Hey my guys. This has been weighing on my mind A LOT! I’ve been baking professionally for over 10 years now and it’s been great. My business is getting stronger and stronger, and I’m actually finally making money. But I’ve been listening to the universe big time, and it’s time I start to re invent my business. I’ve been vegan for 2 years now. Much more strict for the past year. My husband has joined me on this journey and it’s been such a fun, and educational experience so far. Our kids aren’t quite vegan…our little girl is definitely much more aware of how our actions impact animals and our planet. Our little boy, he struggles a bit more. But there is a growing list of vegan meals that he absolutely loves, so baby steps 🤷🏻♀️
This is NOT a blog about convincing any one to go vegan. I have my reasons, mainly to do with not hurting animals. And if I can’t kill an animal with my own hands for food, I am certainly not ok with turning a blind eye to others hurting an animal for my taste buds. Protecting the environment and my kid’s future home, and just trying to make less of an impact on Earth is another reason. And because I know that my body doesn’t depend on the flesh of another sentient being…then I’m definitely all for it. It just doesn’t make me feel good.
I digress (easy to do when you get a wee bit passionate)
I just felt like if I’m going to be an advocate of veganism in my personal life, I needed to make more of an effort with my business. I was scared. Not gonna lie. I was worried people wouldn’t want to order my cakes and that I wouldn’t be making any money. It was very scary. But then I went inward and realised that I can’t deny my truth…for monetary gain. So over lockdown I experimented, and baked, and tried recipe and recipe, tweaking and substituting until I was happy with all my effort.
Weirdly enough, the smell of butter now makes my stomach turn, and it’s just so strong. My new favourite chocolate cake recipe just so happens to be vegan, and I’ve discovered the most DELICIOUS vegan butter that honestly tastes better than the real thing. I try not to buy the spreadable kind as I can literally eat a whole tub in a day, slathered on slices of thick artisan bread.
I replace my eggs with vinegar and plant milk (which is fabulous for leavening) or apple sauce, and sometimes even an egg replacement easily ordered online and really….there’s not much else you need to create a delicious cake once you’ve added the rest of the ingredients. There are so so many plant substitutes that there is literally no reason whatsoever to be using animal products. Not one.
I still make gorgeous buttercream and also create creamy ganache without the cream and milk. We are so lucky to have such fantastic products right on our door step. I quite often make vegan desserts and not tell anyone, cookies, pies, bars, breads, cupcakes…and no one realises they’re plant based. Because it’s much harder to tell the difference these days, if you’re using quality ingredients. And trust me, I’ve done my research. It’s taken me a while to find the perfect recipes, so I’ll only share them once they’re 100% up to my standards 😍
From now on, all recipes I share with you will be plant based, cruelty free, and tried and tested by yours truly. I’ve even developed a gorgeous vegan Italian Meringue buttercream because I couldn’t find a recipe that didn’t involve Aquafaba or bean water. For the amount of baking I do, I’d have to be consuming a LOT of chickpeas and I love chickpeas, I do, but I would have to be eating it for all meals of the day.
I use Naturli Block Butter. It’s the best vegan block butter I’ve found in the U.K. I’ve tried to get Earth balance here but it’s impossible, and the flavour of Naturli is gorgeous so I’m sticking with it 🥰
Going vegan in my business also means getting to bake for so many allergy sufferers. So many people can’t have dairy or eggs so now they can have their cake and eat it. Win win!!
Let me know what vegan recipes you’d like to see and I’ll do what I can!
Sending so much love and light,
Carr x