Former Bake Off contestant and vegan baker Freya Cox picks out her must-have supermarket ingredients
BLUEBERRIES
One of my favourite fruits and so versatile in baking. I like to make Bakewell slices with a blueberry jam on the bottom and a frangipane filling that’s got fresh blueberries through it. It’s nice to mix it up and have something a little bit different to raspberry jam.
TINNED CHICKPEAS
Anyone who watched me on Bake Off probably saw me use the water from a tin of chickpeas, also known as aquafaba. It is an amazing replacement for egg whites in vegan baking, and is brilliant for making pavlovas or meringue buttercreams.
APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
I use this in all of my standard cake recipes. When it is mixed with plant milk, it curdles, and this is generally seen as a replacement for eggs in baking. (A little tip: warm up your plant milk before you put the vinegar in.) I think it creates the fluffiest, moist cakes!
VEGAN BASIL PESTO is a storecupboard staple. I also like making a sandwich with it – use toasted ciabatta, pesto, grilled peppers, aubergine, and any other veggies you’ve got.
I recently fell in love with making Russian buttercream, made from vegan butter and VEGAN CONDENSED MILK, resulting in the lightest, smoothest icing. It’s so much nicer than regular American buttercream.
OATLY WHIPPABLE CREAMY OAT
A great vegan go-to – it whips up exactly like regular double cream and you can’t overwhip it either! It’s also so good for making ice cream.
VEGAN CORNETTO
Definitely one of my favourite discoveries! They taste identical to regular Cornettos and they’re gluten-free too. They
