What do you use in your baking?
I get this question ALOT. Since I’m lactose intolerant I can’t have butter. People are always asking me how I bake so much without butter! I try to keep my baking dairy free, but sometimes I can’t avoid it. I do tag all my dairy free recipes in the blog, so you will know.
As you may already know, the easiest way to bake dairy-free is Vegan baking. I’ve had success in most of my vegan baking adventures and also with just subbing dairy-free products in place of dairy products.
I did take a great Vegan cupcake class at the Boston Center for Adult Education. It was a lot of fun and the cupcakes turned out amazing! I was glad to hear that our instructor (a vegan who works in a bakery) uses a lot of the same products I do.
I’ve been using these products interchangeably in my baking since I found out I was lactose intolerant about 9 months ago. I’ve never had anyone say that anything tasted funny. I even convinced my family over the holidays that eating dairy free doesn’t affect the taste of Spinach and Artichoke dip!
Butter: Anyone who is lactose intolerant likely knows about Earth Balance. It’s delicious and tastes just like butter. It can also be used in baking!
Milk: I use soymilk instead of milk. I was having problems with my vegan cupcakes always turning out gummy, like they weren’t done. I found out it was because I was using the lowfat soy milk. It has a higher water content than the regular version. So I use the lowfat soy milk for my cereal and these little guys for my baking. I like them because they can be stored in the pantry and are in 1 cup boxes.
Cream cheese: Hubby absolutely loves cream cheese frosting. He’d eat it with a spoon if I let him. Thank goodness for Tofutti!! (I love their ice cream too!) This stuff really is better than cream cheese. I can’t taste a difference.
Yogurt: You can use soy yogurt in place of regular yogurt, but I like to use silken tofu. Just throw it in the food processor and process away to give it the right texture.
Parmesan or Shredded Cheese: There are quite a few lactose free cheese substitutes available at the grocery store. The Veggie brand cheeses are really good. They also make cheese slices that melt just like real cheese. They also make a sour cream substitute. I don’t eat much sour cream, so I haven’t tried it.
Oil: This isn’t a lactose intolerance thing, but I like to sub applesauce for oil. It cuts the fat in baked goods but still gives the moisture. Don’t try this for brownies though! I like to get the Natural (no sugar added) applesauce in the small individual servings. Since I make homemade applesauce, if I bought a jar, it would go bad. The individual serving packages stay mold-free longer than an open jar. And each package is a 1/2 cup of applesauce.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I’m like you and totally try out recipes based on photos! I think goat cheese and fruit are always a perfect combo. The goat cheesecake sounds intriguing!
Looks and sounds amazing! I’m totally with you about photos of food – they are typically what tempt me to make a recipe.
This cake looks DELICIOUS!
I’d never heard of using goat cheese in a cheesecake, but I’m intrigued.
I, too, much prefer pictures. Sometimes you just don’t put the ingredients together in your head the right way and it comes out looking totally different than you expected. I also flip through the book faster and I tend to not find recipes unless there are pics!
i think trying something new without any idea what it should look like it rough. i love pictures but most cookbooks dont seem to have enough. i think thats why i love this blog so much, you take TONS! 🙂
i am very intrigued by this recipe. but i dont eat blueberries or peaches. is it good by itself? or is the fruit greatly needed??
Beeb – It’s similar to any other cheesecake. It was good on it’s own, but the fruit really enhanced the flavor. Are there other fruits you like that you could top it with? Strawberries and blueberries would be great!
Oh yum! I totally want to try this. I love goat cheese (and fruit) and bet this would make an amazing cake!
I like photos too, but sometimes I get a little too into them. Like the other night when I forgot to add raisins to my cinnamon raisin bread because they weren’t in the photo 🙂
Sues
I definitely prefer recipes with pictures but if a description is really good (or intriguing) or if an author points it out as a favorite… or lastly if it’s a source I trust, I go for it. With that said, I’m glad you made it and posted pictures. This cake looks (and sounds) absolutely fantastic!!!
This looks really good. I agree that sometimes I eat with my eyes. I love photos, but not the ones that look almost fake since they are so perfect. That’s why I love food blogs – usually it is just the food as it will be served.
I cook from a lot of different sources, and will try recipes that are appealing without any pics either. Sometimes it is more difficult when I am completely unfamiliar with the dish, though.
Photos! I love yours…the “cake” looks so pretty with it’s white lip and fruit piled high.
~ingrid
Sounds wonderful. I can see how it would be more of a “cheesecake” than a “cheese cake” because there’s such a small amount of flour. As we move into fall, I bet it would be delicious with a topping of figs sauteed with honey… mmm… honey figs and goat cheese!
LOVE goat cheese cheesecake 🙂 peaches and blueberries seem like another good topper (i recently made one with figs and raspberries!)
i really have to bake that cake for my boyfriend who has a milk intolerance. thank you for posting this many recipes with goat cheese 🙂
best wishes, jay, my blog: artandloveandme.blogspot.com