Vegan

SunButter is truly a gift from the gods for kids with peanut and tree nut allergies. These cupcakes are delicious and nutritious. Top them with SunButter Buttercream or with Rice Milk Chocolate Ganache for a refined sugar–free treat. Or go for broke, and pipe the tops with SunButter Buttercream, and then drizzle with Rice Milk Chocolate Ganache!

This is the ultimate chocolate birthday cake. It keeps well for days, covered or wrapped in the fridge, staying moist and rich. My friend Erika, who can eat wheat, dairy, and eggs, marveled at how delicious this cake is; her husband (who never eats frosting) loved this one so much he ate all the frosting first, then ate the cake part. When people who have no dietary restrictions eat my recipes simply because they desire them, not out of necessity, then I know I’ve done my job.

Classic, timeless, and so versatile. Dress this lovely up with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (page 91), Dark Chocolate Frosting (page 107), or Vanilla Frosting (page 93), as suits your mood.

These lightly floral, agave-sweetened gems are a multipurpose cupcake. Pair them with any frosting you like.

My French friend Christèle was kind enough to share her recipe for gâteau au yaourt. I have adapted it here to be allergen-free, but it doesn’t suffer one bit. The beauty of this recipe is in its simplicity. It is easy, fast, and clean. You use the yogurt container (called “measure” in the recipe) as a measuring tool. Feel free to experiment with adding additional flavors to this cake, such as lemon or orange zest, or more rum, brandy, or cardamom. It’s a great basic template to play with.

Tender, moist, and so easy to make, this cake is great as an after-school snack or at teatime, but it also makes a fabulous easy breakfast. It reminds me of Sara Lee Banana Cake, which my mom used to keep in the freezer for those times she wasn’t baking. I was always sneaking a sliver.

My whole family goes crazy for red velvet cake. It’s so gorgeous and festive and sounds so luxe. This old-fashioned Southern favorite can be made even healthier by using Seelect Natural Food Coloring, which I order online (see Resources, page 177). That way, you can let them eat cake without the slightest tinge of guilt.

Old-fashioned shortcake is made with biscuit dough, not cake batter. This makes a great fresh dessert or a fancy weekend breakfast. You eat it warm, straight from the oven! And the Vegan Whipped Topping is an extra-special treat. I was unable to find a dairy-free, soy-free whipped topping, so I whipped up my own! Use it anywhere you’d use whipped cream.

This fabulous low-fat teacake is a favorite with kids and grown-ups alike. My sons like it for breakfast with a glass of rice milk, I prefer it in the afternoon with a nice cup of tea, and my husband eats his with a scoop of Vanilla Rice Dream for dessert. Make it a day in advance so the flavors meld.

This rich and highly nutritious cake is loaded with vitamin C and vitamin A. It’s moist and keeps well for days.

I learned from my mother that the easiest dessert to bake for a dinner party is a simple spongecake. It takes almost no time and can be dressed up to look quite fancy. This not-too-sweet cake can be served with fresh berries or compote and topped with a dollop of Vegan Whipped Topping (page 113) for a light finish to any meal.

I know they say apple pie is about as American as you can get, but I give that moniker to blueberry pie instead. When I think of pie, I think summertime and blueberries! Every summer, we visit my father in western Massachusetts and go to a big field with the most prolific old blueberry bushes you’ve ever seen, and fill our buckets with heaping cups of blueberries. We eat a lot of them right then and there while picking, but the rest get made into pancakes, and best of all, baked up into pie!