Six vegan dessert recipes to master

When people are first introduced to the world of vegan baking, they often can’t believe it’s possible to create desserts that make use of good-for-you ingredients yet still taste delicious. What a concept, huh? It’s easy to get overwhelmed or confused by new approaches to tradition, like using flax and water instead of eggs, or pureed cashews and lemon instead of cream cheese.

So, to help develop your repertoire of fabulous vegan deserts, I thought I’d highlight my six favourite go-to recipes, all involving important techniques or ingredients that will help you improve your vegan baking.

Mastering these vegan dessert basics will make all the difference when creating sweet treats for your friends and family. These basics–from a simple raw chocolate brownie to a vegan lemon curd–are well worth the time to whip up, and play an important supporting role in adding a fancy finish to many a luxurious dinner party.

Best-ever raw cheesecake–Skip the traditional dairy-laden ingredients and instead make use of raw nuts, coconut and lemon to create this stunning and sophisticated raw cheesecake. The secret to success? Use soaked cashews and fresh lemon juice and puree in your blender until you obtain a silky smooth texture.

Lovely lemon curd–Fill jars or tart shells with this lemon filling to create a simple yet luscious dessert. Agar flakes used to set the curd are vegan bakers’ gelatin of choice.

Easy vegan caramel–No time or interest in making traditional caramel with sugar and butter and cream? This super simple raw caramel makes use of only three ingredients: macadamia nuts, maple syrup and agave. Since macadamia nuts are soft enough to blend smoothly without pre-soaking them, your prep is less than 10 minutes.

No-bake apple tart–No time to make a pie crust? Whip up this easy, no-bake version with nuts and dates in your food processor and fill the crust with fresh apples and spices for an irresistibly homey fall dessert, or any of filling of your liking.

Raw chocolate brownies–This simple yet sophisticated chocolate dessert is one you’ll want to make over and over again. These brownies can’t be compared to the traditional baked version, but you’ll love how easily they come together in your food processor…and the smooth chocolatey frosting can’t be beat!

Flourless cookies–It is possible to make delicious, healthy cookies without flour! These almond ginger cookies are soft and chewy and full of goodness. The almond meal is the flour substitute in this recipe. I also recently created a flourless mocha bean cookie made with black beans and chickpease that are also a must try.