February 2021
Hello!
At the start of last month, I talked about some resolutions I made: stop answering Instagram DMs in the evening, meal plan better, and explore “alternative” baking by developing my own gluten-free or vegan recipes. How is all that going?
Well… not well, lol. I’m still answering DMs left and right on Instagram at all hours of the day. After a few weeks of careful meal planning, my resolve was quickly shattered by the s’mores donut croissant you see in the pictures above (FYI—if you live in Portland, that s’mores donut croissant is from NOLA Doughnuts!).
But I did learn some lessons about alternative baking that are worth sharing:
Hummingbird High will never be a vegan baking blog.
Although I did develop two gluten free recipes I’m quite proud of (here’s looking at you, small batch almond flour brownies and small batch baked ube mochi donuts), vegan baking fell by the wayside. I had plans to update some of my vegan cookie recipes, as well as work on a vegan banana bread recipe. Instead, I just updated these vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies (which are delicious, btw) and abandoned the rest of my big ideas.
Because here’s something that this resolution made me discover about myself: I have absolutely zero passion for vegan baking.
I can’t really explain it (though I earnestly tried to do so in this Instagram post). But most vegan recipes fall flat to me! Many of the vegan bakes I’ve tried tasted too bland, heavy, and oily. Many of you will probably come at me in the comments for saying so. And believe me—I’m SURE I wasn’t trying the right recipes. But after quite a few mediocre results, I didn’t want to waste my time and money trying any more vegan baking recipes.
And developing them wasn’t fun for me, either. Since I don’t want to rely on specialty ingredients like vegan butter and commercial egg replacers, it limits the ingredients I can work with. Don’t get me wrong! There’s nothing wrong with using vegan butter or a commercial egg substitute like Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer. It’s just that Hummingbird High has a wide audience of readers and bakers from all around the world. Most of them already have trouble getting “common” pantry ingredients like cream of tartar in their countries. I don’t want to develop recipes with ingredients that are inaccessible or hard to substitute for those folks!
But Hummingbird High could MAYBE be a gluten free baking blog? Probably not, though (lol).
That being said, I did find myself enjoying gluten free baking more than I thought I would. I love the different flavors and textures that alternative flours brought to the table. I also love that certain bakes (like the mochi donut, for instance) are unique BECAUSE of their use of gluten free flours. To wit—you can’t really make a mochi donut if you exclusively use all-purpose flour. You need that sweet rice flour.
That being said, I don’t think Hummingbird High will ever become a 100% gluten free baking blog, either. Similar to my conundrum with vegan baking, I don’t want my recipes to rely on “obscure”, expensive flours or commercial replacers that aren’t accessible to everybody!
And there are so many talented gluten free bakers out there who actually have gluten intolerances. They have years of gluten free baking experience that I don’t have! It’s probably better to rely on their recipes than somebody like me, who is just dabbling in it because she thinks it’s “fun”, lol.
Once you start removing things like gluten, eggs, dairy, and whatever else, people want you to go all the way.
I’m used to getting all sorts of questions about substitutions on my blog. People ask me if they can make my ube crinkle cookies without the ube, and these 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies without eggs (you know, one of the only three ingredients in the recipe). And I have more to say on this subject today, too! Scroll down to “Food For Thought”—I’ve shared an article about cooking substitutions that’s 100% worth reading.
But back to the main topic at hand. The two times I posted gluten free recipes this month, the questions began rolling in: How do I make the recipe dairy-free? How do I make the recipe egg-free? It seems that removing gluten wasn’t enough—it also needed to be dairy-free, egg-free, or both (essentially making it vegan).
I’m somewhat surprised by these requests because I have friends who are gluten free but not vegan, and vegan friends who eat gluten. They frequently complain how hard it is to get gluten free desserts that have eggs and dairy, and vegan desserts that have gluten! But I guess these bakeries know what they’re doing, since many people seem to prefer to have it both ways.
What do YOU think? Do you want your gluten free bakes to have eggs and dairy? Or do you just want them to be completely vegan? Curious to hear what the actual consensus is!
In Case You Missed It: New Recipes
And in case you missed it, I published and updated a TON of new recipes on both Hummingbird High and partner’s websites in the past month. Here’s a round-up of everything new:
- Small Batch Almond Flour Brownies
- Gateau Basque
- Perfectly Pillowy Cinnamon Rolls Recipe (This is an Instagram video tutorial and Instagram Story series! This isn’t actually my recipe—instead, King Arthur Baking Company asked me to make their Recipe of the Year for 2021. You should too because it’s delicious!)
- Vegan Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies (This is an update to a popular recipe of mine from 2020! It is vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe made with tahini and adapted from my cookbook, Weeknight Baking. The blog post now includes a video tutorial and answers to your most frequently asked questions about the recipe.)
- Small Batch Baked Ube Mochi Donuts
Below are pictures of the two most popular recipes from the month—Gateau Basque and Small Batch Baked Mochi Donuts—to inspire you:
Food For Thought
Typically, I spend this section sharing various food-related articles I found interesting in the last month. But this month, I only want to talk about one:
“A Kitchen Resolution Worth Making: Follow The Recipe Exactly.” by Genevieve Ko in The New York Times
Genevieve talks about how one of her resolutions this year was to follow a recipe exactly as it is written. She talks about how, despite it being difficult to exclude her own tastes and preferences in the cooking, following the recipe exactly allowed her to understand the experiences of the recipe creator. Along the way, she learned a ton of new cooking techniques, many of which surprised her since they went against her own knowledge as a food writer and trained chef.
The comments section exploded.
Looking at the comments section without reading the article, you might think that Genevieve suggested murdering babies or something. Many people were upset and offended by her suggestion of following the recipe exactly as written! The craziest ones had echoes of the alt-right movement (e.g. “DON’T THREAD ON ME” and “STOP BEING SHEEP”). Then there were people upset that she was making recipes a “race” issue because they didn’t like her use of the term “unconscious bias”. And then there were the “but what about” folks, some (but not all) of whom had valid concerns: But what about my allergies? But what about my budget? But what about the pandemic? But what about my health and how recipes usually have too much fat, sugar, and salt in them?
Oye.
My Thoughts On Substitutions
Personally, I thought Genevieve was giving us SUCH a refreshing take. Over the last year, especially with everything that’s been going on, several food bloggers, recipe creators, and developers like myself have bent ourselves over backwards to accommodate substitutions, restrictions, and preferences.
On Hummingbird High, I get SO many questions about substitutions in my recipes. And while I’m generally happy to accommodate some of them—especially during a pandemic, when everybody is (supposed to be) limiting their shopping trips, and some ingredients are still hard to come by. But the fact of the matter is that every substitution you make takes you further away from the original recipe’s taste and texture.
And this last year, I’ve come to realize that there’s a fine line between being accommodating to folks and indulging people’s worst impulses. What does that mean, exactly? I’m still struggling to define it myself. But there are definitely some people who want substitutions because they are NOT making a good faith effort to make the recipe.
Here are some examples of problematic substitutions and insertions:
When People Ask For A Substitution That Changes The Flavor of The Recipe Completely
Often times, I get really bizarre questions on my recipes. On a chocolate cake, folks will ask if they can skip the cocoa powder and chocolate to turn it into a vanilla cake. On an ube cookie recipe, people will ask if they can swap out the ube for coconut or strawberry jam to make it a coconut or strawberry cookie instead. On a blueberry muffin recipe, people will ask if they can use bananas instead to make it a banana muffin.
I try to be polite about it, but really, my first reaction is: YIKES! The internet is a treasure trove of recipes. Recipes for a good vanilla cake, banana muffins, and unique cookies are just a quick Google search away. Why try to turn the recipe I presented into something it’s not?
When People Ask For A Substitution That Disrespects The Cultural Origin Of The Recipe
Sometimes, I share recipes for baked goods that come from a specific country or region known for that ingredient, cuisine, or recipe. Like Liège waffles! Liège waffles are a Belgian waffle that use a special kind of pearl sugar originating from the Belgian city of Liège. Or Vietnamese iced coffee cake! Vietnamese iced coffee is known for its liberal use of sweetened condensed milk—without the sweetened condensed milk, it’d just be regular iced coffee.
Over the years, I’ve gotten these questions about those recipes: Can I make these Liege waffles without the Belgian pearl sugar? Can I make the Vietnamese iced coffee cake without sweetened condensed milk?
But without the Belgian pearl sugar, the Liège waffles would just be an ordinary waffle recipe. And without the sweetened condensed milk, the Vietnamese iced coffee cake would just be an iced coffee cake. Both would probably still be delicious without their key ingredients, sure. But without those ingredients, you’d literally be robbing the recipes of their cultural identity! And at that point, wouldn’t you just want to find another waffle or cake recipe that’s not specifically trying to pay homage to a country or region’s signature dish?
When People Come In With Unearned Confidence
To wit—the other day, I saw a comment on a brownie recipe in which the maker had reduced the sugar, the butter, and eliminated the salt. She wrote that the recipe was still great! And I’m sure it came out fine. In fact, I know it did! Because to develop that recipe, I made it 12+ times, tweaking the amounts of sugar, butter, and salt as I went. I know that the version she created technically “worked” since I started with similar ratios to them myself. But it definitely wasn’t as delicious as the final version of the recipe with more sugar and salt that ended up on the blog.
Ultimately, I’m torn on this one. Because I really do appreciate it when people say that they’ve made the recipe with a substitution like egg replacer, gluten-free flour replacer, and/or sugar substitute. That’s helpful for everybody, especially since I don’t have the time and budget to test all those different replacers myself. And I understand that people want to limit their sugar and salt intake, so comments like hers are helpful.
But I worry that people will see super specific comments like the brownie one, disregard the original recipe on my blog to follow those instructions instead… only to end up with worse results since that commenter didn’t go through the recipe development process I did. So please treat comments like that on recipes with a grain of salt! Sometimes, I’ve already tested the exact iteration that the commenter is touting and found it lacking.
When People Complain About The Recipe Without Being Upfront About Changing It
And on the flip side, I also get a lot of comments and complaints about my recipes “being bad” or “not working.” And after speaking to the commenter, I usually quickly find out that it’s because he or she has made a ton of changes like reducing or excluding key ingredients like sugar and eggs, and/or skipping over my specific ingredient recommendations.
I cannot stress this enough: often times, if a recipe is written the way it is, there’s a pretty good reason for it! Even minor changes—like reducing the sugar by a few tablespoons, using vegan butter instead of regular butter—can lead to dramatic effects in baking.
And between you and me, I don’t mind when people make changes to recipes. I do it myself when I make other people’s recipes. But there are boundaries: you absolutely cannot complain about the results to the maker if you changed a bunch of things and found that “their recipe doesn’t work.”
An “Ethical” Guide to Making Recipe Substitutions
I hate to just present a list of gripes without providing a more constructive alternative. So here’s a guide on how to ask for and when to make substitutions:
1. Did you make the recipe exactly as it is written first?
When trying a new recipe for the first time, make it exactly as it’s written first. This is ESPECIALLY important for baking recipes.
Once you have a good idea of what you liked and didn’t like about it, then go ahead and make changes! Use your preferred substitutions and techniques instead.
2. Do you have an actual allergy or dietary restriction that you need a substitution for?
If you have an allergy or dietary restrictions that prevent you from using certain ingredients in the recipe, go ahead and substitute away!
Feel free to ask the recipe developer for their advice, too. Just note that conventional bakers like myself often don’t have enough time or budget to test all the different ways our recipes can be made with different egg replacers, gluten free flours, plant-based milks, and more. So if you have a ton of experience working with those ingredients, it’s likely that you already know more about how to substitute with them than we do!
3. Did you make a good faith attempt to use the ingredients (or similar ones) listed the recipe?
One of my favorite comments on Genevieve’s article is this:
I loved it so much that I even shared it on Instagram Stories, lol. It captures the sentiments of my question perfectly.
4. Is your substitution trying to make something the recipe is not?
If you find yourself swapping out or eliminating the key ingredient completely, pause for a moment. It’s probably easier to find a different recipe WITHOUT that ingredient in the first place!
How do you tell if it’s a key ingredient? Simple! It’s a key ingredient if the recipe has the ingredient in its name. Some examples: the almond flour in “Small Batch Almond Flour Brownies”, and the pumpkin in “Pumpkin Snickerdoodles”).
5. Is your substitution erasing the cultural identity of the dish?
Similarly, if you find yourself wanting to swap out an “obscure” or “hard-to-find” ingredient, pause for a moment. Now, backtrack. Did you find the recipe in an article or blog post about a specialty dish from a different country or region? If yes, it’s likely that the recipe uses those ingredients because of its specific connection to that place. So it’s worth making the recipe with the ingredients exactly as it’s written!
Without the specific ingredient, you’d likely be erasing the cultural identity of the dish. If you can’t find that ingredient, it’s worth making another recipe to make instead.
And back to our regular programming.
Recipes and Resources To Save
And here are the recipes and cooking-related resources I saved these last few weeks:
- Zoe’s Irish scones with kumquat marmalade made me gasp out loud! They remind me of the scones I would get with high tea when I lived in London!
- How adorable are Heather’s bread slice sugar cookies?
- Eater rounded up a list of spice companies that source herbs and spices in ethical, sustainable ways. Check it out!
Finally, On A Lighthearted Note
- Jeni’s made an Everything Bagel ice cream with everything bagel seasoning. I do not know how I feel about this new development. I love Jeni’s, I love everything bagels, I love everything bagel seasoning… but do I love them together??? Me thinks not.
- Have you guys seen Lubalin’s Facebook drama videos on TikTok? He turns amazing Facebook squabbles about broccoli casserole, Craigslist listings, and more into these EPIC music videos. I’ve been singing “no more contacting me, thanks, appreciate” every time I get an annoying DM, lol.
- A geologist found a Cookie Monster formation inside of a rock! Honestly, this is the level of news I can handle at the moment.
Okay, whew! That’s all for now, folks. I hope you all are staying safe and healthy—happy new year! Please let me know how you’re doing in the comments below, and feel free to share the ideas and issues that are floating around in your heads, too.
Man your thoughts on recipe substitutions is refreshing! I cannot even with some people’s questions. One that sticks out in my mind and will forever is one crazy lady commenting on someone’s tamale recipe asking if she could substitute something other than cornmeal and corn husks because her husband is allergic to corn. GURL THIS RECIPE IS NOT FOR YOU THEN. MOVE ON.
Hhahaha I remember that comment!!! I feel like it even made this Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/nytimescookingcomments/
Omg thank you. A lot of people like to switch up a lot of recipes based on misinformation too. I’m sorry but I don’t understand why someone would want to eliminate salt from a recipe. People complain about sodium content like they know what they’re talking about. People don’t know how to salt their food properly. You have people who give recipes bad reviews because they fail to salt the dish while cooking because they were mislead. Maybe they need to look at the contents of the instant food they eat and work on moderation. And before anyone accuses me of being classist, I actually eat a lot of processed foods myself since I’m a busy mom and I am completely aware of the high sodium content of what I eat. I am totally aware that there are people who might not have access to food that is more fresh and considered healthy.
A lot of the changes that people want to make are also deeply rooted in racism whether they like it or not. They try to remove stuff like MSG and then spread misinformation about soy without even trying to gather scientifically back in information to prove that those things are actually detrimental to their health. I’m really tired of finding Chinese recipes find on Chinese people where the blogger brags about how there isn’t any MSG on it.
I’m amazed at all the misinformation out there.
But yes! Leave the vegan baking to people like me! I am down.
Xo
I find that a lot of the time, the yummiest vegan desserts I’ve had are the ones that happen to be vegan. There are quite a few Japanese desserts that fit the bill, like varieties of mochi, agar-agar jelly (kanten), red bean-based sweet porridges, etc. I grew up eating these and sometimes I chuckle to myself thinking of them being branded as “vegan.” It’s just a different framing 🙂
Anyway, always appreciate how you consider accessibility in your recipes, and how your blog posts honor the origins of their bakes!
Thanks for that! Honor is key. It’s actually why I get nervous about posting recipes that aren’t from my own family’s culture or my childhood. It is a process and learning before even touching someone else’s recipe is crucial.
Speaking of the red bean-based porridges, someone who tested my champorado recipe actually told me it reminded them of that. I think they were referring specifically to patjuk. That was hella flattering. My favorite red-bean paste porridge is shiruko, which is probably what you were referring to? I love Japanese desserts as well. And now I’m wishing I were back in Japan. Great.
Thank you for the respectful dialogue.
Michelle, I enjoyed this post a lot and at the same time it made me annoyed because everybody seems to make life so unnecessarily complicated these days. I have only one bit of advice: be who you are! That’s why people started following you in the first place! This bending over backwards to please people who are unpleasable is just crazy. It’s simple, honestly: if I want a vegan recipe I will find a vegan blogger. If I want an egg free recipe I’ll go find one. There’s a gazillion on the Internet! I’m not going to ask someone who spent a lot of time and effort to make a recipe just right, to go and substitute half the ingredients! How crazy would that be! And a quick word on substitutions: I’m a great believer in wholesome, natural foods. Egg, dairy and meat substitutes tend to be made from GMO-laden stuff like soy and corn. Yuk! Please keep those wonderful, real food recipes coming and stop pandering to every new trend and movement. Most of those people truly are impossible to please anyway!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Do your research on soy before you go around talking head about stuff that Asian people have been eating for pretty much forever.
As an Asian vegan, I eat mostly plants. I will tell you that tons of meat substitutes are “wholesome”. We’re not people who just sit around eating chemicals and styrofoam. My body isn’t a garbage can.
Do you research before continuing to spread misinformation that’s, again, deeply rooted in anti-Asian sentiment. You probably think MSG is bad for you too. 🤔
Hey, I’m a long time supporter of Michelle and Hummingbird High. I personally found this comment coming in a bit hot here.
It’s only fair not to make assumption of strangers you don’t know on the internet. We’re all human and people have different body reactions to many different food. You don’t know what they have been through or if they’re struggling with severe reactions.
Think about it this way, peanut is generally labeled as “safe” but it can also be fatal. Peanuts allergies are no jokes.
Let’s keep this community supportive and open minded. I’m on the same boat as Monique here. Just be yourself and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Since you’re asking for study and research:
Soy – https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/soy/
MSG – https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/8846733/Sing05.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Jan, I’m assuming your comment about not liking soy and meat substitutes being rooted in anti-Asian sentiment was aimed at me. If you do, in fact, do your research you will find that virtually all corn and soy grown in the US is a GMO crop. Meat substitutes like the impossible burger are in fact full of GMO soy. No disinformation there. I also assume that traditional soy grown in Asia is a whole different animal and is very good for you, which is why places like Okinawa are blue zones. What I STRONGLY object to is people like you who take any little comment personally, slap a label on it like ‘anti-Asian’, ‘anti-this’, ‘anti-that’, and generally impose their easily-offended, miserable outlook on life on the rest of us.
Hi! I’m going to try this again. Please look up non-gmo soybeans. They exist. I know because I have a bag and make my own tofu when I run out and can’t get groceries that same day.
An Asian person speaking out against microagressions is completely valid. Saying “yuk” against something that clearly has a bad reputation because of what’s essentially a racist myth is offensive and trying to silence someone who brings it up isn’t cool. Yes, I’m definitely “easily offended” at things that are actually offensive. Tofu is made out of soy. Everyone I know eats tofu, vegan or not. And honestly it’s weird to go on an Asian person’s blog and try to spread misinformation about soy like that.
The fact that you think someone has a “miserable outlook on life” because they bring up something that IS offensive speaks volumes. No one can help you there.
And for the “fellow asian who isn’t vegan”, thanks for posting those links. I share the first one regularly but the second one, I stopped because it’s almost 20 years old. It is a great paper though. I was in Monique’s boat as well until the “yuk” comment. Everything else you said is stuff I already agree with and obviously goes without saying, like that peanut example. I have friends with real allergies and real intolerances and they suffer. But someone saying “yuck” against wheat is a little different someone saying “yuck” against soy. And I think it’s a little weird to ignore that.
Have a good night!
Jan, can you even HEAR yourself!? Ha ha haaa! Obviously I’m not going to take this any further but I’m tempted to publicly say I don’t like Brussels sprouts, just to see who I offend with that statement. Crazy world, people, crazy world.
I came here to say that I agree with you on the front of vegan baking being REALLY difficult! Some people can make it work, but as someone who bakes a lot, I’ve had a lot of trouble. (Thankfully, my housemate is no longer vegan, so I am free of this for now, lol.)
Anyways: I LOVE the updated comment section! It’s so streamlined and smart!
Ah I love this round up and your frankness so much! Your recipes are my go-tos because of how meticulous you are in testing and developing them. My husband who doesn’t ever cook or bake will ask for recipe from Weeknight Baking Book by name. Your work is thoughtful and beautiful.
If it helps, pretty much every baking blogger and cookbook writer I have spoken to (especially some super big names) struggle with people not making their recipes as written and then leaving weird reviews about it.
Personally I tend to tweak the size of cookies because I prefer smaller cookies but if I find them overbaked it is on me for changing that!
Hugs to you!
I love this post. I completely understand your thoughts, you work hard developing a recipe and then get a million and one questions about changes and substitutions. I’ve always thought when I read people comments like that, “why not look online for a substitution” yourself? Because obviously if they have allergies, etc they know what they can substitute. I personally love the comments where someone actually made the recipe, I like to know if they liked it, had a problem or issue. I love your recipes and have made many, never substituted anything and they all came out great. Have a great day and keep being you, you do not have to please everyone and thats is ok.
This was a really refreshing read – thank you! I agree with much of what you say about recipe comments and substitutions. I also appreciate that you are staying true to your preferences and approach by not getting caught up in the vegan/gluten free baking craze.
What a great, refreshing, and eloquently transparent post!
I have celiac disease. Before I was diagnosed – in 2015 or so – I poked fun at my friends who were going gluten free for “health benefits”. Guess what friends?! You are spending way more money to buy crackers that are worse for you because of the extra fats needed for moisture and flavor! (Ok, I don’t know exactly what is added or why…) I also poked fun at my non-gluten sensitive GF friends because why would you give up so many delicious, wonderful foods and treats if you didn’t have to?! I vowed that I would be faithful and loyal to gluten until the end of time. And then, I got really sick. Like super scary sick. Fast forward to 2015 and I finally received a diagnosis, celiac, stage 4, complete atrophy. Over the past 5 years, I’ve convinced myself I could have a bite of a friend’s donut, a forkful of cake at a wedding, or a nibble of a fresh cinnamon roll. Nope. Not worth it. A moment of pleasure is not worth days of complete misery.
But I digress.
I have to be GF. I don’t want to be. If you want to be GF and vegan, more power to you. But do your own experimenting! A recipe developer will include a note on substitutions if they have tried those alternatives. Stop asking how to make a recipe GF and vegan! You’re giving the not-by-choice GFs a bad name. Bring on the dairy. Shoot, bring on the gluten! I’ll figure out how to omit it. That’s not your job. If you find a recipe for a blueberry muffin but you want to substitute blueberries with bananas and walnuts, why not just look for a banana walnut muffin recipe?
I gather recipes from a lot of GF baking blogs, have a small collection of gf baking books. But I also bake a lot from Weeknight Baking, 100 Cookies, Dorie’s, etc. By using your book and other non-gf books, it’s forced me to experiment with so many different alternative flours (just made brown butter toffee choc chip with a coconut, almond, hazelnut blend & omg yum!) and flour blends. I’ve grown as a baker and it allows me to feel somewhat normal. So, thank you for all that you do. Thank you for spending the time and money into alternative baking last month. and thank you for not turning into a gf vegan blog.