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Who knew making climate-friendly desserts could become a career?
For years, Iโve had a very specific, imaginary scene stuck in my head: A dessert-laden buffet table that stretches on and on and on, disappearing over the horizon in a sugary mirage.
One of the treats on this endless dessert table is a plant-based chocolate mousse, the mixture of whipped aquafaba and melted dark chocolate heaped in stainless-steel coupes and dusted with chocolate shavings. Another is ginataang bilo-bilo, a coconut milk-based Filipino dessert soup bobbing with chewy rice-flour balls. Thereโs a twice-baked almond croissant next to a plate of bread pudding doused in bourbon sauce โ each giving new, sweet life to stale baked goods that are often wasted. Thereโs an apple-cheddar pie wrapped in a whole-grain Einkorn and Sonora wheat double crust, and a blueberry pie made with drought-resistant buckwheat pastry, the brash flavors of the berry and the grain a summertime riot on a plate.
Whatโs on this imaginary table is the sum total of the hundreds of treats that could constitute the sweet side of climate cuisine โ desserts designed, one and all, to simultaneously continue long-held food traditions and respond to a warming world. And I canโt shake this image because Iโm convinced that bringing it to life โ which Iโm trying to do in concert with other bakers and chefs โ is a necessary piece of the puzzle if the world is going to move toward sustainable diets.
I havenโt always seen dessert as a climate-action strategy, but Iโve been obsessed with baking and with the environment for as long as I can remember. I became an activist and a writer at age 7 or so, when I penned a furious letter to then-President George W. Bush over his failure to sufficiently protect the dwindling Florida panther population I was hyper-fixated on as a kid. (I got a patronizing stock letter and a glossy portrait of Bush Jr. in return, which may have single-handedly propelled me to become a climate writer.)
When I wasnโt fuming over the Bush presidency or hiking with my family through the north Florida swamps as a kid, I was learning how to use a hand-mixer. I loved helping my mom ice the endless parade of birthday cakes she made for my sister and me: a sheet cake decorated with a giant palm tree, a three-dimensional dolphin, a cupcake tower frosted in an ombrรฉ cascade of blues.
Both interests only intensified as I got older. By my mid-twenties, I was baking most nights after finishing work as chief of staff at the climate magazine Grist. Iโd come home from a day of absorbing the worldโs food and climate news (the topic I cared about most), and re-play the warnings from scientists in my head: Eat fewer animal products! Stop with the rampant food waste! Shore up the fragile industrial food system with more agrobiodiversity!
The day we covered madeleines at Le Cordon Bleu, I went home to my tiny apartment in the shadow of the รglise Sainte-Eustache and developed a butter-less, plant-based version.
As I mixed batter for caramel cake and kneaded bread dough to make craggy loaves, I worried that those abstract instructions werenโt going to make it into home kitchens at a meaningful scale. To come to life in our cooking and baking habits, they needed to be transformed into must-make recipes by the chefs, recipe developers, and content creators who collectively guide what America whips up for dinner. Some of that was already happening (and needed to be written about much more, I felt) โ but dessert in particular needed more climate-whisperers.
So I did what any climate-panicked gal with a lifelong love for baking would do: I packed up my bags in Seattle and moved to Paris to attend pastry school at Le Cordon Bleu.
Once in the land of butter, I got to work. The day we covered madeleines at Le Cordon Bleu, I went home to my tiny apartment in the shadow of the รglise Sainte-Eustache and developed a butter-less, plant-based version. When we learned about pastries that were originally developed to prevent waste in homes and professional kitchens (pain perdu, sacristains), I added them to my mental catalog. After I traveled with classmates to Brittany, I taught myself how to make galettes or buckwheat crรจpes โ one of the regionโs insanely scrumptious uses of the climate-resilient pseudo-grain.
I came out of my year in the pastry capital of the world with a stronger conviction than ever that dessert is the best part of climate cuisine. It can be an adventure of culinary discovery, since recipes that are plant-based, waste-busting, or that use biodiverse ingredients can be found in food cultures the world over, from Lebanese atayef to French twice-baked croissants to Sioux juneberry pudding. Equally, it can be a chance to make classic treats more interesting. One of the bakers I admire most, Rose Wilde, has blown the lid off traditional layer-cake baking by pairing biodiverse flours with complementary flavors: An oat-walnut cake with geranium-rose custard, and a rye chocolate cake with German chocolate buttercream and sweet woodruff cocoa nib cream.
Building a collection of these recipes is a key ingredient in my work today as a freelance writer and recipe developer in Brooklyn. Itโs the purpose of my Substack newsletter, Pale Blue Tart, where I share recipes from climate-inclined professional bakers, along with my own recipes. And the process is informed by my freelance journalism where I explore, among other food and climate topics, the threat posed by warming and extreme weather to baking staples like vanilla and wheat.
I also hope this collection of climate-friendly dessert recipes will one day become a collaborative cookbook. Together, Americaโs pastry chefs and professional bakers can show us the hundreds of flavors of sustainable baking โ and remind us that saving the world is a piece of cake.
RECIPE: Any Seeds & Nuts Upside-Down Cake
- Yield: Serves 8
Description
This orange-scented upside-down cake does it all, environmentally speaking. It prevents food waste by upcycling the contents of the nearly empty bags of nuts in your freezer that you refuse to throw out; and itโs plant-based โ two carbon-saving moves. It also calls not just for all-purpose flour but for a portion of some other flour, too (use whateverโs in your pantry!), since branching out from the worldโs most widely grown wheat is good for climate resilience. Inspired by Alex Testereโs mixed seed upside-down cake, this sustain-ified version pairs a cake perfumed with orange zest with a seedy, nutty olive oil caramel. Raw or roasted seeds and nuts like pecans, walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, and poppyseeds are all good places to start, but let whatโs on hand be a guide. (Though a word to the wise: If you have fennel seeds, use them! Your kitchen will smell like a holiday in Italy.)
Ingredients
The topping
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp (packed) orange zest, from about 2/3 of a medium orange
- 1 Tbsp orange juice
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- Pinch salt
- 1/3 cup mixed nuts, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp mixed seeds
The cake
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsps sugar
- 1 Tbsp orange zest, from about 1 1/2 oranges
- 1 Tbsp orange juice
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tsp olive oil
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tsp plant milk, unsweetened
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 30g any other flour (volume amounts vary by flour)
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ยฐF. Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper, making the paper circle slightly larger than the diameter of the pan so that thereโs a small lip (this will keep the caramel from sticking to the pan). Spray the interior of the pan lightly with baking spray.
- Make the topping. In a small saucepan, whisk together all the topping ingredients except the nuts and seeds until smooth. Cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, just until the mixture reaches a simmer, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the nuts and seeds. Spread the nut mixture in a thin, even layer over the bottom of the prepared cake pan.
- Make the cake. In a large bowl, toss the sugar and orange zest together gently with your fingers until the mixture is sandy and fragrant. To the same bowl, add the orange juice, olive oil, and plant milk; whisk until well combined. In another bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until the batter is smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 27 to 35 minutes, or until the cake springs back when poked gently in the middle (or a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean).
- Wait 3 minutes or so, then invert the cake onto a cooling rack and gently peel away the parchment paper. Allow to cool to room temperature before transferring to a serving plate and slicing.
Notes
- Iโve tested this cake with a portion of oat flour, einkorn, whole wheat pastry flour, and hazelnut flour. (You could also use exclusively all-purpose flour, in which case youโd use 1 1/2 cups.)
- Cake will keep, tightly wrapped, for up to 5 days.
This recipe originally appeared on Pale Blue Tart.
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RECIPE: Bourbon Loaf Cake
- Yield: Serves 8
Description
My lifelong favorite Christmas dessert is my grandmotherโs bourbon bars (a cookie bar topped with a boozy buttercream), and this year I decided to reinterpret it as a plant-based loaf cake. The orange-scented cake is basically the same basic recipe called for in the nuts-and-seeds loaf cake (all the more reason to master it!), with chocolate chips and toasted pecans added. The bourbon glaze goes heavy on the liquor, and has already notched wins this holiday season in the category of fuzzing frustrations into a tolerable background hum. Enjoy.
Ingredients
The cake
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsps sugar
- 1 tsp (packed) orange zest, from about 3/4 of a medium orange
- 1 Tbsp orange juice
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tsps olive oil
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tsp plant-based milk, unsweetened
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped (plus more for decorating)
The glaze
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsps plant-based butter or margarine
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 3 Tbsps bourbon, or more as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ยฐF. Spray a 8.5-by-4.5-inch loaf pan lightly with baking spray (you can optionally also line it with parchment paper for even easier removal).
- Make the cake. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and orange zest. Mix together with your hands until the mixture is sandy and fragrant. To the same bowl, add the orange juice, olive oil, and plant-based milk, and whisk until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until the batter is smooth and no lumps remain. Mix in the chocolate chips and pecans.
- Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the cake springs back when poked gently in the middle (or a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean). Allow to cool to room temperature before glazing.
- While the cake bakes, make the glaze. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the powdered sugar, plant-based butter or margarine, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons of bourbon. Mix on low speed until combined, then raise the speed to medium and mix another 1 or 2 minutes until no lumps remain, scraping down the bowl as needed. The texture should be like a very thin frosting or a very thick glaze, able to slowly lean and slouch its way down the sides of the cake once youโve spread it on the top. If you need to thin it out more to achieve that texture, add up to another teaspoon of bourbon. Spread the glaze on the top of the cooled cake and, if youโd like, optionally sprinkle on some extra toasted pecans.
Notes
- This cake can also be baked in a 9-inch round cake pan. Reduce the baking temperature to 325ยฐF and reduce the bake time to 27 to 35 minutes.
- Cake will keep, tightly wrapped, for 5 days.
This recipe originally appeared on Pale Blue Tart: A boozy election cake to get you through today.
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RECIPE: Chocolate-Tahini Sweetie Cakes
- Yield: Serves 6-10 1x
Description
Crazy cake is a scrumptious and easy chocolate cake that likely originated during the Depression and uses oil and vinegar in place of eggs and butter. Baking the cake in a 9-by-13-inch pan achieves a thin-ish cake that in turn yields more mini-cakes, which you can stamp out with a heart-shaped cookie cutter for Valentineโs Day. (Pro tip: Metal ones cut easier than plastic.) For salty contrast and a little crunch, top the cakes with a vegan tahini buttercream and dip them in demerara sugar.
Ingredients
The cake
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 Tbsps cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 Tbsps olive oil or any neutral oil
- 1 Tbsp white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or rice vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup water or coffee
The frosting and topping
- 4 Tbsps (1/2 stick) vegan or dairy butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 Tbsp tahini
- Generous pinch of salt
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsps non-dairy milk
- Demerara sugar, for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch pan, and cut a piece of parchment paper so it lines the bottom of the pan snugly and has a little overhang on two of the sides. (Youโll use those as handles to remove the cake once itโs cool.) Press the paper flush into the corners of the pan, and then grease the top of the paper.
- Make the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, vanilla, and water or coffee. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and whisk until a smooth batter forms. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 20 to 24 minutes, or until the center of the cake springs back when poked gently with a finger. Allow the cake to cool completely.
- Cut out the hearts: Using the parchment paper handles, gently remove the cake from the pan and transfer it to a cutting board. Cut out shapes as desired with a cookie cutter (metal cutters are preferable, because they tear the cake less than plastic ones), and reserve scraps (see notes).
- Make the frosting: Place softened butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until smooth. Add the tahini and salt, and mix again until incorporated. Add the powdered sugar a 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides as needed. Add the non-dairy milk 1 teaspoon at a time until you have a soft, easily spreadable frosting.
- Decorate the cakes: Frost the cakes using a knife, working delicately but without a single iota of stress, since youโll cover the frosting with demerara sugar anyway. Pour some demerara sugar on a small plate and gently press the cakes, frosting-side down, against the sugar.
Notes
- With my cookie cutter, this made 6 mini-cakes plus cake scraps. If you have a smaller one, youโll have more.
- Reserve scraps for a trifle with any seasonal fruit, so leftovers donโt go to waste. (Or store in the freezer for a future trifle.)
- Cakes keep covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
This recipe originally appeared on Pale Blue Tart: Climate baking is a one-bowl chocolate cake.
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RECIPE: PSL Cheesecake
- Yield: 8-10 1x
Description
Here, the classic pumpkin cheesecake gets the โpumpkin spice latteโ treatment and a plant-based makeover โ all without a water bath. You donโt need a springform pan, either: just a 9- or 10-inch pie dish, which yields plenty of slices but prevents (yet more) holiday leftovers. Make the cheesecake a day ahead, so it can chill in the refrigerator overnight. For a shortcut, use a store-bought graham cracker crust.
Ingredients
The crust
- 12 sheets vegan graham crackers, such as Nabisco
- 6 Tbsps plant-based butter, melted and cooled
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 3 Tbsps light or dark brown sugar
The filling
- 12 oz Tofutti cream cheese
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 1 cup pumpkin purรฉe
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 Tbsps cornstarch
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp lemon juice
The whipped cream
- 6 oz store-bought canned vegan whipped cream
- 1 tsp instant espresso powder
- 1 tsp sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF. If youโre making your own crust, spray a 10- or 9-inch pie dish lightly with oil.
- To make the crust, pulse the crackers in a food processor until theyโre crumbs. Then combine the crumbs, melted butter, salt, and brown sugar in a bowl, mixing with a fork until the mixture resembles wet sand. Press evenly into the bottoms and sides of the pie dish, using a spoon to help you level it.
- To prepare the cheesecake filling, first mix the cream cheese in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until itโs very smooth. Then add the coconut cream, pumpkin purรฉe, brown sugar, cornstarch, spice, vanilla, and lemon juice, and mix again until completely smooth, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Pour the filling into the prepared crust.
- Place the pie dish on the middle rack of the oven, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, just until the outer inch of the filling is jiggly and puffed (donโt overbake, because itโll begin to bubble and disrupt the smooth surface of the cheesecake). The interior will look liquidy, but it will firm up. Turn off the oven and, with the door closed, allow the cheesecake to keep gently cooking in the ovenโs residual heat for another 20 minutes.
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven, and let it cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or preferably overnight, to let it set all the way through.
- In the last 10 minutes before serving, prepare the coffee whip. (It holds its shape for just 10 minutes, because its texture is a cross between latte foam and whipped cream). Squirt a blob of canned vegan whipped cream into a bowl and add the sugar and espresso powder; mix this together with a fork well and let it sit a minute so that the espresso powder dissolves. Then squirt the remaining whip into the bowl and, using a spatula, fold it gently together with the coffee mixture. Place a dollop on each cheesecake slice and serve immediately.
Notes
- Nabisco graham crackers are vegan. You can also use a store-bought crust: The Keebler 10-inch is perfectโand happens to be vegan, too. You can also use the 9-inch version, but note that itโs a tad smaller than it advertises, so you should remove 1 cup of filling. Divide that leftover filling between three greased ramekins and bake for 10 to 12 minutes to make three snack-sized, crustless cheesecakes.
- Tofutti cream cheese creates the most flavorful and silkiest results, apparently because of its high soy content. If you canโt find it, Oatly cream cheese will create similar results (you may just want to add a pinch of extra pumpkin spice). Barring that, Kite Hill also works, but creates a denser cheesecake. Whatever you do, avoid offerings high in coconut oil such as the Trader Joeโs variety, Violife, and Miyokoโs: They create soupy drama.
- Any store-bought, canned whipped cream shines here, though Reddi Whip Non-Dairy Almond really helps lean into the latte of it all.
- Leftover cheesecake keeps for up to 4 days, tightly wrapped in the fridge.
This recipe originally appeared on Pale Blue Tart: An entire climatarian Thanksgiving menu.
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RECIPE: Ginger Bend-and-Snaps
- Yield: Makes 18 cookies 1x
Description
With big zing from freshly grated ginger, these cookies are a sophisticated take on classic gingersnap cookies. Theyโre also made entirely with oat flour โ one of the many biodiverse flours beyond all-purpose โ which has a mildness that lets the flavors of the molasses and warm spices shine. These cookies are also a choose-your-own-adventure. If you like a little bend with your snap, knock the 18-minute bake time down to 15. Otherwise, bake for the full time, let the cookies cool, then snap away. And donโt skip the sprinkle of flaky salt. It brings out the ginger that much more.
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups (scooped and leveled) oat flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 egg
- Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger. In a large bowl, whisk together the fresh ginger, olive oil, molasses, and the egg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well with a flexible spatula. (Dough will be wet, which helps the cookies spread and flatten as they bake.) Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes, or until itโs firmed up enough to scoop out spoonfuls.
- Drop slightly heaped tablespoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared sheet pans, spaced at least 3 inches apart (because they will spread quite a bit in the oven). Sprinkle each cookie with flaky salt.
- If you want a cookie that snaps, bake until the cookies are lightly browned all over and somewhat darker brown (though not burnt) at the edges, about 18 minutes. If you want a cookie that bends a little, bake the cookies for a slightly shorter time, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely on the baking pan.
This recipe originally appeared on Pale Blue Tart: Baking beyond wheat: An oatscapade.
