Post on 17-Jul-2020
Rachel Demuth
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IN THE KITCHEN WITH
Rachel was chef-proprietor of the
award-winning Demuths vegetarian
restaurant in Bath for 25 years, and is
now dedicated to running Demuths
Cookery School. She is the author of
four vegetarian cookbooks, including
the Green Seasons Cookbook.
World Vegan Month is here, with many people choosing to try a vegan diet. So to help, resident chef Rachel offers her guide to vegan baking for the novice cook.
Baking is everywhere at the moment, on TV,
in magazines, even on chat shows, but the
featured recipes are usually laden with butter,
eggs and cream, so how does this baking
frenzy fit into a vegan lifestyle?
Adopting any kind of free-from diet,
whether by choice or necessity, can be
challenging at times, but I would argue that it
also makes you a more creative cook. Baking
vegan cakes and desserts is easier than you
might think, and is really rewarding. But for a
new vegan, the challenge is sourcing the right
ingredients to replace eggs, dairy and honey
in your cakes and bakes, and experimenting
with delicious alternatives, such as mashed
banana, flax seeds and coconut oil.
A trip to your local health food store is
often essential for vegan baking, as you’ll
find a better choice of ingredients and
knowledgeable staff on hand to give advice
on substituting. But you can sometimes find
what you need in the supermarket too, just
look out for the vegan symbol on packaged
products or read the labels carefully as the
traditional ‘V’ for vegetarian symbol doesn’t
mean it’s also vegan. Look carefully for
hidden milk products, such as casein or whey,
and remember that E numbers may contain
animal products – these are often found in
margarines, crisps and biscuits – while gelatin
is often found in yogurts and desserts.
Eating baked goods and sweet treats in
restaurants is also a minefield for vegans,
as desserts are often not even labelled
as vegetarian, let alone vegan. Hidden
ingredients such as gelatin in pannacotta,
cheesecake, jelly in trifle and mousses, honey
as a sweetener and even dark chocolate
(which often contains dairy), mean that
vegans have to be vigilant when eating out in
non-specialist restaurants.
At Demuths, which was my restaurant
for 26 years, two vegan desserts stayed on
the menu for over 20 years as they were so
popular with everyone – the chocolate fudge
cake and the sticky toffee pudding. You can
find recipes for both on the Demuths website.
But with Christmas around the corner and
‘stir up Sunday’ on the fifth Sunday before
– traditionally the day to make Christmas
puddings and cakes – vegans don’t need to
miss out on any of the baking fun, as puddings
and cakes are still utterly delicious without
eggs or butter.
Beginner’s guide to vegan baking
© M
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FROM THE PANTRY
AGARAGARAgar agar is derived from seaweed (Gelidium) and is a vegetarian setting agent and an alternative to gelatin. I like the agar flakes rather than the powder.
To make a fruit jelly with agar agar flakes: add 250ml fruit juice to a saucepan, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of agar agar over the surface and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring until the flakes dissolve. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then pour the jelly into a mould to set.
At Demuths Cookery School we run vegan courses on baking, gourmet and Christmas cooking, plus longer four-day courses. Check out www.demuths.co.uk, and join our newsletter for monthly cooking tips, recipes, competitions and offers.
www.vegetarianliving.co.uk | 53
Chef’stableFind out more at www.demuths.co.uk; Facebook: demuthscookery; Twitter: @demuthsFor weekly seasonal recipes, follow Rachel’s blog at www.demuths.co.uk/rachels-blog.
ESSENTIAL TIPS…
BAKING ALTERNATIVESl EGGSYou can buy egg replacer products, but I
much prefer natural alternatives.
Try soya yogurt for a slightly sour taste
and light texture – great for muffins,
scones and soda bread.
Mashed banana and soaked puréed
dates both work well as egg substitutes in
cakes, puddings, pancakes and muffins,
also adding flavour and sweetness. They
are good binders, giving a moist texture to
your baking.
Flax seeds can replace egg when you
don’t want added flavour or sweetness. To
replace 1 medium egg, use 1 tablespoon
of golden flax seeds ground to a powder,
mixed with 3 tablespoons of water. The
mix will turn into a mucilaginous gloop and
act as an excellent binder.
Eggs act as a rising agent too, so if
you’re omitting them, increase the amount
of baking powder you use.
l BUTTERReplace butter with sunflower or soya
margarines, but choose varieties made
with non-hydrogenated fat. Most
supermarket brands contain milk and lots
of additives and artificial colourings, so
look in your wholefood store for a natural,
dairy-free margarine. For a fat that sets
hard like butter, try cold-pressed coconut
oil. It’s expensive, but does have a gentle
flavour and is cholesterol free, so a good
choice when replacing a small amount of
fat in a recipe.
l MILKReplace milk with soya, almond, rice, oat
or quinoa milk. For cooking, I like soya or
almond best.
l CREAMReplace cream with soya cream, coconut
cream or cashew or almond cream.
To make cashew or almond cream, soak
cashew nuts or whole blanched almonds
in plenty of water overnight, then blitz in a
blender the next day until smooth and silky.
l YOGURTUse soya yogurt, but for savoury dishes
you’ll need unsweetened, and annoyingly
most brands now have added sugar, so do
check the labels. Or try coconut yogurt.
l CHEESESoya yogurt is also excellent for making
delicious labna, a creamy yogurt cheese.
Pour a tub of soya yogurt into muslin
or a clean tea towel over a sieve, with a
bowl underneath to collect the liquid.
Put a weight on top and leave in the
fridge overnight. Next day, scoop out the
labna and either eat sweet or savoury.
Sweetened it makes a wonderful carrot
cake topping; for savoury, try rolling in
herbs and use as an alternative to cream
cheese – it’s also far healthier!
If you’re feeling adventurous, have a
go making your own cheese with soaked
ground cashews flavoured with Rejuvelac
and matured over a few days.
l HONEYFor a liquid sweetener, I like to use apple
juice concentrate or syrups such as maple,
date and agave.
l CHOCOLATENot all dark chocolate and cocoa is dairy-
free, so check for the vegan symbol. You
can also now buy vegan
white chocolate!
PH
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PH
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RO
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Chocolate and coconut mousse This is a lovely silky, rich chocolate mousse,
a really decadent vegan dessert!
Serves 6 | Prep 10 mins
Cook 30 mins + cooling and setting
100g water
50g caster sugar
75g vegan dark chocolate
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp vegan cocoa powder, sieved
3 tbsp espresso coffee
130g coconut cream (Blue Dragon brand,
chilled for 1 hour)
1 Put the water, sugar and dark chocolate
together in a pan and heat gently until the
chocolate has melted.
2 Mix the cornflour and cocoa together in
a small bowl with the espresso coffee, to
make a thin paste. Mix a spoon of the hot
chocolate mixture from the pan into the
cornflour mixture, then add the cornflour
mixture into the pan and simmer very
gently, stirring continuously until it forms a
thick cream. Sieve the whole mixture into a
bowl to remove any lumps.
3 Leave to cool to room temperature, but
not until it sets. Either stir the mixture over
a bowl of iced water for a few minutes or
put in the fridge. It will take about an hour
in the fridge.
4 Whisk the chilled coconut cream until
thick and doubled in volume. Put the
cooled chocolate mixture into a mixing
bowl and add a quarter of the coconut
cream. Whisk to loosen the mixture,
and then gently whisk in the rest of the
coconut cream.
5 Pour into little pots and chill in the fridge
for an hour until ready to serve.
COOK’S TIP You can make these puddings
the night before and keep them in the
fridge, as they will set firmer.
n PER SERVING 275 cals, fat 19g, sat fat 15.5g,
carbs 24g, sugars 18g, protein 3g, salt 0.1g,
fibre 0.5g