Veganism is finding a place in our wardrobes, meals and desserts! Vegan pastries mean new ingredients, new recipes, new pastry-making techniques and much more besides.

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Your customers will doubtless have asked you for lactose-free or eggless products, for example.

Sometimes this is because they have to (if they have an allergy), and sometimes it is because they feel it is the right thing to do. Customers aren’t just changing their consumption habits – They are changing their lifestyles too. What if vegan products were one of your responses to this?

Veganism is finding a place in our wardrobes, meals and desserts! Vegan pastries mean new ingredients, new recipes, new pastry-making techniques and much more besides.
But they don’t mean you need to reinvent the wheel, as every craftsperson can bring his or her expertise to bear on both vegan and standard pastries.

Inspiration Recipes

Vegan Pastries: a whole new world for pastry chefs to explore

Veganism is a trend that is growing in importance to the point that it is becoming a lifestyle in itself, making inroads into everything from cosmetics to fashion, décors and even tattoos. This year, the global vegan market is set to reach a value of €4.6 billion – That is €146 worth of plant-based products sold every second.*
In France, the vegetarian and vegan markets grew by 24% in 2018.**

Sources :

Vegan pastry-making is:

  • CONFIDENT & AUDACIOUS
    Vegan pastry-making is audacious, resolutely modern and ready to take on bold flavors and natural colors.
  • MORE ETHICAL
    Veganism is about taking care of the planet and everything it provides us with by considering the consequences of our actions.
  • ACCESSIBLE
    It is suitable for various diets, so everyone can rediscover the joy of pastry.
  • INDULGENT 
    Vegan products don’t have to be bland or boring. Vegan pastries can be delicious and surprisingly creative. 
  • HEALTHIER
    Vegan pastries are all about quality seasonal ingredients.
    They are one strand in an ethical movement whose general direction of travel is towards organic ingredients.

#1. Start with recipes you know

When you are converting your recipes, the best place to start is with a few easy conversions. For
instance, if you are using a streusel or shortbread, think margarine or oil-type ingredients. But remember, you will still need to check their composition to make sure they are good equivalents.

Starting with recipes you know is the ideal way to begin diversifying your range, stocking it with tried-and-tested pastries with a vegan twist.
Little by little, you can make other recipes vegan too using increasingly precise techniques.

#2. Test & perfect

Just like any new recipe, vegan products require testing. This involves exploring new techniques, taking them onboard and adapting them to find the right flavor and texture and the best possible look. It is important we try to understand the role each ingredient plays, as well as its specific technical and flavor characteristics.
We need to find a way to adapt and work around the restrictions vegan ingredients impose during every step in the process.
This is particularly the case for mousses because their mixing temperatures are directly impacted by the fact that vegan ingredients’ melting points vary.
The testing phase is absolutely essential, so don’t get discouraged even if creating and adapting a recipe takes several months – Discoveries and adaptations are all part of the creative process!

#3. Analyze & quantify

Pastry-making is an exact science in which every ingredient has its special characteristics and has to be
carefully quantified during tests so that just the right balance is struck.
This is why it is so essential to analyze each ingredient and the role(s) it plays in a pastry.
Depending on the results of your analyses and each ingredient’s role, you may have to use structuring agents to rebalance recipes. You also need to stick closely to vegan recipes’ quantities.

#4. Design your own recipes

Just because your products are vegan doesn’t mean they aren’t deliciously indulgent first and foremost! We must not lose sight of our objective as pastry chefs, which is to delight others and ourselves. Pastries don’t need to look vegan so much as they need to look inviting thanks to your choice of natural colorants, decorations, textures and so on. And customers will be even more amazed when they take a bite!
Once you have mastered the basics, the right pairings and veganism’s key rules, a whole new range of possibilities will open up to you!

Professionals, find more step-by-step recipes on the online Essentials

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