Category Archives: cakes

Vanilla Spice Cake with Maple Glaze

vanilla spice cake with maple glaze

vanilla spice cake with maple glaze

After the sweets explosion that is the holidays, I abstained from goodies for some time. Okay, it was only a week but it felt like forever. Once sugar was allowed back into my life, I still didn’t want anything over-the-top. A vanilla cake seemed like the perfect solution.

The cake was baked in a Bundt pan because it is a high-altitude baker’s best friend (no sunken middle!). However, Bundt pans do require extra preparation. Be sure to get into the nooks and crannies or your cake may stick. See the photo for a (mostly) well-prepared pan. I did miss a few tiny spots, but the cake came out of the pan just fine.

greased and floured Bundt pan

greased and floured Bundt pan

To make the cake fitting for this chilly time of year, I chose warming spices that are reminiscent of a cup of hot chai tea. Instructions for a maple glaze is included. You can leave the glaze out if your sweet tooth isn’t ready yet, but it’s a nice addition for a bit of decadence.

Until next time, happy baking!

vanilla spice cake with maple glaze
Print Recipe

Vanilla Spice Cake with Maple Glaze

After the sweets explosion that is the holidays, I abstained from goodies for some time. Okay, it was only a week but it felt like forever. Once sugar was allowed back into my life, I still didn’t want anything over-the-top. A vanilla cake seemed like the perfect solution.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Vegan
Keyword: Baking, Cake, Chai Spice, Cinnamon, High Altitude, Recipe
Servings: 8 servings
Author: The Decadent Vegan Baker

Equipment

  • 6-cup Bundt pan

Ingredients

  • shortening to prepare cake pan
  • all purpose flour to prepare cake pan

for the cake

  • ½ cup + 4 tablespoons non-dairy milk see note
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • ¾ cup organic granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ cup vanilla non-dairy yogurt
  • ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

for the maple glaze

  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • 2 ½ tablespoons non-dairy milk plus extra if needed
  • ¼ teaspoon maple extract
  • pinch fine sea salt

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 6-cup Bundt pan, making sure to get into every crevice. Set aside.
  • To make the cake, put the ½ cup + 4 tablespoons milk in a glass measuring cup and add the vinegar. Whisk to combine, then set aside at room temperature for at least 5 minutes to curdle.
  • Sift the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and cloves into a large bowl.
  • Whisk together the curdled milk, yogurt, oil, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients then stir with a rubber spatula until combined.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Hit the pan lightly on the counter to level the batter and remove air bubbles.
  • Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes away dry. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes in the pan set on a wire rack, then gently loosen the cake center and edges from the pan using a small spatula. Invert the pan onto a wire rack and let the cake cool for 20 minutes.
  • To unmold, pick up the rack with the pan on top and lightly tap both on the counter to loosen the cake. Remove the pan from atop the cake and place the cake on the rack to allow the cake to cool completely.
  • While the cake is cooling, make the maple glaze by sifting the powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Stir in the 2 ½ tablespoons milk, maple extract, and pinch of salt. Keep stirring until no dry sugar remains. If some dry sugar remains, then add a little more milk and stir until incorporated. The glaze should be smooth and glossy but not so thick that it won’t pour.
  • Once the cake is fully cooled, pour the glaze over the cake.

Notes

Of all non-dairy milks, soymilk curdles the best. You can use other milks, but they won’t appear lumpy.

Lavender Earl Grey Tea Bread

lavender earl grey tea bread
lavender earl grey tea bread

It’s January so the celebration for National Hot Tea Month is in full swing. Although, if you ask me, we should have a hot tea season that would span several months. I love drinking hot tea, especially when it keeps me warm.

What goes well with a cup of hot tea? Tea bread, of course. And the perfect tea bread contains an infusion of tea to permeate the baked good.

To come up with a complementary treat for my cuppa, I found a recipe for a tea cake with Earl Grey tea in it. The classic Earl Grey is black tea flavored with orange-scented bergamot. A new twist has the addition of lavender buds which rounds out the tea nicely, so I knew I wanted to include the floral profile.

I first altered the recipe by including the lavender flowers. Next, I changed it from gluten free to using all purpose flour because that’s what I had on hand. Feel free to use a gluten free flour blend instead.

Then I reduced the recipe so it would make four small loaves that would bake better at high altitude. For altitude I also switched it up to include a combination of baking soda and baking powder. There was no need for vegan changes because the recipe was already vegan.

The resulting mini breads were moist and extremely flavorful, reminiscent of honey cakes. With a hint of lavender when warmed and depth from the maple syrup, they are fantastic alongside a robust tea as well as an herbal blend. I froze a few loaves so I can savor them this month, and also enjoy them on a future tea drinking day.

Lavender Earl Grey Tea Bread adapted from Earl Grey Tea Cake

1.5 cups boiling water
3.5 teaspoons Earl Grey loose leaf tea
1/2 teaspoon culinary lavender flowers
1/3 cup dried currants
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Grease the sections of a mini bread tin (mine makes four breads measuring 5 x 2.5” each) and set aside. Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine the water, Earl Grey tea, and lavender in a heat-proof container. Cover and steep for 5 minutes. Strain and discard the leaves. Add 1/2 cup of tea back to the container, saving the other 1 cup of tea for later. Place dried currants in the 1/2 cup of tea, cover, and set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Add the oil and maple syrup to a medium bowl and whisk together. Add the vanilla and 1 cup of tea to the oil-syrup mixture. Whisk until combined, then stir in the tea with the currants.

Add the liquid mixture to the ingredients in the dry bowl and stir until combined and no longer lumpy. Distribute the batter evenly into the sections of the tin. Bake for 34-38 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a bread comes away clean or with a few small crumbs.

Let the breads fully cool in the tin placed on a wire rack. Run a knife along the outside edges of each bread to loosen, then tip the loaves out.

Until next time, happy baking!

Chocolate Chip Banana Cake Pan Cake

Chocolate Chip Banana Cake Pan Cake Chocolate Chip Banana Cake Pan Cake

The very ripe bananas on my counter were calling my name. Although I do love my Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, I wanted something more decadent and more banana-y. A banana cake seemed appropriate. With plenty of mashed bananas in an easy cake pan form, the recipe I found sounded perfect. I just had to make it vegan and high altitude friendly.

To veganize it, I used whipped aquafaba instead of eggs. I also traded butter with Earth Balance Original Buttery Spread. (Note: I did not use the sticks because I wanted the lighter texture of the spread.) To help counter the affects at altitude I added more liquid and flour. However, vegan banana baked goods can be heavy so I added apple cider vinegar and a smidgen of baking powder to boost the lift.

Chocolate Chip Banana Cake Pan Cake adapted from Banana–Chocolate Chip Snack Cake

1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1/3 cup aquafaba, cold (the liquid from canned chickpeas)
2 cups + 1 TBS all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
scant 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup vegan buttery spread (see note above)
1 cup + 3 TBS vegan sugar
1 cup mashed bananas (2 to 3 bananas, very ripe)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350F. Grease and flour an 8 x 8” baking pan. Stir apple cider vinegar into the non-dairy milk and set aside. Add aquafaba to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk for 5 minutes. Place whipped aquafaba in a separate bowl, and replace the whisk attachment on the stand mixer with the paddle.

Whisk the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together in bowl. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat the buttery spread on medium-high speed for a minute. Add the sugar and beat for 2 more minutes. Fold in whipped aquafaba. Add bananas and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk in 2 additions, scraping down bowl as needed. Stir in half of the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.

choose very ripe bananas choose very ripe bananas

Transfer the batter to prepared pan and smooth top with the spatula. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips evenly over top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cake cool completely in pan on wire rack. The cooled cake can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Until next time, happy baking!

Vegan Baklava Cheesecake Minis

vegan baklava cheesecake minis

vegan baklava cheesecake minis

With many holiday parties coming up (such as Thanksgiving in the U.S.), it’s good to have a go-to recipe that is simple to make and easily feeds a small crowd. Sure, you can bring cookies, but that’s what everyone else does. For me, I like these bite-sized cheesecakes that will stand out at a buffet or when passed around the dinner table.
On my hunt for a mini-sized dessert I found a full-sized cheesecake in a phyllo crust. Then I realized that it would work just as well in little phyllo shells. And, it would be faster to make. Plus the mini shells are adorable.
I was sold on the recipe but it wasn’t vegan. With a few simple swaps, like vegan versions of all of the dairy items, it was just about ready to go. A quick glance at my cupboard revealed I had a product called Vegan Honey which was perfect. If you don’t have this, then agave syrup is fine, too.
Until next time, happy baking!

vegan baklava cheesecake minis
Print Recipe

Vegan Baklava Cheesecake Minis

With many holiday parties coming up (such as Thanksgiving in the U.S.), it’s good to have a go-to recipe that is simple to make and easily feeds a small crowd. Sure, you can bring cookies, but that’s what everyone else does. For me, I like these bite-sized cheesecakes that will stand out at a buffet or when passed around the dinner table.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Vegan
Keyword: Baking, cheesecake, Cinnamon, cream cheese, Phyllo, pistachio, Recipe
Servings: 45 phyllo cups
Author: The Decadent Vegan Baker

Equipment

  • large baking pan
  • Stand Mixer

Ingredients

for the phyllo shells

  • 3 boxes mini phyllo shells (45 shells total)
  • ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon organic granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped walnuts toasted

for the filling

  • ⅔ cup plant-based cream
  • 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese
  • ⅓ cup vegan honey or agave syrup
  • ⅓ cup vegan greek-style yogurt plain
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
  • 3 tablespoons organic powdered sugar sifted
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

for the topping

  • ⅛ cup shelled pistachios finely chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking pan with parchment paper.
  • To make the phyllo shells, remove the mini shells from their wrappings and defrost if necessary.
  • Stir together the ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon, granulated sugar, and walnuts in a small bowl. Place the empty shells on the prepared baking pan and spoon the cinnamon-sugar mixture inside them. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes, then set the baking pan on a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.
  • Beat the cream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat until stiff peaks form, then remove to a small bowl. Put the cream cheese in the empty stand mixer bowl and beat it until smooth. Add the honey, yogurt, and vanilla paste and beat until combined. Add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and cloves and beat until smooth. Add the whipped cream and gently stir with a rubber spatula until incorporated.
  • Place the filling in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip, then pipe the filling into the cooled shells. Sprinkle the pistachios over each shell.
  • Refrigerate the cheesecakes for 1 to 2 hours to firm up.

Notes

Adapted from a recipe at rodellekitchen.com

The 5 Most Popular Posts of the Year, So Far

Can you believe we are halfway through 2024? I thought now would be a good time to collect the recipes that have gathered the most attention this year.

The Importance of Flour
The most viewed post in 2024 isn’t a recipe, but a helpful tip on how to choose flour for vegan baking.
Check out this recipe

1
chocolate tahini bars
Chocolate Tahini Bars
It's no surprise that these bars are popular right now because they are no-bake so you don’t have to heat up your kitchen.
Check out this recipe

2
almond meal date muffin
Almond Meal Date Muffins
For a healthier morning treat try these muffins packed with dates. raisins, oats, and almond meal.
Check out this recipe

3
sunken chocolate cake with an oat nut crust
Sunken Chocolate Cake in an Oat Nut Crust
This flourless and gluten-free cake was a hit at a friend’s birthday party. Go on, indulge.
Check out this recipe

4
lavender earl grey tea bread
Lavender Earl Grey Tea Bread
Often served with hot tea, these breads can be enjoyed during the summer with an iced drink.
Check out this recipe

I look forward to sharing many more tasty treats with you this year.

If you try a new recipe, or a golden oldie from the past, I’d appreciate your comments as to how it turned out. If you’re on Instagram, please post a picture and tag @decadentveganbaker

Sunken Chocolate Cake in an Oat Nut Crust

sunken chocolate cake with an oat nut crust

sunken chocolate cake with an oat nut crust

During Passover it is customary to refrain from eating flour. As Passover is around the corner, it seems a good time to make a flourless cake. A friend of mine, who is gluten-free, also has a birthday coming up, so all the more reason for me to venture into the area of baking without conventional flour.

My cookbook collection is vast, so it’s easy to find recipes for a myriad of baked goods. One book, Vegan Holiday Cooking from Candle Cafe, includes a section for a Passover seder. That is where I found instructions for the chocolate filling. As it bakes the cake becomes sunken on purpose, so the only high altitude adjustment is to use slightly less baking soda.

Another cookbook, Modern Vegan Baking, holds the process for the Oat Nut Crust. Putting the two together produces a substantial dessert that will make my friend smile. It also allows for leftovers to add to the seder table. If you don’t have a birthday or a seder soon, you can enjoy it on Earth Day.

Until next time, happy baking!

sunken chocolate cake with an oat nut crust
Print Recipe

Sunken Chocolate Cake in an Oat Nut Crust

During Passover it is customary to refrain from eating flour. As Passover is around the corner, it seems a good time to make a flourless cake. A friend of mine, who is gluten-free, also has a birthday coming up, so all the more reason to venture into the area of baking without conventional flour.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Vegan
Keyword: Baking, Cake, Chocolate, Earth Day, Flourless, Gluten Free, Passover
Servings: 10
Author: The Decadent Vegan Baker

Equipment

  • 9" Springform Pan
  • food processor

Ingredients

for the crust

  • vegan shortening for greasing the pan
  • 2 cups (340 grams) nuts (see Note)
  • 1 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
  • 3 tablespoons vegan butter
  • 2 tablespoons agave syrup

for the filling

  • 2 cups almond flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
  • 1 cup plain, unsweetened soy milk
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup organic sugar

Instructions

to make the crust

  • Prepare a 9” springform pan by greasing the bottom and sides, then laying a parchment circle in the bottom. Set aside.
  • Toast the nuts by preheating the oven to 325F. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake until the nuts are fragrant and slightly browned, 5–8 minutes depending on the size and type of the nut you choose. Remove the baking tray from the oven and pour the nuts into a bowl to cool slightly. Turn the oven up to 350F.
  • Place the warmed nuts and oats into a food processor and pulse several times. Add the cinnamon, vegan butter, and agave then process until the mixture sticks together slightly. (You can test it by turning the machine off, removing the lid, and squeezing together a few spoonfuls. It should stay pressed together.)
  • Pour the crust mixture out into the prepared pan. Press it firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Flatten the crust by taking a clean water glass and pressing it into the bottom of the crust. Set aside.

to make the filling

  • Sift the almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and cinnamon into a large bowl. Mix well and ensure there are no clumps.
  • Place the soy milk, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, oil, and sugar into a blender. Blend on medium-high for two minutes until it gets a pudding-like texture. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well.
  • Pour the filling mixture into the prepared crust and smooth it out. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the cake is no longer jiggly.
  • Place the cooked cake on a wire rack to cool. When the cake is only barely warm, remove the outer ring on the springform pan. Carefully lift the cake out and remove the parchment paper. Let the cake further cool on a wire rack.
  • To serve, decorate the cake with organic powdered sugar or fresh berries and slice into wedges.

Notes

It is best to weigh the nuts instead of using a dry cup. I measured my walnuts both ways and the cup measurement contained far fewer nuts. Walnuts, and many other large nuts, leave gaps and don’t fill the cup.

5 No-Bake Vegan Recipes to Keep You Going Strong in Veganuary

We are almost at the end of Veganuary. If you made the commitment to be plant-based this month, then Congratulations! I know that jumping right in to being vegan can be a difficult task, so to keep you on track I compiled my favorite easy no-baking-required recipes. And since desserts are kinda my thing, the recipes are all for sweet treats. Oh, and there’s lots of chocolate involved.

  1. Easy Chocolate Pudding Parfait

It is fun to reimagine recipes I’ve made in the past. Often this is spurred on by scrounging around in my cupboard and discovering an ingredient that needs to be used up. In this case it was an aseptic box of tofu that was hovering near to its expiration date.

2. Chocolate Tahini Bars

Bar cookies are often rustic looking and are best to grab for a quick dessert. But these bars are different. They are elegant, delicious, and decadent, making them a perfect party treat. They also have no refined sweeteners so they are a healthier option. But if you don’t tell your guests, I won’t.

3. Vegan Espresso Date Shake

With a scorcher of a weekend imminent, it’s time to turn off the oven (no baking??) and bring out the blender. Thoughts of blended beverages has my imagination conjuring up frosty glasses filled with cool drinks. But then, an old memory surfaces.

4. Chai Spiced Milk and DIY Plant-Milk Tips

I’m still celebrating World Plant-Milk Day (or Week, as the case may be). If you’re new to the event, and wondering what I’m talking about, then catch my post from earlier this week. If you’re ready for some advice on making your own plant milk, then read on.

5. Chocolate Crispy Rice Treat Cake

Argh! It’s still too darned hot to turn on the oven. But I won’t let that stop me from enjoying an indulgent treat. Rice crispy treats are a good one to turn to when the weather is a scorcher.

Until next time, happy non-baking!

Applesauce Spice Cake with Spiced Apples

applesauce spice cake
applesauce spice cake with spiced apples

Pumpkin Spice season has arrived! Admittedly, I do not like pumpkin spice in my beverages, however unpopular my idea may be. Cinnamon yes, but not the blend. However, the mix of spices is delicious in baked goods.

Apple season has also arrived, and apples and pumpkin spice pair together perfectly. Spiced apples are lovely to cook up, but I wanted something more substantial to make. The idea struck to use applesauce cake as a backdrop for spicy warm apples.

In my search for an applesauce cake, I looked at many recipes for cakes, quick breads, and cupcakes. What I came up with is a vegan mashup of all of them. I hope you enjoy my Applesauce Spice Cake with Spiced Apples for dessert, breakfast, or whenever you want a snack. It is best warm because the smells and tastes come alive.

Applesauce Spice Cake with Spiced Apples

for the cake
shortening, to grease the baking pan
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup maple or coconut sugar
1.25 teaspoons baking powder
.75 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1.5 cups unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cups apple juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons canola oil
for the spiced apples
4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 tablespoon canola oil
1/3 cup maple sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease two 8-inch round baking pans with shortening, then line them with parchment paper and grease the paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the all purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, 1/2 cup maple sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spice. In a medium bowl, whisk together the applesauce, apple juice, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, then whisk to combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pans. Bake for 28-30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Set the pans on a wire rack to cool while you prepare the spiced apples.

Sauté the apples in a nonstick skillet set on medium heat, about 5 minutes. Add the 1 tablespoon oil, 3 tablespoons maple sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to coat the apples. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the apples are tender, about 5 more minutes.

When the cakes have cooled, tip them out onto serving plates and top with warm spiced apples.

Until next time, happy baking!

Gluten-Free Summer Peach and Blueberry Snack Cake

summer peach and blueberry snack cake
summer peach and blueberry snack cake

It’s that time of year when peaches are peaking. Where I live, fresh juicy peaches are in abundance and demand to be eaten in everything. They complement muffins and pretty layered cakes, but I like them best when added to an easy snack cake. No muss, no fuss.

The cake recipe that crossed my path was already vegan, and gluten-free as well. The first way I changed it was to add peaches instead of apricots, but you could even use plums or cherries here. The next swap was to use aquafaba instead of packaged egg replacer because aquafaba helps maintain the structure that can be lacking in gluten-free baked goods.

For high altitude baking, I reduced the baking powder and baking soda. I also swapped the water for milk, for more flavor, then curdled it with apple cider vinegar for a greater leavening effect that boosts gluten-free flours at altitude.

Gluten-Free Summer Peach and Blueberry Snack Cake adapted from Gluten-Free Blueberry Apricot Cake

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1.5 cups gluten-free all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
scant 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup vegan butter
3/4 cup organic sugar
2 tablespoons aquafaba, cold (the liquid from canned chickpeas)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1 small peach, pitted and sliced

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Stir apple cider vinegar into the non-dairy milk and it set aside to curdle. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the vegan butter on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat for 2 more minutes. Whisk the aquafaba and add it to the mixer bowl along with the vanilla. Beat until incorporated.

Reduce the mixer’s speed to low and beat in half of the flour mixture then half of the curdled milk. Scrape down the bowl and repeat the sequence with the remainder of the dry and wet mixtures.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Arrange the sliced peaches and blueberries on top.

gluten free peach blueberry cake
gluten free peach blueberry cake

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 33 to 38 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking time. Place the pan on a wire rack and let the cake cool completely before slicing.

The cooled cake can be covered in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Until next time, happy baking!

Misguided High Altitude Guidelines

measuring glass with flour in a kitchen

Some of my readers share that they have trouble baking at high altitude, whether they are vegan or not. High altitude baking is a challenge for any eater, and I am glad that I can offer tips and recipes for those looking to overcome the inherent problems at higher altitudes.

Throughout my early research I uncovered a multitude of baking suggestions, and I was overjoyed to get hints on how to make my baked goods successful. I was willing to try anything that was relevant to vegan baking, and in doing so I discovered that not all high altitude “rules” were actually correct. Let me discuss those rules now so you don’t have to waste time with misguided information.

Raise your oven temperature by 25 degrees F. I tried this on many types of baked goods and didn’t see a positive effect. At first I thought it could be that my oven temperature wasn’t accurate, so I got an oven thermometer and had the oven adjusted accordingly. My resulting cakes had dry crusty exteriors, although cookies didn’t fare as badly. My guess is that the longer an item is in the oven, the more likely this method will have bad results.

No changes are needed when baking cookies. Speaking of cookies, here is a suggestion that I’ve learned to adapt. Some cookies turn out perfectly without alteration, but many cookies spread too much. In Pie in the Sky, Susan Purdy explains that “the more they spread, the thinner and crisper (or tougher) they get … (To) reduce spreading, strengthen the batter by reducing the sugar, leavening, and very occasionally, fat; sometimes you can also add a little flour.” I have also found that by placing the cookie dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes can give it the strength it needs to form proper cookies.

Reduce oven temperature when using glass baking dishes. Interestingly enough, this seems to contradict the tip for raising the temperature. One of the first recipes I tried to adapt was brownies, and at that time I was baking them in a Pyrex dish. After reading these two opposing suggestions, I decided to disregard them both because they seemed incorrect. Now I no longer bake in glass dishes, so it may be a moot point.

Bake in larger pans to avoid overflowing batter. My test for this was a disaster. The cake baked horribly uneven and the edges burned. My suggestion is to use the pan size listed in the recipe but make sure that the pans are not overfilled. If a sea-level muffin recipe says to fill the muffin cups to 2/3 full, it’s better to make them closer to 1/2 full. Any more and they are likely to rise quickly and spill out of the cups. The same concept holds true for quick breads and cakes.

The high altitude suggestions I follow on a regular basis are mentioned in my post It’s All in the Math. By reducing leaveners and sugars, while increasing liquid, I have been assured of greater success with my baking at altitudes up to 7,000 feet. Admittedly, I haven’t used an oven over that altitude. I have friends who live up at 10,000 feet, and after listening to their baking trials and setbacks I must say that they have far surpassed my efforts. My hat is off to them.

Until next time, happy baking!

photo credit: morgane perraud on unsplash