Alternative Baking: Vegan AND Soy-Free

In the blue corner we have our reigning champion, SOY! In the red corner, is me, the fighter always on alert and ready to battle against my arch nemesis soy intolerance. It is the lone ingredient standing between myself and veganism, and I'm sure I'm not the only one stuck in this constant battle. Soy is a major ingredient in most vegetable oils, dairy-free milks, vegan butters, and as a valuable protein ingredient in the vegan diet. This can complicate enjoying wholesome sweet treats and baked goods for those of us with intolerances tremendously. After all, there are only so many frozen berry pops and fruit salads one can eat and still enjoy. Occasionally, you crave a slice of banana bread or pastry. When most of the major products you find on your shelf all contain an ingredient your body can't tolerate or alternatively animal by-products, what can you do?

When nothing on the store shelf satisfies your desires or diet-restrictions, the answer is to create your own. While I'm still not completely sold on switching to a solely plant-based diet, I have found some decent soy-free ingredients to incorporate into a solution. In this case, you can bake your vegan cake, frost it, and eat it too.

Milk

For our first ingredient substitution, we'll start off like most mammals: with milk. Non-animal based "milk" now comes in a wide array of options that can easily be bought locally. Although soy seems high on the preference list, there are still plenty of other unknown vegan options for those of us with intolerances. Several members of my extended family are huge fans of Almond milk. One of my cousins particularly enjoys it because of their lactose intolerance. While it is a more popular nut milk option, there are also cashew, macadamia, peanut, and hazelnut milks on the market. These milks add additional flavor to some of your baked goods and can enhance other flavors within. I'll use almond milk as a vegan substitute when I create cherry almond cookies, bars, or scones just to enrich that added flavor. For chocolate or cocoa baked good recipes that require a form of milk, the almond, hazelnut, and peanut ones work well. It just depends on what flavor you want to enhance. You'll still have to add additional nuts or butters if you want a true pronounced flavor, but these are subtle enhancers that can give each back a slightly different taste.

Some "milks", you can even create yourself; oat milk is a perfect example. It is simply made with rolled oats and filtered water. I add about a one to three ratio of oats to water, then blend and strain! I'll add maple syrup to taste if I want it a bit sweeter. This oat milk fits in perfectly with most of my baked goods, and I use it quite frequently. I use it in muffins and cereals. Similar types of milks can also be made with quinoa, hemp, flax, and even rice although I haven't tried those yet.

Aside from these, there are also a few others including pea, sunflower, banana, and my personal favorite, coconut. Coconut milk adds a level of depth and richness like none of the other non-dairy milks do. It is my first choice for smoothies and baked goods alike. Nothing has quite the same type of flavor profile as coconut, and when I'm craving chocolate it is my immediate go to. Can you say coconut fudge? Yes, please! I'll mix in nuts or coconut flakes as add ins, but you'll see the simple recipe I found from my Pinterest board below. It is so easy! On the same page, there is also a similar crunch bar recipe that works almost as well. Everyone craves a crunch on occasion, am I right?

Oil

There is so much more to oil than soybeans. Luckily other than bacon grease and butter, I can't even think of a non-vegan friendly oil. My personal favorite oil of choice is olive oil. I love to blend it with herbs or enjoy it in my Mediterranean salads. With great flavor and taste, it goes in most of my savory items and breads. If I'm feeling a bit different, I'll opt for avocado oil just to keep things interesting. As for cooking, especially soy-free Asian food, I opt for sesame. You only need a tiny bit to get a punch of sesame flavor. What about the non-savory items you ask? The good news is there are plenty of options for your baking and sweets! Canola oil, corn, peanut, grapeseed, safflower, sunflower, pumpkin seed, flaxseed, or coconut all work great depending on what baked good you'd like to make. I remember buying grapeseed oil a few years ago just to try it, and had trouble combining it with certain flavors. One item I baked that seemed to be a big hit (and one of my favorite flavors) is the lemon poppy seed muffin. While the brand of grapeseed oil I used wasn't Salute Santé, I did copycat their recipe. The nice thing about their recipe is that it even lists the egg alternatives for vegans. I found that a pleasant surprise.

As a contrast to the refreshing lemon poppy seed muffins with grapeseed oil, I also wanted to share one of my personal holiday favorites: the pumpkin chocolate chip cookie. While I enjoy this recipe, I love to sub in pumpkin seed oil for the canola oil they recommend. After all, isn't it an unspoken rule that around Thanksgiving pumpkin is incorporated into everything? No? Halloween then? Regardless, you can't beat a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie, especially when it is soft and moist.

Vegan Butter

When I started looking into vegan recipes, one ingredient completely perplexed me: vegan butter. Several recipes called for vegan butter, which was totally confusing. What is vegan butter and where can I find it? It wasn't something I had easy access to locally, so I decided to investigate recipes. I was surprised that it was not too difficult to make after all! I found this recipe, which worked well for me. Obviously, I did not use the soy milk recommended and opted for the almond instead. In theory, you could use any of the milks listed previously, I just haven't tried it yet. One day when I'm feeling adventurous I will, but for now this butter tastes just fine! It is an easy butter substitute for most recipes, both vegan and non-vegan alike.

Eggs

Several non-vegan recipes call for eggs, so what can you replace those with? Vegan eggs? That sounds as absurd as vegan butter. As it turns out, there are a variety of options that can mimic the chemistry of eggs in your baked items. Remember when I made that comment about banana bread earlier? Ripe bananas can actually mimic eggs in baked goods! One medium ripe banana plus more leavening ingredients like baking soda or powder is equivalent to one egg. If you don't mind your product being a little denser, you don't even have to add the additional leavening.

Applesauce is also another great egg replacer. I'm familiar with using it in more low-sugar recipes for my mother who has diabetes. It was something I had previously incorporated into banana bread without intentions of creating something vegan. Who knew it also mimics eggs? Just 1/4 cup of applesauce is all it takes to replace one egg. It really isn't very much, and combined with bananas it makes some tasty and delicious recipes like the banana bread below.

Egg alternatives are more varied than creating just simple banana bread. I remember being weirded out early on by an egg replacer called aquafaba. Bean water just did not sound pleasant to me, even though I had eaten hummus quite a bit. I just had trouble picturing that flavor in my sweet treats. Wouldn't it make it taste funky? Shockingly, that same flavor didn't get incorporated into my ordinarily tasty treats. One tablespoon of aquafaba replaces one egg yolk, two tablespoons of aquafaba replaces one egg white, and three tablespoons of aquafaba replace a whole egg. It really is simple math. If you want an aquafaba dessert that looks fancy and is sure to impress while remaining easy to make, meringue kisses are sure to do the trick. Aside from "bean water" as an egg replacer, chickpea flour is also an option. It has a similar texture and flavor to eggs. The ratio for this replacement is 3 tablespoons of chickpea flour and 3 tablespoons of water combined to a paste for each egg the recipe recommends.

Ground flaxseed or linseed can also be used in place of eggs in recipes. One tablespoon of flaxseed with three tablespoons of water, stirred, and set for five minutes can replace one egg. While I don't use this method a lot, the flavor of flaxseed is not unpleasant and does offer a bit more of a textural element in certain desserts.

This next eggless egg option brings me back to my childhood. Some people love it, some people hate it: tapioca starch. Growing up, my grandmother made tapioca pudding every Sunday. That didn't mean you were able to eat tapioca every Sunday, especially when certain cousins or uncles were around, but it was a nice treat when I got to enjoy it. It brings me back a bit to incorporate it into my own puddings and sauces. One tablespoon of tapioca starch mixed with 3 teaspoons of water, replaces one egg. Although you use tapioca pearls for this pudding recipe, you can also add tapioca starch if you prefer a different type of texture. Personally, it's nice to have a new dairy-free twist on my grandma's classic dessert.

If you don't want to stray too far from the norm or the supermarket shelves, egg substitute powders do exist. They usually don't have additional flavors or sweeteners like many of the items previously listed. Many contain starches or flours and a raising agent and are easy to use. These come in handy when you are trying to create a large quantity of items or have guests that may not be as open mindedly vegan.

Whipped Cream

For most desserts, especially pies and parfaits you need a form of whipped cream. You don't have to sacrifice your whipped cream just to be vegan. I already mentioned my earlier love affair with coconut milk, and for whipped cream I've found this to be the perfect substitute. All you need are a couple cans of coconut milk and a little over 1/3 cup of confectioner's sugar and viola, coconut whipped cream for any of your pies, parfaits, cakes, and the like. I'll let you in on a little secret; sometimes I'll melt down and mix in a little cocoa powder, and just eat the chocolate coconut whipped cream.

If you aren't a fan of coconut milk, you can also try making whipped cream with aquafaba. As a bonus, you can even make marshmallow fluff with the same stuff! Below are a couple recipes that require minimal effort, but pack a big result.

Frosting/Icing

When your dessert of choice needs something other than whipped cream as an accent, or you're just a sucker for extra-sugary goodness, you know you need good icing or frosting. This recipe was the go-to choice for me. It combines some of the elements I mentioned earlier and offers substitution options with a variety of flavors. I create my vegan butter in place of this blogger's and opt for the other non-soy plant-based milks or the aquafaba in its place.

Even in a non-vegan world, you can use these ingredients to adapt traditional recipes to your own dietary needs. Sometimes all it takes is a few simple swaps. Some recipes may have different results than others. It may take a bit of chemistry to get things right from time to time, but isn't part of what makes baking fun experimenting? It's just one way we can all express our own creativity and individuality. I may not be a full time vegan, but I will take any opportunity to try out a new recipe-especially one that is a little healthier and a little tastier. If it opens my mind to a different form of food culture, that is even better! Overall, it was surprising to me at how small changes can be so sustainable and satisfying. Hopefully you'll find some of these easy ingredient swaps simple and delicious for you too!