Hello!

Hoping I can get some recommendations for the above! I've tried one recipe that I found for these, and it sort of worked but I found the cake to be very fragile and a bit too light, and the lemon flavour didn't really come through - although that could be because the recipe also added vanilla extract which I though was a little odd, but assumed it was something to do with the lack of butter flavour?!

Plus I really wasn't a fan of the buttercream either :( I've not done any vegan baking before so I'm not sure how these 'should' be - I'm aiming for as close to my usual recipes as I can, but is that even possible?

Any advice from experienced vegan bakers would be amazing, oh and I'm in the UK if that's of any relevance :)

Thanks!

xx

Eggs are a binder. Baked goods without eggs tend to be fragile and crumble easily. There are many charts that show which replacements work, but trust me, most of them don't. In the US we have egg substitutes that work well in recipes. EnerG is the one I use. Your local market may have something you can purchase.

Hi Mimi,

Thank you, I think we do have an egg replacer over here so I will look into it. I was wondering about Xanthan gum as well, I I have used that in the past in gluten free recipes to create a bit of binding.

I think its just getting the right recipe and going from there, I have seen ones that add fruit puree instead of egg, but I worry about the taste interfering with the lemon?

I also really need to get the buttercream right, as the customer wants big piped swirls! The recipe I have used Trex (Crisco I think in the US?) and vegan margarine but it came out kind of grainy and a bit watery?!

Mel

Mel, I prefer using egg replacer because it's consistent and does not interfere in flavor issues the way fruit purees can. For buttercream I use vegetable shortening (Crisco) and confectioners' sugar. Good luck!

AHi Mel, can't help with the vegan bit but if you didn't get on with trex you can get crisco in the American food aisle in larger Tescos. I bought it before I realised trex was our equivalent! See I am a doofus! :-D

AFor egg replacing I like to use ground chia seeds. (1egg= 1 tablespoon ground chia seeds and 3 tablespoons of water, whisked together and let sit a few minutes to "gel"). I think it must be the high protein content of the chia seeds that makes it so similar to egg.

# check that the sugar is vegan ..

Lemon Cupcakes

220g plain flour
200g caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
pinch salt

grated zest 1 lemon

juice 1 lemon [30ml juice]
215ml non-dairy milk
120ml flavourless oil
30ml vanilla extract
15ml white vinegar

[muffin method - 15-20 mins 175-180 deg Cel.]

Icing [thick glacé type]:

150g icing sugar

30-40ml lemon juice

135-140ml water

Thanks for all the help, thought I would post the recipe I ended up using, which worked really well, in case anyone else looks at this thread :)

Makes 12 cupcakes (UK sizes - I used PME cases)

• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 3/4 cups plain flour
• 2 tbsp corn flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarb
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup groundnut oil
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• ¼ tsp lemon extract (Neilsson Massey)
• 3 tsp lemon juice
• finely grated zest of 2 lemons

Lemon Buttercream:

• 50g Trex
• 50g vegan margarine (I used Vitalite)
• 300g Icing sugar
• fresh lemon juice - enought to get correct consistancy
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp Lemon Extract

Add the vinegar and lemon juice to the soy milk and let it curdle. Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl. Once the milk is curdled (10-15mins), whisk in the oil and lemon extract and mix all the wet into the dry and whisk until smooth. Use an icecream scoop, one per case as they rise up nicely!

Put in preheated oven (165' fan oven in my case) for 19 mins until lightly golden.

For buttercream, let the Trex and marg soften, then beat until smooth and add the icing sugar, extract and zest. Beat until light and fluffy, adding lemon juice as needed to get piping consistancy. This will make enough for piped swirls on all 12 cupcakes.

HTH :)