Previous series of The Great British Bake Off have featured "free from" weeks, in which the bakers have been asked to create delicious desserts without sugar, gluten or dairy – but never before has there been a full Vegan Week, until now...

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But the big question: how do you make vegan bakes just as tasty as regular ones without crucial ingredients such as butter, eggs and milk – especially when they feature technical elements like meringues?

Some of the unusual methods might surprise you...

Check out our top vegan baking recipes below, courtesy of BBC Good Food and olive magazine.

Meringues

Olive’s coconut and berries meringue recipe

It sounds mad, but it does work, believe us! The brine from a tin of chickpeas (aka aquafaba) takes over from eggs in this meringue recipe

Good Food’s classic meringues

Whip up some crunchy meringues for a showstopping summer dessert with another recipe using chickpea water in place of eggs

Vegan meringues

Savoury tarts

Good Food’s beetroot and red onion tarte tatin

Bake this for the wow factor at a dinner party. The bold red of beetroot against the green salad also makes it ideal for a meat-free Christmas Day

BEETROOT_TART_TATIN

Olive’s vegan pastry for vegan tart

Check out this vibrant tomato tart with vegan olive-oil pastry. Olive oil pastry can be a bit crumbly to work with but just patch up any holes with extra pastry

Cakes and desserts

Good Food’s vegan cupcakes with banana and peanut butter

Employ some clever tricks to achieve a dairy-free bake: egg-free mayonnaise, almond milk and margarine fit the bill

Olive’s tahini, cardamom and date cinnamon rolls

Tahini, cardamom and dates give these easy cinnamon rolls a lovely creamy twist. Bake for a weekend breakfast or for a great mid-morning snack. Recipe taken from the book Cook for Syria

Good Food’s vegan lemon cake

Try baking a vegan version of lemon cake. Light and zingy, it also works well if you replace the flour and baking powder with gluten-free alternatives

Lemon Cake

Olive’s vegan banana bread

This moist vegan banana bread is super moreish and easy to make, it goes perfectly with your morning tea

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Good Food’s easy vegan chocolate cake

This indulgent, fudgy vegan bake is topped with a rich frosting – you'd never guess that it's free from dairy, eggs, wheat and nuts

Vegan chocolate cake

Authors

Paul Jones, RadioTimes.com
Paul JonesExecutive Editor, RadioTimes.com
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