WHAT A DAY! The Vegan Bakeoff is over! First I want to let out a big thank you to my roommate for dealing with my lemon donut trials for a week, my friends who came to support me (Janelle, Orlean, Phillip, and new friend Jason), Chris for understanding when I didn’t text him back all day because I was stuffing my face with vegan deliciousness, my online Blog friends for helping me with plating ideas, and YOU! For first of all, reading my blog to unconsciously encourage me to even enter in the first place (oh and my roommate for suggesting it), and second of all, for giving me such great support on my FB page =) (if you haven’t liked it yet, please go do so in the sidebar!)
It was so much fun, very well organized with lots of variety and entries! The voting was clear and simple and the venue was great! So much fun! I am so glad I picked lemon donuts because I had so many people come up to me and say  they loved the simplicity of my presentation and that the lemon cut through all the other sweets and chocolates that were there. That’s the thing I love most about lemon, it’s such a clean and refreshing flavour, and it’s so memorable.
As a baker, I was able to get one free ticket (so one plate), and then I bought admission for myself (2 plates). I tried the Raw Desserts, the Professional Gluten-Free desserts (by professional bakers or businesses), and Cupcakes and Tarts. I think my favourite plate was the Raw Desserts, because I dunno, I was a little disappointed with the cupcakes and tarts. There was a hot milk cupcake that was topped with coconut (I think it was kind of like a coconut tres leches cake) and it blew my mind! It won it’s category, and it was one of the most memorable desserts there. I also loved the raw Tropical Bite (which won the Raw category) because it had this pineapple on top, and it was just a delicious little morsel of delicious.
But good news! I won two prizes!
I won runner up for best presentation! And check out what I got, all this sugar! Holy moly I won’t need to buy sugar for ages. I got another bottle of agave nectar in addition to the basket, and the silver package on the right is vegan egg yolks! Fascinating! I think I might try to make some vegan hollandaise sauce with that. There’s jamming sugar in there too, which I’m not sure how to use but I’m sure I’ll figure that out eventually. I also got a fancy Redpath spoon and white Redpath measuring spoon too. Check out the image gallery below for more photos of the sugar.
I also won runner-up for my category in Donuts and Pastries =) I lost to some delicious looking cinnamon sugar donuts, but so many people liked my donuts, it doesn’t even matter! I got Chloe Coscarelli‘s new cookbook about vegan baking and I’m so excited to try out her new recipes! I haven’t had a good look at it yet but I’m sure they’re wonderful recipes! If you want your own copy, go to her website and order one and help out Chloe =)
I also got a caramel and chocolate bar and some chocolate Mackies. Both gluten-free, and both pretty tasty.
I definitely had a lot of fun trying out all the vegan things, although I was a little discouraged by some of the intense people who were there. I purposely didn’t wear my leather boots to the event because I was afraid of being glared at. I saw that someone tweeted about how there were too many Canada Goose jackets and whatnot. I mean, I’m vegetarian, I believe in eating vegetarian mostly because I’m allergic, but I also acknowledge the environmental and animal-friendly aspect of it and I respect it. Same goes for eating vegan and eating local.
What I don’t support is when people preach the vegan way of life like it’s the only way of living and it is how everyone should live. We should respect other people’s choices and understand that eating meat and using animal hide/fur is something that occurs in our society. Is it excessive? Sometimes. Is it unhealthy? Sometimes. But everything in moderation right?
Anyway, that’s my little life tidbit of the day. I hope you enjoy these lovely fluffy donuts! The fresh lemon zest adds a little lemony hint to the batter and when you bake these, the lemon zest and flax seeds show up in the baked donuts and they just so darn cute and adorable! I actually kind of like these better than the non-vegan version of donuts I had made before, they had more of a donuty texture than the spongey non-vegan ones. Although I may try yeast-risen ones like donut shops and bakeries usually do. But working with yeast means I don’t get to eat it as quickly =P
Anyway, feel free to peruse the photos below from the event. There were lots of delicious things to eat and um…interesting presentations =)
Click here to see the photos from the bake off!
Vegan Lemon Donuts and Vegan Bake-off Recap
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup agave nectar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup rice milk
- 2 tsp flax meal
- 1 tbsp warm water
- 1/4 cup no-sodium margarine
- zest of one lemon
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1 1/3 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Mix flax seed and warm water in a small bowl. Stir then let sit for about 2 min.
- Mix lemon zest, agave nectar, flax seed mixture, milk, and margarine until combined.
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until incorporated, but do not over mix.
- Pipe into greased donut baking pans about half full (they puff up a lot)
- Bake for 12-14 minutes at 350F until golden. 12 minutes if using a mini-donut pan, 14 if using a regular-sized donut pan.
- Remove from oven, let sit in the pan for about 1 min, then remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack until cooled.
- Mix lemon juice (strained) and powdered sugar until all lumps are broken up.
- Dip cooled donuts in glaze, let excess drip off, then let them dry on the wire rack.
- Leave for about 10-15 minutes until dry, then eat!
Litza says
It’s settled… you need to make me some of these lemon yummies! Congrats on your awesome prizes! Now you can make even more yummy treats.
Lisa says
Thanks! Maybe I’ll send you some lemon goodies since you sent me the Hunger Games! I wonder if we can send food over the border…hmm
Brittany says
This recipe says eggs in the instructions. Help! I want to make these so bad but don’t wanna mess up…
Lisa says
Oops! No eggs. I was working from a regular donut recipe I had used before. I meant flax seed mixture by eggs =P
Barbara Noon says
I love the looks of your doughnuts and am glad you are making vegan food for those of us who appreciate the recipes.
However, this comment of yours makes no sense: “We should respect other people’s choices and understand that eating meat and using animal hide/fur is something that occurs in our society. Is it excessive? Sometimes. Is it unhealthy? Sometimes. But everything in moderation right?”
Killing in moderation is all right? Ripping off skins on live animals and torturing animals for their entire lives before killing them and most often cutting them up while they are still alive, in moderation, is fine?
“It’s our society so it is okay” is not an excuse. I realize you are young and probably do not know much about how your food is made; either that or you fall into the people who are brainwashed by our society’s idea that humans are “different” and the only ones who matter. Society has to change, and we vegans are working on that; but change will take time because we have to change mindsets and are being fought by huge industries and religions that promote speciesism. If you go to a vegan show, you will hear such talk because change is crucial to a peaceful planet.
Lisa says
Hi Barbara,
Thank you for your comment. It’s true, society does need to change their approach and excessive use of fur/hide and meat consumption. I understand that there are some companies that use unethical methods to acquire animal hide/fur, and while I do own some leather bags and shoes, I try to do research about the company’s animal cruelty policies prior to purchasing them. I also am aware that a majority of the food industry treats and handles animals like food instead of living, breathing beings. These are unfortunate realities that I agree, should change.
But shaming people and their choices is not the way to effect this change. This creates a negative stereotype for the people who want change, and in most cases, shifts the focus from the issue to the people and their methods. Education, awareness, and non-exaggerated truth are necessary to produce change. I am only one little blogger, but I hope to educate people on their food choices to choose healthier, more local and cruelty-free foods, by giving them the resources and consequently promoting awareness of such food choices.
Lastly I would like to address the following comment: “I realize you are young and probably do not know much about how your food is made; either that or you fall into the people who are brainwashed by our society’s idea that humans are “different†and the only ones who matter.”
I would like to first of all, point out that my age, no matter how young or old I may be, is not a factor in the amount of knowledge I have about how my food is made. Secondly, nowhere in my post have I construed that “humans are ‘different’ and the only ones who matter.” And finally, contrary to what you have said, I am neither a brainwashed speciesist nor an oblivious child who is unable to make educated choices about the food I eat and the products I use.
Again, thank you for your comment and for reading my post.
Sandra Kohlmann says
I’ve been vegan for 8 years and I can say that there are lots of approaches to being vegan. I’m not suggesting that killing animals is ever okay, but every time someone chooses to be vegan or vegetarian at a given meal, it is a step in the right direction. Making a person feel bad, because they are not exactly the same vegan as you, isn’t going to encourage anybody to stick with a veg lifestyle. In fact, comments of this nature often prompt folks to be non-veg to spite people who present aggressive arguments like this (something I learned the hard way). You absolutely have the right to your opinion, and frankly, I agree with what you are saying, but discouraging a step toward veganism isn’t going to help our cause.
Amy Teill says
@Barbara Noon Who wants to play “negative vegan stereotype” bingo with that comment? Seriously, you make us all sound crazy. You must be really fun at parties.
Drew says
I saw this recipe on Finding Vegan and I thought to myself, “Those look awfully similar to the lemon donuts at the Toronto Vegan Bake-off this weekend!” And huzzah! They were indeed.
The bake-off was such a fantastic time. I sampled your donut from my friend’s plate and it was my favourite out of the other options, so you were first place in my mind!
Lisa says
Thank you! The bake-off was indeed a fantastic time =) I’m glad you enjoyed them.
Shannon says
These are beautiful! I will have to try them out soon. But I know I won’t be able to resist the urge to add poppy seeds. I just can’t fight how much I love lemon poppyseed flavored things.
Lisa says
Yum I actually was debating on whether or not I should add poppyseeds to this recipe. I say go for it!
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
These are GORGEOUS. I cannot wait to make them!!
Lisa says
Thanks Dorothy! And thanks for the pin =)
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan says
Whoa! Look at how perfect and smooth those donuts are! Topped with that glaze, woo wee girl!
Lisa says
Thanks Abby!
Laura says
You are sooo the winner of that category in my eyes. They were amazing! Besides the girl that won wrote a book about vegan baked treats – she probably should have entered the pro category!
Sasha says
Maybe I’m just not seeing it, but did you post the oven temp? I was going to make these for a “Gal-entine’s” Day party tonight, but don’t see an oven temp! Help!
Lisa says
Oops you are so right! 350F
Sasha says
Thanks! That’s what I ended up doing, based on other donut recipes I found.
I’m not sure what happened with these! They turned out delicious, but I had a few problems. One, they didn’t puff up at all! They were very dense donuts, and completely flat on one side. I ended up sticking two together to make normal shaped donuts. Is this because I used regular white flour? Is there a difference between white and all purpose flour?
Also, next time I make these I might try a different egg substitute. The texture of the flax seeds sort of threw me off.
With the glaze, I had to use over double the amount of powdered sugar that the recipe called for! It was very tasty and lemony, but essentially rolled right off the donuts and never dried all pretty like yours did.
Even with all of these problems the donuts were still a hit though. I served them with vegan strawberry ice cream inside the hole and between the two flat donuts (to stick them together), then covered that in icing. Would definitely make again!
Lisa says
Hi Sasha,
I’m sorry it didn’t work out! I’m 90% sure white flour and all purpose flour is the same. Feel free to experiment with different egg substitutes, the flax meal was just what I had. And with the glaze, feel free to add more sugar to get the consistency you want. It sounds like your donuts were delicious! Maybe if you add a bit more baking powder (2 tsp instead of the 1 1/2) it’ll puff up more?
I had to experiment with the recipe to get it to be the right consistency for me. Good luck!
Meggan says
Hi, I have a question that might be stupid… I’m new to veganism, brand new, tomorrow is my first day. But anyway! In your recipe you mention low-sodium margarine. Is it assumed that it is vegan margarine such as Earth Balance? Also, is rice milk required or would other milk such as almond or soy be okay? Sorry for the questions, I can’t wait to try your recipe! :)
Lisa Mai says
Yikes! I totally replied to this months ago but I don’t think my phone uploaded my response. Congratulations on your new vegan diet! I hope that 6 months later you’re still vegan, but if not, hey, you tried =P
I’m definitely too late to answer your questions but here they are anyway: Vegan margarine is the same as Earth Balance, I just put Earth Balance because it’s a type of vegan margarine that a lot of vegans know. Any kind of dairy alternative would work in place of the rice milk, I typically use rice milk to keep things nut-free, but lately I’ve been using almond milk for everything.
For any other questions about substitutions, I recommend having a look at my Substitutions page under Tips and Tricks (in the bar at the top of the page).
Kaygiene says
hi, ive just tried the recipe now but then the glaze didnt give any opaque white, instead it gave me avtranslucent one,. Hmmm i was wondering how you did yours? :) i hope im not a bother~
Lisa Mai says
Not at all! Actually I think I might have just added more icing sugar until it was the consistency that I liked. As for eggs, I don’t exactly know because my experience of using eggs in donuts just makes them super dense and not as delicious =( I find the flax meal mixture makes it much fluffier
Kaygiene says
Thannnk you so much for the replyyyyy… Hmmm i replaced the flax meal and water with one egg but it didnt came out like yours in the picture, it was more of a fluffy donut >,< i will try it out next time with the flax meal… Still be in search fir flax meal though~ i xant wait to try more of your recipes…thankkk you c:
Kaygiene says
And oh yes,.. If i were to use eggs,.is it 1 egg?;)
rhina delgado says
Hi Lisa… can you share
This lemon donut recipe but glutten free…thank you
Lisa Le says
Hi Rhina!
You could probably try using a gluten-free AP flour blend and it should work :)
Kiana says
The most amaZING baked dish I’ve ever made!!! Perfect combo of sweet and tart for a vegan.