When a workmate told me that you can make meringues out of the water from a can of chickpeas (called aquafaba) I looked at her like she was loopy. Then she handed me one, and I've been a convert ever since.
For all my fellow kind eaters who love experimenting with egg-free baking, this is going to blow your mind. The water that comes out of a can of chickpeas (and other beans) whips up just like egg whites and has ENDLESS uses. Here's some of the best aquafaba recipes I've discovered so far.
Image and recipe thanks to SBS/China Squirrel.
It's literally just aquafaba and sugar beaten with an electric mixer. And it comes out of the oven looking like this! Trust me, just try it.
Image and recipe thanks to Why Veg.
This has always been a family favourite over Christmas time and now it's back on the table for me thanks to aquafaba :)
Image and recipe thanks to Crazy Vegan Kitchen.
Are you drooling yet? Get this incredible recipe here.
Image and recipe thanks to The Vegan Cookie Fairy.
Delicious, cruelty-free chocolate mousse and it only has 3 ingredients!
Image and recipe thanks to The Gentle Chef.
Lemon: good; meringue: good; pie: good. This recipe is SO good.
Image and recipe thanks (again) to Crazy Vegan Kitchen.
Because one macaron recipe just isn't enough.
Image and recipe thanks to Avocados and Ales.
Melty vegan cheese made from the leftover chickpea water -- does it get any better than this?
Image and recipe thanks to Marfigs' Munchies.
To answer my own question, yes it does get better. Between the tahini and aquafaba you could almost convince yourself that you're eating salad. (#health). But it's so not salad. It's very much icecream. Creamy, sweet, delicious icecream.
Image and recipe thanks to Coconut Craze.
It appears aquafaba can be whipped up into a yummy egg-free mayonnaise too. Is there anything this stuff can't do?
To answer my own question again, not really. It can pretty much do everything. If you're ready to join the aquafaba cult (it's a real thing) there's a Facebook group dedicated to aquafaba successes and failures. Join in here.
The best bit about this amazing discovery is that it's tapped into a world of possibilities for vegan baking. If I asked you what the essential ingredient to a good baked treat was I reckon that with a little twist of the arm you'd give me this answer -- sweetness. And for me that sweetness not only refers to sugar and spice and all things nice but to sweetness to hens and calves and all those who share this planet with us.
For every cage egg used in baking there is a hen suffering in darkness -- confined and stressed in a grim wire cage. For every hen in any laying system (be it free range, organic or otherwise) there is a male chick who was killed in the first days of his life because he couldn't lay eggs. The story for dairy cows and their calves is just as dark. (Find out the sad truth about dairy.)
Thanks to the magic of aquafaba we have another ingredient for a super easy recipe to ending animal cruelty and celebrating sweetness -- which is what good baking is all about :)
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