Vegan & gluten-free desserts?
March 9, 2020 10:22 AM Subscribe
We're headed to a potluck, and i offered to bring something for dessert, but am now drawing a blank (my brain is literally just defaulting to fruit salad). Looking for inspiration conjuring up something delicous that's vegan and gluten-free.
We have a pretty decent selection of gf flours at the stores here, as well as vegan ice cream, but my experience baking gluten free isn't too mind boggling. Seems it often come out sort of..flat..or too dry/cakey? Any and all ideas are welcome! TIA!
We have a pretty decent selection of gf flours at the stores here, as well as vegan ice cream, but my experience baking gluten free isn't too mind boggling. Seems it often come out sort of..flat..or too dry/cakey? Any and all ideas are welcome! TIA!
My dairy-allergic colleague says to me all the time, "Fruit isn't dessert!" so please don't serve fruit alone, lol.
Coconut macaroons are easy to do vegan, there are plenty of vegan pudding and ice cream recipes, and there's a vegan cake style called wacky cake that can be made with a gluten free flour blend without getting too deeply into substitutes.
posted by wellred at 10:32 AM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
Coconut macaroons are easy to do vegan, there are plenty of vegan pudding and ice cream recipes, and there's a vegan cake style called wacky cake that can be made with a gluten free flour blend without getting too deeply into substitutes.
posted by wellred at 10:32 AM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
If you use gluten free chocolate cookies for the crust, the No-Bake, Black Bottom-Peanut Butter Silk Pie from Vegan with a Vengeance is delicious and was happy devoured even by the omnivores in the crowd.
posted by carrioncomfort at 10:33 AM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by carrioncomfort at 10:33 AM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
You've already said no to fruit salad, but I have to say, if you'll shop for the best fruit and dress it with a little booze, I think it's a wonderful end to a meal. Back when I gave big buffet suppers, I often offered fruit salad in a big footed bowl and there was never a bit left over.
Fruit that I think is good now: pineapples, bananas, plums, apples, grapes and melon, probably from South America. You could add canned cherries packed in light syrup. Offer toasted walnuts and coconut on the side for folks to use as they please. Yum.
Most to the point, to paraphrase Julia Child, "Never apologize!" You intended to bring something refreshing for the ending of a great pot luck!
posted by tmdonahue at 10:35 AM on March 9, 2020 [3 favorites]
Fruit that I think is good now: pineapples, bananas, plums, apples, grapes and melon, probably from South America. You could add canned cherries packed in light syrup. Offer toasted walnuts and coconut on the side for folks to use as they please. Yum.
Most to the point, to paraphrase Julia Child, "Never apologize!" You intended to bring something refreshing for the ending of a great pot luck!
posted by tmdonahue at 10:35 AM on March 9, 2020 [3 favorites]
Sticky rice with mango, drizzle with coconut milk.
posted by 4rtemis at 10:36 AM on March 9, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by 4rtemis at 10:36 AM on March 9, 2020 [8 favorites]
Or fruit with a difference: homemade pineapple sorbet. Cut up a ripe pineapple and puree it in your food processor. In proportions of 1 part pineapple to 1/2 part syrup, add a simple sugar syrup of equal parts water and table sugar. Put in shallow trays and freeze. Once frozen, pop out a tray of ice onto a cutting board and cut into big cubes with a big kitchen knife. Process the cubes in a food processor until the lumps are gone and the texture is like a milkshake. At that point you can add a shot of dark rum. Put the soft sorbet into freezer containers and freeze. Put in the refrigerator 20 minutes before serving to bring it to the right texture for scooping.
Depending of the size of your food processor you may have to make batches.
Love this! It's easy if you start a couple days ahead and always impressive.
posted by tmdonahue at 10:41 AM on March 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
Depending of the size of your food processor you may have to make batches.
Love this! It's easy if you start a couple days ahead and always impressive.
posted by tmdonahue at 10:41 AM on March 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
I've had good vegan chocolate mousse based on coconut cream. Unfortunately I haven't made it myself -- this is a recipe for the sort of thing, but I can't vouch for the specific recipe: https://vegetariangastronomy.com/vegan-dark-chocolate-mousse/
posted by LizardBreath at 11:06 AM on March 9, 2020
posted by LizardBreath at 11:06 AM on March 9, 2020
https://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/clementine-cake/
This got rave reviews over Christmas. I did it with hazelnut flour in place of the almond flour and it was great. I'm sure it can be veganized by using egg substitute in place of the eggs, though I haven't tried it yet.
posted by mikesch at 11:16 AM on March 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
This got rave reviews over Christmas. I did it with hazelnut flour in place of the almond flour and it was great. I'm sure it can be veganized by using egg substitute in place of the eggs, though I haven't tried it yet.
posted by mikesch at 11:16 AM on March 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
Cake pan cake from King Arthur works great with Bob's cup for cup flour and coconut milk instead of cream for the icing.
posted by OneSmartMonkey at 11:45 AM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by OneSmartMonkey at 11:45 AM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
Or, chocolate mousse, maybe with whipped coconut cream and/or some berries? I agree on not just doing fruit...a lot of times that's the only option, and it's nice for people to have an actual dessert, so good on your for doing this!
posted by OneSmartMonkey at 11:47 AM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by OneSmartMonkey at 11:47 AM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
This is my go-to vegan dessert, a chocolate "cream" pie that everyone will eat immediately and not notice it is vegan unless you say so. It's really good and super easy. You can make the crust with gluten-free chocolate cookies or maybe just purchase a pre-made gf crust. Could definitely be made without the crust, too. Just put in ramekins and serve with coconut whip cream and berries.
Chocolate Mousse Pie
28 GF chocolate cookies with vanilla bean filling
¼ cup melted vegan butter
12 oz semisweet vegan chocolate chips
14 oz can light coconut milk
1. Preheat oven to 350. Crush the cookies in food processor. Pulse cookies until fine crumbs. Add melted butter and pulse until combined. Press the crumbs in an oven safe pie dish. Bake crust for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.
2. Melt chocolate on the stovetop on low, stirring well until completely smooth and melted. (Don’t scorch.) Pour coconut milk in blender and add the melted chocolate. Immediately blend until completely smooth (20-30 seconds). Or use immersion blender.
3. Pour filling into crust and chill for 4 hours or overnight in the fridge. (Prep and cooking time: 15-20 minutes, not including cooling/chilling time.)
posted by LKWorking at 11:53 AM on March 9, 2020 [5 favorites]
Chocolate Mousse Pie
28 GF chocolate cookies with vanilla bean filling
¼ cup melted vegan butter
12 oz semisweet vegan chocolate chips
14 oz can light coconut milk
1. Preheat oven to 350. Crush the cookies in food processor. Pulse cookies until fine crumbs. Add melted butter and pulse until combined. Press the crumbs in an oven safe pie dish. Bake crust for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.
2. Melt chocolate on the stovetop on low, stirring well until completely smooth and melted. (Don’t scorch.) Pour coconut milk in blender and add the melted chocolate. Immediately blend until completely smooth (20-30 seconds). Or use immersion blender.
3. Pour filling into crust and chill for 4 hours or overnight in the fridge. (Prep and cooking time: 15-20 minutes, not including cooling/chilling time.)
posted by LKWorking at 11:53 AM on March 9, 2020 [5 favorites]
Silken tofu chocolate mousse is my go to vegan/GF dessert for potlucks. I modified the basic recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World to be a little less sweet and a little less stiff. It was originally presented as a filling for cupcakes.
1 block silken tofu (eg Mori-Nu shelf-stable tofu)
~3/4 bag chocolate chips (8-9 oz?)
1/2 c chocolate soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
(1) Blend the tofu, milk and vanilla in a blender until smooth
(2) Carefully melt the chocolate chips in the microwave (I put them in a pyrex measuring cup and do 30s at a time, stirring after each time to assess meltiness)
(3) Blend the melted chocolate into the tofu mixture
(4) Decant into a serving container and put in the fridge to set for at least an hour.
I've also made a white chocolate version and added a small bag of frozen raspberries instead of the milk. Since the berries added a lot more liquid, I think I used two blocks of tofu and the whole bag of chocolate to counteract them (I wasn't able to find vegan white chocolate, though).
posted by esker at 11:55 AM on March 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
1 block silken tofu (eg Mori-Nu shelf-stable tofu)
~3/4 bag chocolate chips (8-9 oz?)
1/2 c chocolate soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
(1) Blend the tofu, milk and vanilla in a blender until smooth
(2) Carefully melt the chocolate chips in the microwave (I put them in a pyrex measuring cup and do 30s at a time, stirring after each time to assess meltiness)
(3) Blend the melted chocolate into the tofu mixture
(4) Decant into a serving container and put in the fridge to set for at least an hour.
I've also made a white chocolate version and added a small bag of frozen raspberries instead of the milk. Since the berries added a lot more liquid, I think I used two blocks of tofu and the whole bag of chocolate to counteract them (I wasn't able to find vegan white chocolate, though).
posted by esker at 11:55 AM on March 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
I like halvah for this - it's easy to make and people often find it impressive. It's not hard to find a recipe that uses sugar rather than honey. You might want to do halvah and something else, since it's the kind of thing where a little goes a long way.
posted by bile and syntax at 12:01 PM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by bile and syntax at 12:01 PM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
Cinnamon-roast pineapple. Cut a pineapple into 1" chunks. Put it into an oven-proof dish. Add a couple of tablespoons of cinnamon (more cinnamon than you think you'll need, but trust me on this). Drizzle with maple syrup. Toss it all together. Roast on about 350F (180C) for about 40 minutes until the pineapple is tender (check it after 30 minutes).
Best served at room temperature with vegan ice cream or dairy-free yoghurt.
Also the chocolate mousse from esker ^^^ is great.
posted by essexjan at 12:06 PM on March 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
Best served at room temperature with vegan ice cream or dairy-free yoghurt.
Also the chocolate mousse from esker ^^^ is great.
posted by essexjan at 12:06 PM on March 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
More a meta-suggestion, but many folks don't know that sweetened condensed coconut milk (and cream) is a thing and pretty available in metro areas. Great for any recipes that call for condensed milk or as a thicker, sweeter alternative to coconut milk. My mom used it for amazing vegan Indian kheer.
posted by homesickness at 12:30 PM on March 9, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by homesickness at 12:30 PM on March 9, 2020 [3 favorites]
Chia coconut milk + vanilla pudding with dark chocolate ganache, topped with fresh berries.
posted by Neekee at 12:56 PM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Neekee at 12:56 PM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
Store-bought vegan & gluten free crushed biscuits/hard cookies + melted coconut oil = cheesecake base. Vegan cream cheese + vegan cocoa powder (+ powdered sugar if needed, + fruits or coulis if desired) = chocolate cheesecake filling. Melt the coconut oil into the crushed cookies and press the mix into your receptacle, then put it in the fridge for a while. Blend all the other ingredients until they taste good, then add them as a layer on top of the base. Decorate as pleases you.
Quantities are eyeball-able - it generally takes me about three rolls of biscuits and three tablespoons of coconut oil to make the base, and about five packages of vegan cream cheese for the filling. It can also be made as individual portions in ramekins if you don't want to make one big cheesecake. It's one of the easiest cheesecakes to make and you'll get bonus points with the gluten free & vegan people for making a cheesecake that they can actually eat.
You can make the filling another flavour if people don't like chocolate but you need at least some flavour to override the taste of the vegan cream cheese. Try to use a vegan cream cheese that isn't too strongly fake-cheese-flavoured if one is available; if you can only find the strongly-cheese-flavoured kind then extra cocoa & powdered sugar in the filling mix will balance it out eventually, but you might find you need to use quite a lot more than you'd expect. If the vegan cream cheese mix is too dense you can cut it with a little vegan sour cream/creme fraiche to loosen it slightly.
posted by terretu at 1:08 PM on March 9, 2020
Quantities are eyeball-able - it generally takes me about three rolls of biscuits and three tablespoons of coconut oil to make the base, and about five packages of vegan cream cheese for the filling. It can also be made as individual portions in ramekins if you don't want to make one big cheesecake. It's one of the easiest cheesecakes to make and you'll get bonus points with the gluten free & vegan people for making a cheesecake that they can actually eat.
You can make the filling another flavour if people don't like chocolate but you need at least some flavour to override the taste of the vegan cream cheese. Try to use a vegan cream cheese that isn't too strongly fake-cheese-flavoured if one is available; if you can only find the strongly-cheese-flavoured kind then extra cocoa & powdered sugar in the filling mix will balance it out eventually, but you might find you need to use quite a lot more than you'd expect. If the vegan cream cheese mix is too dense you can cut it with a little vegan sour cream/creme fraiche to loosen it slightly.
posted by terretu at 1:08 PM on March 9, 2020
My favorite vegan dessert is an avocado and coconut cream based chocolate mousse pie, basically this one, but subbing coconut cream for almond milk, in a prebaked coconut/almond crust with fresh fruit on top.
For the crust you just crush almonds and unsweetened coconut flakes to a coarse meal in a food processor with some sweetener of your choice, and mix it with enough melted coconut oil to make a sort of dough you pat into a pie plate and bake until it's golden. Let it cool, then fill with mousse and refrigerate. I've never had a lot of luck whipping coconut cream for a topping, but YYMV.
If you're feeling fancy, you can also make this vegan meringue from canned chickpea liquid, pile it on top and broil or torch it to caramelize.
If you want it richer, melt semi-sweet chocolate with coconut cream to make a ganache, and put that on top instead. Or both! Both is good :)
posted by ananci at 3:36 PM on March 9, 2020
For the crust you just crush almonds and unsweetened coconut flakes to a coarse meal in a food processor with some sweetener of your choice, and mix it with enough melted coconut oil to make a sort of dough you pat into a pie plate and bake until it's golden. Let it cool, then fill with mousse and refrigerate. I've never had a lot of luck whipping coconut cream for a topping, but YYMV.
If you're feeling fancy, you can also make this vegan meringue from canned chickpea liquid, pile it on top and broil or torch it to caramelize.
If you want it richer, melt semi-sweet chocolate with coconut cream to make a ganache, and put that on top instead. Or both! Both is good :)
posted by ananci at 3:36 PM on March 9, 2020
I usually opt for fruit crisps using gluten-free oats in this situation.
posted by metasarah at 4:24 PM on March 9, 2020
posted by metasarah at 4:24 PM on March 9, 2020
You could do an aquafaba meringue and make a pavlova with your fruit and coconut whipped cream.
posted by Weeping_angel at 4:40 PM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Weeping_angel at 4:40 PM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
If you don't have anyone with a peanut allergy, comments indicate that Smitten Kitchen's salted peanut butter cookies work with a vegan egg substitute.
I have only made them with regular eggs (minus the salt and with all-natural peanut butter), but they are always well received, and also very simple with only 3 ingredients. They are one of my party go-tos since an extra gluten free dessert is usually well-received.
posted by Dorothea Ladislaw at 6:22 PM on March 9, 2020
I have only made them with regular eggs (minus the salt and with all-natural peanut butter), but they are always well received, and also very simple with only 3 ingredients. They are one of my party go-tos since an extra gluten free dessert is usually well-received.
posted by Dorothea Ladislaw at 6:22 PM on March 9, 2020
Best answer: I can't look at the recipes right now, but Chocolate Covered Katie does AMAZING vegan desserts. Maybe some are gluten free? But I've never had anything less than spectacular from her blog.
posted by Snowishberlin at 6:39 PM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Snowishberlin at 6:39 PM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
I've made these Sesame Tahini Cookies a few times and they've been popular. Not super pretty, though.
posted by doift at 7:21 PM on March 9, 2020
posted by doift at 7:21 PM on March 9, 2020
Seconding Chocolate Cover Katie! I made a lot of her sweet stuff when I was trying to live vegan and gluten-free to cure my endometriosis (spoiler alert, it didn't work, as was to be expected). I especially love her black bean brownies, which I made with rice flour.
posted by LoonyLovegood at 5:14 AM on March 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by LoonyLovegood at 5:14 AM on March 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
A teaspoon of xantham gum helps gluten free flours I find.
posted by backwards guitar at 11:23 AM on March 10, 2020
posted by backwards guitar at 11:23 AM on March 10, 2020
Response by poster: Thanks everyone!! We ended up having to skip the potluck – husband came down with a fever –
BUT i did make this chocolate fudge pie from Chocolate Covered Katie's site (despite being a little apprehensive about using silken tofu for the first time!) and this thing was yuuuum after being refrigerated overnight. Def. recommend her recipes, have tried a few others too, and they've all been delicious.
posted by speakeasy at 10:16 AM on April 19, 2020
BUT i did make this chocolate fudge pie from Chocolate Covered Katie's site (despite being a little apprehensive about using silken tofu for the first time!) and this thing was yuuuum after being refrigerated overnight. Def. recommend her recipes, have tried a few others too, and they've all been delicious.
posted by speakeasy at 10:16 AM on April 19, 2020
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posted by eotvos at 10:26 AM on March 9, 2020