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.