Value the vegan vibe – and dish up dashing desserts
Demand for plant-based food continues to grow and is especially celebrated by vegans and vegan-curious consumers during Veganuary.
However, data from participants of Veganuary 2024 found that nearly two-thirds (64%) struggled to find vegan desserts in high-street restaurants.
The campaign – which encourages people to try plant-based eating for the whole of January – was the most successful yet with around 25million people embracing the challenge globally.
Creating appealing vegan desserts can seem daunting, but there are lots of fantastic products available to make the process easy, says Samantha Rain, Head of Innovation and Training at leading ingredients supplier Henley Bridge.
“Consumers expect exciting vegan desserts to be on the menu, and they are often also enjoyed by people who aren’t following a plant-based diet too, so it’s worth investing time and effort into creating them,” she advises. “It’s important to arm yourself with a few key vegan ingredients – for me, these include great quality vegan milk and white chocolates, such as Belcolade or Chocolat Madagascar, and Sosa’s vegan mousse gelatin powder is a must. In fact, the Sosa range is a brilliant toolbox for vegan cookery, and includes emulsifiers, thickening and gelling agents, that allow chefs to replicate culinary processes in a plant-based way.”
Making pastry is time-consuming and requires a certain level of skill, so ready-to-fill vegan pastry cases, such as those from Pidy, free up time to concentrate on the all-important fillings.
Vegan ice cream is another menu must-have, continues Samantha. “Rubicone and Irca both offer vegan ice cream base mixes, which can then be flavoured with vegan flavour pastes, and it’s genuinely hard to tell the difference between vegan and non-vegan varieties.
“With this in mind, I think a lot of chefs are offering plant-based desserts across the board because they appeal to vegan and non-vegan customers alike, and reduce the need to make two separate versions.”
