3 Amazing Vegan Desserts for the Fall!

1. For the pastry, put all the ingredients except the water in a food processor and pulse until it has a texture like bread crumbs. Add the water and pulse until it starts to come together into a ball. Tip it out onto a work surface and bring it together into a smooth dough, kneading gently. Alternatively, if you don’t have a food processor, you can do this by hand. Combine the flour, icing sugar, salt, and lemon zest in a large bowl, then rub in the butter between your fingertips until it forms rough bread crumbs. Add the water and bring together into a ball. Knead until smooth.

2. Roll out the pastry on a flour-dusted surface—or between two sheets of baking parchment—until it is around 3 millimeters (½ inch) thick. Lay the pastry over a 23-centimeter (9-inch) tart tin, then carefully push the pastry into the sides, allowing the excess to hang over the edges. Place the pastry case into the freezer to chill for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan.

3. Once chilled, remove from the freezer and place a sheet of baking parchment into the case. Fill with baking beans (pie weights) or rice and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and take out the beans and parchment, then return to the oven for a further 12 minutes until the edges are a light golden brown.

4. Place the tin on a cooling rack to cool until the pastry is just warm to the touch. Trim the excess pastry around the top edge with a serrated knife.

5. For the frangipane, put the butter, sugar, and almond extract into a saucepan over a low heat and stir until just melted. Remove from the heat and add the milk and lemon juice, then set aside. Put the flour, ground almonds, and baking powder in a large bowl and mix well. Pour the batter into the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.

6. Cover the base of the pastry case with the jam, spreading it out evenly. Spoon the frangipane mixture over the jam and level with a spoon. Arrange the fresh raspberries across the top and scatter over the flaked almonds.

7. Bake the tart for 28 to 30 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean and the top is golden brown. Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool on a cooling rack until cool enough to handle before removing from the tin to cool further.

8. In a small bowl, mix the icing sugar with a teaspoon of water until smooth, then drizzle over the Bakewell to finish. Enjoy!

1. Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment.

2. Put the butter and icing sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer if you have one—or into a large mixing bowl if you are using an electric hand whisk—and beat together until light in colour and fluffy. Add the vanilla and salt and mix until fully incorporated.

3. Add the flour, corn flour, baking powder, and lemon zest and mix until just combined and a smooth dough is formed—try not to overmix.

4. Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe swirls of the dough onto the lined baking trays. You should be able to pipe between 12 and 16 biscuits from the batter. Place the trays into the freezer for 30 minutes before baking—this will ensure they hold their shape when baked. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F) fan.

5. Once the biscuits have had their time in the freezer, bake them for 12 minutes, or until they are lightly golden on the edges—they don’t want to be dark in colour. Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool fully on the trays.

1. Put the lemon juice and soya milk in a pan with 50 milliliters (1¾ fluid ounces) water and set over a low to medium heat. Mix the sugar and corn flour together in a bowl, then add to the pan. Continually whisk the ingredients in the pan over a medium heat, adding the turmeric for the yellow colour.

2. Whisk until the mixture starts to thicken and it coats the back of a spoon—it will set more as it cools but it still wants to be pourable. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the vegan butter until fully incorporated. Pour the finished curd into a bowl to cool.

1. Cut the vegan block into cubes, then place it into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment if you have one—or into a large mixing bowl if you are using an electric hand whisk. Mix on high speed until the butter looks creamy.

2. Add the icing sugar, milk, and vanilla extract and mix with a wooden spoon until the icing sugar is combined slightly with the butter (this just stops the icing sugar from going everywhere), then use the machine or electric whisk again to beat on high until fully combined.

3. Continue to beat the icing for another few minutes until it looks very soft and light—the longer you beat it, the fluffier it becomes, meaning it is a much nicer texture to eat.

1. Combine half the buttercream with the lemon juice. Spoon the lemon buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.

2. Once the biscuits are cool, pipe a swirl of buttercream onto half of the biscuits, then spread a teaspoon of lemon curd onto the other half. Sandwich the biscuits together so they are filled with both lemon curd and buttercream. Enjoy!

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan. Line a muffin tray with 12 cupcake cases.

2. Put the soya milk in a jug and heat in the microwave for 1 minute to warm through (alternatively, you can do this in a pan on the hob). Once warmed, mix in the apple cider vinegar and place to the side to curdle—this will take about 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, put all of the dry ingredients into a bowl and whisk together until combined.

4. Once the milk has curdled, add the oil to the same jug and mix. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until a smooth batter is formed—try not to overmix the batter.

5. Finally, add the pumpkin purée to the batter and stir until fully combined.

6. Divide the batter between the 12 cupcake cases, filling them to around three quarters full—they will rise once baked. I like to use an ice cream scoop to make it easier to fill the cases evenly.

7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a skewer inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Once baked, place the cupcakes on a cooling rack to cool completely.

8. Meanwhile, make the cream cheese icing. Cream the butter and icing sugar together with an electric hand whisk or in a stand mixer (a wooden spoon will work if you don’t have an electric mixer) until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese and cinnamon and whisk again until smooth and fully combined.

9. Once the cupcakes are cool, ice them. If you fancy piping the icing, spoon it into a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe swirls of icing onto each cupcake. Alternatively, you can just spread the icing onto each cupcake and enjoy!