A FEW THINGS…

After narrowing down all my options and ideas during the recipe creation process, the desserts have ended up fairly classic, which isn’t all that surprising as I love all kinds of old-school sweet treats, from a comforting crumble to a decadent, dark and gooey chocolate fondant and all the tarte tatins in between. Besides, I think of this book as food that my family and your family will be eating for a long time, and so it seemed fitting to have my favourite old friends along for the ride. However, I’ve made them all as full-of-goodness as I can, and included notes on simple swops that you can make for other ‘free-from’ options if you like.

SIMPLE SWOPS FOR 100% PLANT-BASED BAKING

Where possible, I’ve shared recipes that are refined sugar and gluten conscious, and free from dairy and eggs. Where I feel it compromises the integrity of the dish, I have not. But you’re welcome to play around based on the tips below.

WHIPPED CREAM

Instead of dairy cream, take the very chilled surface cream from a can of coconut milk and whisk it until fluffy, it’s delicious and a favourite as an alternative to traditional icing with my carrot cake (page 151).

MILK

As a plant-based milk alternative, I usually opt for unsweetened almond milk or non-GMO and organic soy milk, as the fat content is similar to cow’s milk.

BUTTER

Instead of butter, I find that coconut oil is the most reliable substitute.

EGG ALTERNATIVES

As an egg alternative, I use ground chia seeds or flax seed ‘eggs’ when baking things that don’t need to rise too much, such as cookies. Try the salted peanut butter (page 170) or dark choc chip cookies (page 171). To make 1 egg, soak 1 Tbsp seeds in 3 Tbsp water for 5 minutes, then stir well and add to your baking mixture.

Another option is to use tofu (I know!) – it bakes beautifully (although it’s quite dense, which makes it ideal for things such as brownies) and gives the same silky effect. To replace 1 egg, use about 55g of soft tofu.

You can also use 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda plus 1 Tbsp vinegar as an egg replacement. This works really well in both my chocolate fudge cake (page 153) and my carrot cake (page 151).

And wait, there’s more! Have you met aquafaba yet? It’s the liquid from a can of chickpeas, and it’s not to be belittled when it comes to egg-free baking options. For example, you can whisk it into the loveliest meringues – try my princess Pavlovas (page 167). Try it in your favourite sponge cake too – about 3 Tbsp aquafaba equates to 1 egg.

HONEY

Don’t forget that honey comes from bees, so if you’d like a plant-based alternative, my favourite is proper maple syrup.