Thinking of what to cook at Pesach time is tricky at the best of times, but with eggs being coveted like a Faberge at auction, a lot of people are turning to other alternatives.
Since 2015 I’ve been creating vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free recipes, many of which are grain free too, so luckily long gone are the days of this April baby not being able to have birthday cake due to my celebrations falling in Passover. I wanted to share a few of my favourite recipes with JC readers.
With all of our children at home for an extended holiday, I thought I’d share some easy-to-make delights that little ones can get involved with too. They also make for great energy boosting snacks if you’re working from home, and the time they take to make is less than your average 10 stop commute on the Northern Line. Most of the ingredients are store cupboard items, which is also pretty handy right now.
The reason eggs are used in much traditional baking is that they are a binder, meaning that they create structure and stability to cakes and other baked goods. So in my recipes I use different items to create the same effect. Popular egg replacements include ground flax (also known as linseed) or chia, whereby you leave one tablespoon with three tablespoons of water for ten minutes until it forms a gel like consistency, similar to that of an egg.
Many Ashkenazis won’t be consuming linseed or chia during Passover as they are classed as kitniyot, but there are other substitutes available. One I often use is nut butter (three tablespoons of cashew butter makes for a good replacement for an egg in things like cookies and cakes) or half a banana or one quarter cup of applesauce will also do the trick.
So to summarise, you don’t need eggs for ‘eggcellent’ bakes. In many recipes you can simply replace eggs with your substitute of choice, although perhaps don’t go making your omelettes with banana!
Here are a couple of recipes to get you started…
Sticky toffee pudding
Makes 16 squares
Ingredients:
150g Medjool dates, pitted
300ml unsweetened almond milk
133g ground almonds
6 tbsp cashew butter
100g coconut sugar
60ml olive oil
1⁄2 tsp ground ginger
1⁄2 tsp ground cinnamon
For the toffee sauce
100g coconut sugar
60ml coconut milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5. Line a 20cm square shallow baking tin with baking paper, or use a
- 20cm square foil tray.
- Chop the dates into small chunks and pop them in a saucepan with the almond milk. Simmer on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, then leave to cool.
- Mix together all the remaining main ingredients in a mixing bowl, then pour in the date mixture and stir well to combine.
- Pour the mixture into the baking tin or tray and bake for about 30 minutes until the top is spongy but the middle is still gooey. Leave to cool while you make the sauce.
- Add the sauce ingredients to a small saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring until well combined and the mixture starts to thicken.
- Drizzle the sauce over the pudding, cut into 16 squares and enjoy straight away! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, and gently warm through before serving.
The world’s best brownies
Makes 16 brownies
Ingredients
100g cacao powder
100g coconut oil
150g pitted Medjool dates
160g pure maple syrup
2 flaxseed ‘eggs’ (*) or 1 banana, mashed
50g ground almonds
120g cashew butter
pinch of Himalayan pink salt
1 tbsp water, or more if needed
60g walnuts
(* For one flaxseed egg, mix 1 tbsp of ground flax seeds or chia seeds with 3 tbsp water)
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 150°C/gas mark 2. Line a 20cm square shallow baking tin with baking paper, or use a 20cm square foil tray.
- Whizz all the ingredients except the walnuts in a food processor for a couple of minutes until a smooth and
- sticky mixture forms. If it’s too sticky (i.e. if it forms a big ball), just add a little more water, a tablespoon at a
- time, until you get the desired consistency.
- Crumble the walnuts into the brownie mixture and stir in, then spoon it into a 20cm baking tin or tray and
- press down evenly with the back of the spoon.
- Bake for 25 minutes, then leave to cool for 30 minutes (the brownies will continue to cook after they are
- taken out of the oven). When the waiting is finally over, cut into 16 squares and enjoy! Store in an
- airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
Find more recipes in Emma's book Vegan Treats
