Black Girl Baking isn’t an entirely vegan cookbook (although quite a few of the recipes are either vegan or have vegan variations), but I was tempted by the pictures I’d seen on Instagram so into my Amazon basket it went. And I wasn’t disappointed. Breaking away from traditional baking the recipes use a variety of flours, sweeteners, and even aquafaba to create a fantastic collection of baked treats.

I started with a chocolate cake. (Not an) Easy Bake Cake With Raspberry Glaze. It’s really easy to throw together the sponge. It’s made with whole wheat flour which makes me feel good about myself and it’s egg-free as-is and dairy-free with a simple substitution. The real star of the show is the glaze though. Made with real raspberries, it packs a very flavourful punch. I always say pink food tastes the best and it’s especially true when flavoured with real fruit.

For a savoury treat I made the Everything Chickpea Turmeric Crackers, which have the flour profile of a pakora mixed with an everything bagel. I like both of those things but even after eating a full batch of those crackers I couldn’t tell you if they work together. I kept thinking I’d made my mind up but then I’d take another bite.

These little guys are Kate’s favourite: Sticky Maple Mini Cakes. They’re made with with all the fanciest ingredients; dates, maple syrup, coconut milk, coconut oil. Basically it’s all the most expensive things in my cupboard. The texture is a little grainy but not in a bad way. The flavour though is incredible. Rich, caramely, and nutty. All of Kate’s favourite flavours.

That might be Kate’s favourite but the recipe that’s been added to our regular rotation is a little less sweet. Blistered Tomato Sheet Pizza is super simple. Just a good pizza crust and some beautiful blistered baby tomatoes. It transforms the meh cherry tomatoes of winter into a rich caramelised sauce and is now our favourite thing to do when we have cherry tomatoes hanging about.

I recommend you give this one a look. It might not be for you but between the pizza and the chocolate cake the price is justified for me.