News: Bake Without Butter, Sugar, Eggs...

See how to bake without butter, sugar, eggs, dairy milk and more.

If you think it's impossible to bake without butter without losing flavor and texture, then keep on reading. Even if you already substitute butter in your cakes and cookies, there may be some things in this article that you haven't tried yet.

These lists will not only be suitable for baking, but raw desserts, breakfasts (pancakes, latkes, oatmeal…), breads, chocolates, smoothies…the list goes on and on…

These substitutions will be more suitable for certain things than others. Some have a more distinct taste than others, so you may not want to use pureed fruits in something that doesn't want to have a fruity flavor. Look below for some suggestions:

Butter Substitutions

Unsweetened Apple Sauce – This doesn't have a very strong taste in baking, so it's a good choice when you don't want a lot of added flavor. It keeps things moist and helps to bind ingredients. Apple Sauce seems to work particularly well in Cakes, muffins, brownies andpancakes and great for lower fat baking.

Canned/Pureed Pumpkin – Pureed Pumpkin works wonderfully in muffins, but has a very distinct taste, so it probably wouldn't work in chocolaty-type recipes. Try using pumpkin in Breads and in certain cookies.

Pureed Fruits -

Avocado – I mostly use Avocado in my Raw Food Desserts recipes. Mix some avocado with some Cacao and a bit of sweetener, such as Raw Honey or Pure Maple Syrup and you've got a rockin' Chocolate frosting for your cake or truffles. Avocado can also be using to making creamy fillings and puddings. It binds things together well too. Don't be afraid that Avocado contains fats (that being said, don't eat 5 of them at once). Avocados are one of the best foods to include in your diet, in in regards to baking, they already taste kind of buttery. This article isn't going to go into the complete nutritional benefits of all the foods listed, but there is an article explaining some of the benefits of Avocados.

Coconut Oil / Coconut Butter -

Earth Balance Butter Substitute * – I have never used the Earth Balance butter substitutes myself, but they seem like a good choice for baking, both in desserts and savory recipes. Earth Balance makes a variety of different products, such as Whipped, Soy-free and Shortening.*Earth Balance Ingredients: Expeller-pressed natural oil blend (soybean, palm fruit, canola and olive), filtered water, pure salt, natural flavour (derived from corn, no msg, no alcohol, no gluten), soy protein, soy lecithin, lactic acid (non-dairy, derived from sugar beets), and naturall extracted annatto for colour.

Non-Dairy Yogurt (Some brands are Ricera, So Delicious, Silk) – Non-dairy yogurts such as Rice or soy yogurt are going to work the same way as Dairy yogurt. I find yogurt works well with making pancakes, as it gives moisture. Just make sure you get the unsweetened kinds or ones with natural flavour.

Dairy Milk Substitutions

The good thing about a lot of the milks mentioned below is that they tend to last a long time when unopened, compared to Dairy milks. Some of them will last for months and months and don't even need to be refrigerated until they are opened! So if you find a brand you like and it's on sale, why not buy a few and keep them in the pantry or perhaps the freezer if they need to be in a cool environment.

• Rice Dream
• Pacific
• Blue Diamond
• Silk
• So Delicious

Egg Substitutions

• Ener-G Egg Replacer (http://www.ener-g.com/) – I haven't used this myself, but I know loads of people do so I'm sure it works well
• Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer – Made from wheat and soy. (http://www.bobsredmill.com/vegetarian-egg-replacer.html)
• Flax seeds (I tend to use these the most, but I have them in Flax seed meal form, which is flax seeds finely ground up into a flour-type consistency) – Add one tbs of flax meal to 3 tbs (or Ratio 1:3) of water and mix together and treat this as you would 1 egg.
• Silken Tofu
• Banana

• Lucuma Powder
• Pure Maple Syrup
• (Raw) Honey
• Yakon Syrup
• Brown Rice Syrup
• Agave Syrup
• Dates (sugar) or Paste – This is one of my favorite ways to add sweetness to things, can't go wrong with dates! (unless you forget to pit them!  )
• Coconut Sap
• Stevia (powder or liquid form) – I use Sweet Leaf's Vanilla Creme Stevia quite often.