Desserts- Oh How Sweet It Is!

Yesterday, Professor Hoffman’s “Art of the Vegetarian Cuisine” class explored the possibilities of dairy free & eggless desserts!

Although most desserts that we all know & love are indeed vegetarian, they certainly contain animal byproducts such as dairy, eggs, gelatin, & honey just to name a few. In this course, we have learned that limiting our consumption of animal products & byproducts improves human health, the health of the environment, as well as the health & livelihood of animals. But, is it possible to create delicious & nostalgic desserts without relying on milk & eggs?

The answer is yes!

“Cheese” Cake- Caroline + LJ

This “cheese” cake recipe stands “toe-to-toe” flavor wise with a standard NY Cheesecake. Trust me, it is a simple to make & a “must try it to believe it” kind of experience. *Dairy Substitutions: “Bridge” brand medium firm tofu, “Tofutti” brand cream cheese. **Trigger Ingredients: Soy, Gluten, Alcohol

LJ’s Plating Style! Lemon Custard “Cheese” Cake w/ Summer Berry Sauce, orange supremes & zest, & graham cracker crumble

Caroline’s Plating Style! Lemon Custard “Cheese” Cake w/ Summer Berry Sauce, orange supremes, zest, & candied orange

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Maple Pecan Sable Cookies- Cherrish & Antonio

Spelt flour is used in this recipe. Spelt, is an ancient grain that was cultivated around 5000 BC. Though not gluten free, spelt allows for better absorption of its nutrients versus other wheat grains. Turbinado sugar was also used in this recipe which is less processed than the white granulated sugar that is most commonly used in the industry. *Dairy Substitution: “Miyoko’s Creamery” brand European style cultured vegan butter. **Trigger Ingredients: Tree Nuts, Gluten, Soy

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Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies- Johnnie & Samael

Dairy free chocolate chips were used in this recipe. Organic vegan sugar was used in conjunction with an unrefined cane sugar. Though more expensive than granulated sugar, using these kind of sugars adds value to the final product by enhancing flavor, color, mineral content, & finally customer trust being that these sugars were not processed through charred animal bones. *Dairy substitutions: Almond Milk, “Earth Balance” brand vegan butter. *Egg Substitution: “Red Mill” brand egg replacer. **Trigger Ingredients: Tree Nuts, Gluten, Soy

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Sweet Potato Spice Cake with “Cream Cheese” Icing- Felice + Maurillo + Antonieta

Baking a dairy free & eggless cake requires longer baking times such as was the case in this cake- 60 minutes! Despite this, it was well worth the wait as it was moist, flavorful, & satisfying with all of its warm spices. The pairing with the cream cheese topping made for a delectable cake experience.

*Dairy substitutions: Almond Milk, “Tofutti” brand cream cheese. **Trigger Ingredients: Tree Nuts, Gluten, Soy

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DK was both Chef and Steward on this last production day & he did a marvelous job. He lead by example & handled his duties seamlessly- excellent job Chef DK.

The ending of a meal should always be sweet: here, we have just learned to make it even sweeter…

In closing, this entire semester was mind opening especially in bringing new life to the culinary mantra of “Less is More.” In “The Art of the Vegetarian Cuisine” class, we understand that relying less on animal products is more for our health, our planet, & animal welfare.