Common Vegan Baking Mistakes

If you’re thinking about doing some vegan baking but don’t know where to start with substitutions, new ingredients and different methods don’t worry! This guide will point you in the right direction to avoid all of those common vegan baking mistakes so you can have fun making a delicious bake no one would know is vegan!

Assuming All Substitutes Work The Same Way

Not all vegan baking substitutes are created equal! One of the biggest vegan baking mistakes is assuming that you can substitute egg, milk or other ingredients for any vegan substitute. The trick is knowing what role the ingredient plays in the baking process. For example, eggs in cookies are often used as a binding agent. For this, a great substitute is a flax egg which can be substituted 1 chicken egg for 1 flax egg. However in a cake the eggs job is not only to bind but also to create rise and a light fluffy texture. A flax egg wouldn’t work for this and you may be better off using apple sauce. Other substitutes like Trex can be used in place of butter but you can use 20% less than the recipe calls for as Trex contains no water.

Not Using Enough Fat

Fat is an important component when baking. Things like butter retain moisture, make a nice crumb and also traps air bubbles (great for a fluffy sponge and flaky pastry). When substituting butter for another fat it is important that it has a similar fat content. It is also important not to use low fat versions. For example in my ganache recipe I use coconut milk from a tin instead of cream but it is important to use full fat coconut milk otherwise the recipe will not work.

Not Checking Your Ingredients Are Actually Vegan

Some ingredients may seem vegan at first glance but one common vegan baking mistake is to forget to look out for less commons ingredients that you might not realise are vegan. For example, food colourings often contain non vegan ingredients such as cochineal or shellac so it’s important to check that your food colourings are vegan. Many sweets like gummy sweets and marshmallow contain gelatine which is an animal product which vegans don’t eat.

Not Using Enough Raising Agent

Some vegan recipes require a little more raising agent depending on the other substitutions you have made. Sometimes in a sponge cake recipe you might need a little more raising agent if you have substituted the egg as that is one of the roles of egg in a cake.

Not Measuring Ingredients Accurately

Don’t forget that baking is a science. If you don’t measure your ingredients properly you can tip the balance so that the recipe does not come out as expected. I recommend using grams over cup measurements as they are much more accurate.