Do you have a strict vegan in the family who has a birthday or
celebration coming up that traditionally calls for cake? If
you're not familiar with vegan dietary practices, you might not
know what vegans do not eat. Even worse, you might have no idea
how to replace what they do not eat.
But don't worry. In a few short paragraphs, I'll explain exactly
what you need to make the perfect cake for your vegan friend or
relative. And best of all, no one will be able to taste the
difference.
Let's start with what strict vegans do not eat.They do not eat
eggs. They do not drink milk. They don't eat certain types of
sugar. They don't eat butter. And they don't eat frosting.
Eggs can be replaced by "EnerG Egg Replacer," which you can
purchase at many grocery stores. The box will explain how much
replacer to use per egg.
Cow's milk can be replaced by organic rice milk, which doesn't
contain any animal byproducts. You can buy rice milk at your
local grocery store, too.
Many vegans do not consume sugar, either, because it is often
whitened by animal bone char. You can avoid sugar that is
whitened by bone char by purchasing "unbleached" sugar, sugar in
the raw, or beet sugar. There are some cane sugars, too, which
were not whitened using bone char, but they hard to distinguish
from others, unless you know the exact name brand.
Strict vegans will not eat food made with butter, either. If
your cake recipe calls for butter, you can simply replace it
with margarine or vegetable shortening.
In addition to butter, sugar, milk, and eggs, strict vegans also
will not eat dairy frosting. If your recipe calls for frosting,
you can look for a similar flavor of "non-dairy" frosting or you
can make your own, replacing butter with margarine.
And there you have it: an ingredient replacement key for your
vegan cake. Simply follow the key, replace vegan-unfriendly
items on your recipe, and your cake will be perfectly fit for
even the strictest vegetarian!
About the author:
Kirsten Hawkins is a vegetarian and nutrition expert from
Nashville, TN. Visit
http://www.recipe-vegetarian.com/ for more
information on vegetarian recipes and resources.
