Baking Without Dairy or Eggs

Cooking or Baking Without Dairy or Eggs can be a real challenge — if you don’t know the special tips offered here by Allyson Kramer, author of the  Manifest Vegan blog.

I found these tips and the wonderful recipe at the bottom of the post on the Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom blog.  Both authors and blogs are excellent resources for tips and recipes for Gluten Free Vegans!

How is it possible to bake or cook without dairy or eggs?

This is often the first concern of people who are thinking about eliminating dairy and eggs from their diets–especially those of us who are avid bakers. And even more so for those of us who are avid gluten-free bakers! Most baked goods recipes contain the obligatory stick of butter and several eggs. With gluten-free recipes in particular, you’ll often find a large amount of eggs called for because eggs balance out the lack of gluten —acting as a binder as well as making many baked goods rise. But eggs aren’t the only solution. In fact, it’s not the actual eggs, butter or milk that’s necessary to achieve great results in baking, but the qualities and chemistry of those ingredients that make a recipe work. Whether it be rising power, binding capabilities, adding fat to a recipe, or simply just thinning a batter, you can find these properties in many plant based foods—and they yield just as good results as their animal based counterparts. …

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free and Corn-Free Vanilla Pudding

Ingredients

• 3 Tbs. Corn Free, Vegan Margarine, or other vegan margarine if corn is not an issue
• 2/3 cup Gram/Chickpea Flour
• 1/2 cup Tapioca Starch
• Dash Sea Salt
• 1 1/2 cups Almond Milk
• 2/3 cup Granulated Sugar
• 3 tsp. corn free Vanilla Extract
• 1 Vanilla Bean, split and scraped (discard pod, or reserve for other use)
• Whipped Coconut Cream for topping

Directions

1. Before you get started, be sure to have a few small bowls or dishes ready to pour the pudding into straight from the stovetop.
2. In 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt the margarine until completely liquefied. Add in gram flour and stir until it clumps together, gently turn and break the mixture apart using a wooden spoon. Stir in the tapioca starch and then use a whisk to blend into crumbles. Let cook, stirring often, for about 2 minutes over medium heat, or until the flours are lightly toasted. Add in the sugar and whisk together until well combined.
3. Gradually whisk in almond milk, about 1/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly until smooth, ensuring no lumps remain. This may take quite a bit of elbow grease, but it’s worth it to achieve a smooth pudding. Add in the remaining almond milk, vanilla extract, and scraped vanilla bean, whisking vigorously until all is combined. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until quite thick, about 3 minutes.
4. Pour into dishes and let cool at room temp for about 30 minutes before transferring to the refrigerator to cool completely.
5. Let chill for at least 4 hours before serving, best if chilled overnight. Garnish with whipped coconut cream.

If you are interested in more of Allyson Kramer recipes, check out her cookbook below: