I love baking non-dairy desserts. Most recipes I come across are dairy, though. So I challenge myself to develop perfect non-dairy versions. Sometimes turning a recipe from dairy to dairy-free is as simple as replacing the butter with margarine. But unfortunately, that doesn’t always work. When developing a recipe, I never start from scratch. I always take an existing, tried and true, recipe and tweak it. I try to look for recipes that don’t need too much changing. I prefer to try and change two ingredients or less. For example, if a recipe calls for butter, milk, and sour cream, I usually stay away from it.
General Substitutions
In order to tweak a recipe, you always need to replace the dairy ingredient with an equivalent non-dairy ingredient.
- Butter is a fat so it needs to be replaced with another fat like margarine, vegetable shortening or oil.
- Milk can usually be substituted with soy milk.
- Buttermilk has a little zing to it so it should be substituted with an equal amount of soy milk plus a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice.
- Sour cream should be replaced with an equal amount of tofutti sour cream.
Cookies
Here is my usual cookie process. If a cookie recipe calls for butter, I try replacing it with an equal amount of margarine. Sometimes it works out and I do a little cheer! If the cookies spread too much, I will chill the dough sufficiently before baking and try again. If the cookies still spread too much I start over. This time I replace the butter with half margarine and half vegetable shortening. Vegetable shortening is a little more solid at room temperature than margarine so it usually helps to give cookies a nice shape.
Cakes
For cake batter I usually replace butter with equal amounts of margarine or vegetable oil. Since cake gets baked in a pan, I don’t worry about it holding its shape in the oven. The milk gets replaced with soy milk. I usually have success with most recipes.
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Challenges and My New Secret Weapon
My toughest challenge is tackling yellow cake. I have yet to develop the perfect non-dairy yellow cake recipe. I’ve come close but I’m still not satisfied with the results. Butter and milk are really the main ingredients giving dairy yellow cake its perfect flavor and texture. The one trick I have up my sleeve is pudding mix. I tried adding a packet of instant vanilla pudding mix to my typical non-dairy recipe and was so pleased! Then I started wondering what other recipes would be improved with pudding mix.
I added a packet of instant vanilla pudding mix to my classic chocolate chip cookie recipe and I got a fluffy, cake-like cookie. The pudding mix seems to stabilize the cookies and retain the moisture. I already have a perfect non-dairy chocolate cake recipe but it yields a pretty soft cake. I need a firmer cake for stacking tiered cakes. I added a packet of chocolate pudding mix and voila! Magic ingredient! I am hoping that instant pudding mix will work in many more recipes because the biggest struggle in changing a recipe from dairy to lactose free is keeping the texture. If pudding mix can help with that, then I will be a very happy baker. My secret is out!
Here is an example of how I converted a recipe for Red Velvet Cake.
You can see that all I had to do was replace the buttermilk with soy milk and extra vinegar. The results were fantastic. Enjoy the full recipe for my Non Dairy Red Velvet Cake.
Mimiccreme from Whole Foods is pareve without junkie synthetics and very usable. Have you tried it? Works great for me.
This is something I definitely need to print out and keep handy in my kitchen! I’m constantly looking for substitutions, but it always seems like more like experiments gone wrong than baking! Thanks for taking the guess work out of it!!
I like to use rice-milk as a substitute for milk.
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I tend to use soymilk but you can use almond or rice milk if you prefer.
You can try using dried cranberries (craisins) or dried cherries in lieu of raisins. I always use soymilk in place of milk but you can use almond milk or rice milk.
I signed up for the newsletter and am always looking for new pareve recipes. Thanks for the Red Velvet substitutions.
Just joined the newsletter. Looking forward to getting those delicious recipes. I am always looking for parve cake and cookie recipes.
I’ve been on the newsletter list for a long while!
What’s the best substitute for milk in baking? Does it matter whether I use soymilk or rice milk?
Is there anything that is a good substitute for raisins in bread pudding? Can I use almond or soymilk instead of milk?
I’m already signed for the recipe of the day. Thanks!
Yaaaay! I signed up for the recipe of the day.
oops! forgot to say,
that i signed up for the recipe of the day!
I signed up for the recipe a day and am looking forward to receiving them!
Shoshana Ohriner has a recipe for it that works pretty well in most applications, especially quick fudge. You can find it at the bottom of this post if you are interested!
http://www.couldntbeparve.com/2009/06/magic-bars/
Shoshana Ohriner has a recipe for it that works pretty well in most applications, especially quick fudge. You can find it at the bottom of this post if you are interested.
http://www.couldntbeparve.com/2009/06/magic-bars/
I use light tasting olive oil in my cakes sometimes, it works out perfectly. I wouln’t really use a strong or dark olive oil because it would add too much olive flavor. Unless you like that!
I don’t see why that wouldn’t work!
Why not leave them out? I’m not a huge fan of almonds and often leave them out.
Dessert recipes don’t usually call for more than 1 tsp. of salt. That’s not a whole lot of salt. You can leave it out, but the salt really brings out the sweetness.
I buy my fondant. Wilton and Satin Ice are both kosher pareve.
That’s a great tip!
I like to use non dairy whipped topping such as Rich’s whip instead of heavy whipping cream.
You can try using silken tofu and some lemon juice instead of cottage cheese.
yes, what CAN you substitute for condensed milk?
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i already get the recipe of the day :). i always wondered what i can substitute for condensed milk…?
Thanks for the giveaway…subscribed to recipe newsletter; what is your experience with using olive oil in baking ?
Can almond milk be substituted in pudding recipes?
I signed-up for the Recipe of the Day newsletter. I’ve relied on substitutions many times in the past 😉
Thanks for the suggestions.
I signed up for the recipe of the day newsletter. Any ideas for substituting tree nuts? I am allergic and always hate not being able to make a recipe if it calls for almonds.
I signed up 🙂
what about baking recipes that call for salt? i need to limit my sodium.
I am a parve junky so this post is fantastic! I don’t really have any substitution questions though…
I signed up. I’m vegan, so I never use dairy, and I also don’t use eggs. I don’t use shortening, butter, or margarine for health reasons. Baking is surprisingly delicious when you substitute healthy ingredients! I honestly enjoy unhealthy baked goods far less now that I am used to healthy products.
I already signed up for the daily recipe.
signed up. thanks for the ideas.
Signed up. No questions and I want to try the red velvet recipe!
I’m already signed up for the recipe of the day newsletter!
I have a recipe for it that works pretty well in most applications, especially quick fudge. You can find it at the bottom of this post if you are interested.
http://www.couldntbeparve.com/2009/06/magic-bars/
I signed up for the daily recipe.
Thanks Melissa…I have the same issue baking a dairy recipe into a nondairy one! Now heres my Question: How do i make the perfect fondant?!
I signed up for the Recipe of the Day newsletter. 🙂
I just signed up for the Recipe of the Day newsletter. I love JOK recipes, and I’m excited to get a daily reminder to check there for meal ideas.
I sometimes like to substitute apple sauce for butter in a recipe. It gives the same moisture without the dairy and fat.
What can I substitute for heavy whipping cream?
Patricia Skinner on rafflecopter.
I signed up!
I love this red velvet recipe! I am forever trying to find a way to parevize sweetened condensed milk. Any ideas? I signed up for the recipe newsletter.
What about cottage cheese? Any good substitution?
Love Joy of Kosher daily recipes. I often rely on coconut milk as a rich parve ingredient.