk
One of the easiest vegan substitutions to make is for animal-based milk. With the great availability of plant-based milk options, there’s no need for cow’s milk, goat milk, sheep milk, or even buffalo milk. The most popular and readily available commercial nondairy milks are rice milk, soy milk, almond milk, grain milk, and other plant milks.
In this day and age, you can find vegan nondairy milk at just about any supermarket in the natural food aisle. It comes in various flavors, including plain, vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, and often fat free or “enhanced” with vitamins. Vegan milk is often reasonably priced in aseptic packaging that needs no refrigeration in individual snack sizes, quarts, and half gallons. You can also make it at home for a lot less by soaking and blending ground nuts with water and sweetener.
Use vegan milk in bread puddings, pies, muffins, quick breads, cookies, cakes, cupcakes, and frostings. Keep in mind the consistency may be different from the nonvegan versions. For example, rice milk has a thinner consistency than soy milk and might be more comparable to low-fat or skim milk. Soy milk is generally thicker and goes well in any recipe that calls for whole milk. When substituting, 1 part vegan milk = 1 part animal milk.
Coconut cream—the thick portion on the top of full-fat coconut milk—is a close substitute for dairy cream. Chilled coconut cream can be used in your favorite whipped cream recipe by whipping it with an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on high speed. Do not disturb or shake the can before opening. Let the fat float to the top, and scoop off the solid part for your recipes.
Tofu is another nondairy substitute. Extra-firm silken tofu blended with other ingredients produces a medium-thick whipped cream, while soft silken tofu resembles light cream when blended. See Chapter 22 for making your own tofu-based Whipped Topping.
What about buttermilk? Traditionally, sour-tasting buttermilk was the liquid left over after churning butter from cream. As you work your way through this book, you’ll find recipes calling for “vegan buttermilk.” Not to worry: you can easily make it with just two ingredients: lemon juice or vinegar and soy milk. When substituting, 1 part vegan buttermilk = 1 part cultured buttermilk.
VEGAN VOCAB
Buttermilk is a fermented dairy product that gets its tartness by either artificially adding lactic acid bacteria to cow’s milk, or from naturally occurring bacteria. Cultured buttermilk is generally pasteurized and homogenized for safety reasons, but it’s also a thicker product than traditional buttermilk, which makes it appealing