Source: Bake from Scratch – Magazine Sept/Oct 2017 edition

Continuing our Advice from the Pros series we have some fantastic advice from Kate Jacoby of Philadelphia’s Vedge. I know when we hear Vegan sometimes we think not so great taste but things are different now. Many vegan desserts you wouldn’t even know were vegan.

Pastry chef Kate Jacoby creates incredible vegan desserts at the Philadelphia restaurant group she runs with her husband chef Rich Landau. The couple have two cookbooks called Vedge and V Street.

Here are four of Kate’s tips for Vegan desserts.

“Work Backward”

She achieves the same effects of egg and milk-based products by looking at the chemical reactions. How can change the least amount of nonvegan ingredients to achieve the same result with plant-based replacements? She doesn’t want to make things complicated. She looks at the result she wants and figures out how to get there with other ingredients.

“Blend Your Milk”

The main types of “milk” she uses is soy and coconut. She says if you use only one kind of milk replacement the result can turn out tasting like that item. So important to mix multiple kinds of “milk” together. For example, ice cream is a milk-heavy item. When replacing the dairy item you have to keep in mind how different kind of milk alternatives with change the taste of the desired ice cream recipe.

“Faba-lous Chickpeas”

Chef Kate says a “game-changer” for making meringue without eggs is something called aquafaba. It’s made from cooked chickpeas. The liquid is super protein rich. That’s something important to remember if you are looking to change nonvegan recipes to a vegan one. It is something super important for someone who has an egg allergy too.

“Easy Agar”

A great replacement for eggs in vegan recipes is Agar-agar. It’s an algae-derived gelling agent. She says you have to be careful how much you use because if you add too much you will end up with a solid jelly mold.

Happy Baking Everyone!