Delicious Dames: Irish vegan cupcake bakers

All pics are of Petite Treats cakes

 
One of the best things about my job is getting to meet really interesting and inspiring people - and getting to write about them. My insatiable curiosity is one of the reasons I decided to become a journalist, even if by curiosity I really mean nosiness! Ahem.

Today I was so excited to have an article in the Irish Independent about three vegan cupcake bakers in Ireland who all run their own businesses (either professionally or as a hobby). The idea came to me when I met Mary of Petite Treats, an absolutely amazing new vegan made-to-order cupcake (and biscuit, and truffle, and biscotti...) business based in Dublin. She was an absolute delight to meet and her cakes, which she was so kind to bring me samples of, were out of this world.

I realised that Mary was the third woman I knew who was selling her vegan cupcakes - talk about inspiring and creative! So I pitched the idea to my editor and then asked Paula of Sugar Moon and Glauce of Sweet to chat to me for the article. They too make absolutely delicious vegan cupcakes that are proof that egg- and dairy-free food can be even more fun than traditional cooking.

The resulting article from Health & Living is below, and I think you'll agree they have some really interesting and positive things to say about their craft.

Real Life: Cakes with a conscience

Everyone loves a cupcake and these vegan versions taste better than anything else

 

By Aoife Barry

Gaze at the bright, candy-coloured cupcakes baked by Mary Doyle of Petite Treats and you'd assume these delectable delights would be filled with refined sugar, eggs and lashings of butter.
But you'd be wrong. Instead, these treats are cholesterol free, animal-product free and, says Mary, fit in with her vegan diet, where meat, fish, milk, eggs, butter and honey are all off the menu.
"I have to have a cupcake every day," smiles Mary, a fresh-faced 33-year-old Galway native who moved to Dublin with her husband in 2005. A decade ago, she decided to remove all animal products from her diet, and unknowingly paved the way for a major career change.
In August 2009 she was made redundant from her teaching job, a career she assumed she'd have for life. But this provided the spur for Mary to follow her dreams of becoming a professional vegan baker, and she opened her made-to-order business Petite Treats in October 2010.
Doing so, she joined a small but dedicated group of women who have put their own twist on the cupcake trend by selling vegan cupcakes, inspired by their health and ethical beliefs.
A vegetarian since the age of 12, animal lover Mary realised that no longer eating animal products meant she had to say 'no thanks' to traditional desserts, so she started baking using recipes from old vegetarian cookbooks. "They were like hockey pucks!" she remembers.

She soon discovered newer books like 'Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World' by American chefs Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terri Hope Romero. Then she moved on to creating her own recipes.
In 2009, she attended a vegan baking bootcamp at the National Gourmet Institute in New York. There she met the legendary vegan pastry chef Fran Costigan and took more classes at the city's Institute of Culinary Education. She hit it off with Fran and returned to spend six weeks as her intern. Mary says New York "really opened her eyes".

When she returned home, almost every night after work she would test recipes. Her heart was in baking, so when she found herself unemployed in 2009, she knew there was only one thing to do: start her own business. "At first I was saying, can I? I had a lot of doubt at first," she admits.

Recipes

Her family initially had similar concerns. "They asked me, do you know any other vegans? I said no, but I want to make cakes for people who like cakes, not just vegans.
"They asked me, are you sure there's a market, would you not stay with a pensionable job? But I think if something's inside you, you have to try it. I'm going to give this everything."
Mary spent nine months perfecting her recipes and had her kitchen HSE certified. She launched Petite Treats in October 2010.

Vegan cupcakes are a luscious treat, but Mary endeavours to make them healthier. "A lot of vegan baked goods out there are very high in oil, with loads of white sugar. I use minimal oil but you still need some for flavour so it's finding that balance. I use unbleached cane sugar and no artificial colourings or preservatives.
"I don't want a cupcake that just tastes good because it's vegan. I want to let the cakes speak for themselves. They just happen to be vegan, which is very important to me but I know it's not very important to everyone else."

A self-confessed perfectionist, she even creates the intricate toppers that decorate her cupcakes, explaining: "I think we eat first with our eyes."

Some of Mary's customers come to her because of allergies, with one woman ordering for her children who have severe dairy allergies.

"I love that they're standing up on their own. I don't say 'here's a box of vegan cupcakes,' I say 'here are cupcakes.' The word vegan does scare a lot of people."

Caroline Horan is a vegetarian and Petite Treats customer. "My husband had no idea -- when I told him it was a vegan cake he couldn't believe it. Instead of bringing a bottle of wine to a friend's house, I order Mary's cakes. What appeals to me is the fact they're healthy but they're a treat."

Claire McElligot is another customer, who describes the cakes as "food for the eyes as well as the belly". She was looking for healthy treats to suit all her family. "The fact it was vegan didn't put me off. It's like guilt-free food; that was the big appeal to me. You never expect something so healthy to taste so bold. I think Mary is an inspiration to young people in today's climate."

Celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres, Emily Deschanel from 'Bones' and Lea Michele from 'Glee' have all embraced veganism."They're bringing more positive press. Traditionally the word vegan has scared people," says Mary. "People are starting to understand better what vegan is."

What are its health aspects that appeal to her? "It's cholesterol free, low in saturated fat. It's a more varied diet; you have to become more aware of your diet. It is higher in wholefoods.

Benefits

"My health is great -- I rarely get coughs or colds. I have a lot of energy. Dairy used always make me feel stodgy. I find it easier to manage my weight, my health, while still enjoying my treats."
These health benefits also appealed to 27-year-old Paula Larkin, who sells her vegan cupcakes and treats as a hobby in Cork city.

She turned to vegetarianism after struggling with stomach issues that reduced when she cut out red meat and dairy, and then eliminated all animal products a year later. "It was a life choice that just made so much sense to me," she says. That was two years ago, and though she initially found replacing eggs and dairy difficult, "the situation has become much better here in Ireland".

She discovered vegan baking when she lived in Toronto in 2007. Two years ago, her friend Vicky Langan set up an experimental music showcase in Cork and Paula started selling her cakes at them under the name Sugar Moon.

Paula says that the majority of her customers "are non-vegans who just really like how the cakes taste" but says "the response from the vegan community has been so positive". Some of her customers are lactose intolerant.

"Most people are very surprised to hear that the cakes are vegan, probably because they assume anything vegan is flavourless and dry." Has veganism improved her health? "I think so, yes, mainly because I have become more aware of what I put into my body and how I impact on the world around me.

"Being vegan is no different to any other form of diet -- you can choose to be healthy or you can choose not to be.
"I can be vegan and spend my days eating chips, bread, pasta and meat replacements, or I can be vegan and eat fresh vegetables, pulses, nuts and wholegrains. For me, being vegan is about trying to treat my body with respect, and treating my environment with respect."

In the future, she would like to open her own vegan café. In the short term she wants to take Sugar Moon from hobby to business, gaining HSE certification and working around her existing job.
Another young vegan baker is Glauce Ferrari, a 35-year-old Brazilian student. She lives with her Italian husband in Dublin and both are vegan.

She moved to Ireland in 2008, and says: "Dublin has a good number of vegetarian places, but they are not that vegan friendly in my opinion. It's always better to buy vegan products and cook at home."

Customers

So she started baking vegan cakes, which she sold at gigs and then under the name Sweet to Govindas on Dublin's Aungier Street, and later its Abbey St branch, as well as taking orders for home delivery. Due to her studies, she currently only takes private orders.
Glauce says a lot of her customers are not vegan or do not have allergies, and come to her through word of mouth. Of her vegan customers, she says: "I love to bake for them because I know how hard is to find vegan options in Dublin."

For these women, vegan cupcakes are the ideal way of sharing their health and ethical beliefs with people.
"I think they are the best way of introducing people to vegan food," says Mary. "I think that's my mission: to show people that a vegan cupcake is just a really good cupcake. You don't have to sacrifice anything."
Mary hopes that in the future she will start supplying coffee shops with her cakes, so more people can access these tasty treats.

Though the number of vegans in Ireland may be small, one thing is clear -- it looks like there's a big market for vegan cupcakes. After all, who could say no to a delicious dessert?