Stephie bakes (terrible) vegan Mailänderli
13.12.2017
Translation: machine translated
Biscuits are the best thing at Christmas. I think the best Christmas biscuits are Mailänderli. Because I haven't baked them for a long time and find normal Mailänderli kind of boring, I'm baking vegan ones this year.
Why do I want to bake vegan Mailänderli? I've long since forgotten, probably because normal ones would be boring. Or because I was vegan for a while and never drink milk. But it was probably because everyone makes the normal ones after all!
It can't be that difficult to find a vegan recipe these days with the help of the internet.
What ingredients are normally in a Milanese?
- Butter
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Salt
- Flour
- Lemon zest
Thus, only the butter and eggs would need to be replaced
Research and shopping
I sit down and start googling. There are lots of recipes for vegan Mailänderli. They all contain soya cream. One Saturday, I get going and buy everything I need for my Christmas baking miracle.
The first baking attempt
I approach this recipe with great enthusiasm. I make a lot of dough. I like Mailänderli and want to be able to give them as gifts without ending up without any myself.
I'm sweating and swearing in my kitchen because I have to knead everything by hand. Although I'm always running around with heavy camera equipment, my arm muscles find it quite strenuous. But I can do it! Biscuits in the oven, Stephie has a 12-minute break. Good.
After 15 minutes, I realise that I forgot to set an alarm clock and take the slightly too dark Mailänderli out of the hot oven. Oops!!! They still look great! I'm delighted and try them out straight away.
Phew. They turned out boring biscuits. Tasteless - terrible! - Ned okay!
Maybe it's because I used pre-packed lemon zest instead of fresh lemon zest. I don't know. The biscuits are too crunchy, tasteless and I don't like them.
Sh**t, what am I going to do with all this dough? Never mind. That's another topic now.
I'm still convinced that vegan Mailänderli can taste good too. I just need to find the right substitute for the egg.
I'm not giving in that easily!
Google, my friend and helper, is actively supporting me.
I find the answers I'm looking for on Springlane. There are lots of different and quirky ways to replace an egg. The most appealing, however, is silken tofu. It sounds weird - yes, but I still like the idea of the gooey stuff in my biscuit! But what exactly is silken tofu anyway?
The second attempt - Googled, bought, tested!
I am convinced that I have found the right replacement for my eggs and write down my recipe:
- 750 g margarine
- 150 g silken tofu
- 675 g sugar
- 3 pinches of salt
- 1.5 kg flour
- Zest of 3 lemons
For the icing:
- 200 ml soya cream per tray
- 1 tsp icing sugar
- Turmeric (to taste)
Bam! That sounds good! I'm proud that I'm making this on my own! Much cooler than trying a recipe from the internet.
But this time I'm getting help in the kitchen! I need a KitchenAid (finally a good reason to get one of these things.
My new KitchenAid is actively helping out and powdering me and my kitchen with flour.
I'm probably doing something wrong, I haven't looked at the operating instructions. And: Plitsch! The dough hook has taken on a life of its own and falls off. Huh?
I've probably done something wrong. I probably should have bought a different pot too. But no matter! I'll fight my way through! Baking really can't be that difficult, can it?
After the dough looks like dough, I roll it out. Cutting out is fun! I try out lots of different cookie cutters with enthusiasm. I really like the unicorn. It looks pretty, but I realise that the simpler shapes are the best. I don't like thin pieces, they are sure to get too dark in the oven. Nevertheless, I'll give the stork a try.
Finally, the first tray goes into the oven preheated to 200 degrees. After 16 minutes, instead of the usual 12 minutes, the first tray is done.
Oops - my first tray looks like my Milanese pastries have acne and jaundice.
I let my KitchenAid knead the dough again and am already a little happier with my second tray.
I still don't like the colour. Neon yellow. Terrible! And they're too crisp for me too. I'm testing them out on my colleagues at work.
Digital Media Manager Sandro Hostettler thinks they're good: "They've been in the oven for a while, but they taste good." Senior Editor Raphael Knecht also has nothing to complain about apart from the colour.
I think they taste great too! But I'm not happy with the consistency. But why do my Mailänderli sometimes look so acne-like? What am I doing wrong? What else could I use as a good egg substitute? What would improve the consistency? I'm stumped.
I always got a grade 4 in my home economics lessons because I wasn't interested in what my teacher, Mrs Hächler, told me. I didn't like cooking and baking for a long time and only discovered it for myself a few years ago. Nevertheless, I have a lot of catching up to do. I definitely need baking lessons! So that's not how it goes!
Off to the baker!
Stephanie Tresch
Video Producer
stephanie.tresch@digitecgalaxus.chMy world moves in 25 frames per second. As a journalist, I report – not because I can, but because I can’t help myself. After all, the world is full of stories that are waiting to be told. Adventures don't wait. From national to international news, hand me a camera and a mic and I've got it covered.
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