Baking

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!

This is a sophisticated cake that also gets “two thumbs up!” from my kids. I’ve been told it tastes like pound cake, but because it’s made with canola oil, not butter, it’s really a vegan chiffon cake. Chiffon cakes are very moist, and do not tend to harden or dry out as much as cakes made with butter or shortening, because the oil stays liquid, even at cooler temperatures. Chiffon cakes are traditionally served with flavorful sauces or other accompaniments, such as chocolate or fruit fillings.

As a Cape Codder, I’m crazy about cranberries. And “apple” was my son Lennon’s first word, so you know how we feel about them in our house! This pie is the perfect combination of tart and sweet. It is an ideal dessert to end any holiday meal. It is extremely pretty, with its tiers of fruit and deep golden crust. Look for firm, sweet apples to balance the tartness of the cranberries. I like Braeburn, Fuji, or Jonagold. To make this dessert completely refined sugar–free, double the proportions for the Single Flaky Sucanat Pie Crust recipe (page 130) and roll out as instructed below.

Banana cream pie was always one of my favorite desserts as a child, and now it’s a favorite of my son Lennon, too. The yellow food coloring is optional, but it mimics the lovely creamy hue imparted by traditional egg yolks in custard. Coconut milk makes a great vegan custard, and pairs beautifully with the bananas. If you prefer, you may use rice milk instead for a much lighter pie.

This is not your mama’s pumpkin pie! This vegan spin on the old-fashioned favorite is light, fresh, and decidedly modern. I consider this one of my greatest achievements in this book, because I was able to make pumpkin pie without eggs, and without tofu, which is the usual substitute in vegan baking. I much prefer this version of pumpkin pie to the one I grew up on, because it’s not too rich and is made without refined sugar, making it a treat my whole family can indulge in, until we’ve eaten every last crumb!

I would argue that these egg-free, dairy-free, wheat-free cookies are even better than traditional counterparts. The edges have that coveted toffee-like crunch, and the inside is soft and chewy.

There is nothing more delicious than custard cream and fresh berries, as far as I’m concerned. I could eat it with a spoon, morning, noon, and night. This light, fresh tart is easy to make and a favorite with all ages. My kids adore the shortbread crust, because it tastes like cookies and it’s heaped with antioxidant-rich berries, making it rather virtuous (well, sort of . . .).

These chewy, brownielike cookies contain a double dose of chocolate and are full of Enjoy Life Boom Choco Boom chunks. They’re perfect for every chocoholic (and I should know!).

My friend Amy has celiac disease and a dairy allergy. She says this tart is just perfect, and makes her feel “normal” again. She loves that she can share it with her non-food-allergic husband and kids, and that they gobble it just as voraciously. The shortbread crust is heavenly with the rich chocolate pudding.

This lovely tart is great made during peach season, when peaches are at their peak. It can also be made with frozen peaches, but most store-bought brands are underripe and bland. If using frozen peaches, be sure to macerate them a little longer in the syrup/brandy mixture to soften them up. Test for readiness after the first 30 minutes, and continue to macerate as long as necessary, but not so long that they become mushy.

I take this cake to meetings at my sons’ school and wow the teachers. It’s a conference room favorite. Nobody can believe it’s vegan and gluten-free. It’s straight-up classic coffee cake—moist and buttery, with a scrumptious crumb topping.

This simple quick bread is one of my favorites. It’s wholesome and subtly sweet. Whole-grain amaranth has a nutty flavor, adds great texture, and is packed with protein and fiber.

This moist, buttery coffee cake with its crisp, cinnamon-sugar topping is based on an old fashioned recipe from the 1950s, called Blueberry Boy Bait, a coffee cake named for the effect it had on teenage boys. My boys aren’t teens yet, but this bait works for them. They’ll gobble it up in one day—with not a crumb left over.

This tasty quick bread is a great way to sneak vegetables into your kid’s diet. When you combine chocolate and zucchini, the zucchini disappears. I tell my veggie-phobic son Lennon he’s eating chocolate cake and he’s none the wiser! He thinks he’s really lucky to get chocolate cake for breakfast.

With rich, tempting spices and a lovely autumnal hue, this bread is perfect during the harvest season.

This is a simple, elegant, not-too-sweet dessert that you can whip up in no time. I recommend using Bosc or Anjou pears in this recipe, because they hold their shape when baked.

This rustic free-form tart is great with raspberries, but you can just as easily substitute blueberries or blackberries. The cornmeal gives the crust a slightly crunchy texture, which complements the berries beautifully.

This modern twist on a traditional favorite has the added benefit of being fat-free. That’s right—no fat. So go ahead, dig in. I love this fresh out of the oven with a little vegan butter. It’s also great toasted.

These cinnamon rolls are to die for. I can hardly control myself as I wait for them to cool. In addition to their overwhelming yumminess, they are also incredibly easy to make. I’ve used rapid-rise yeast (also known as quick-rise yeast, fast-rising yeast, instant yeast, and/or bread machine yeast), which eliminates all that hanging around you normally do while waiting for old-fashioned slow-pokey yeast to rise. Make these for a holiday breakfast, or any weekend morning, for an extra somethin’ special.