Who Needs Butter?
Dallas annual vegan bake sale returns to Beauty Bar
Delicious pastries can be made without butter or eggs.Photo by Sylvia Elfazon
Some attendees bake, some buy.Photo by Sylvia Elfazon
On May 2, Dallas' annual Vegan Bake Sale returns to the back patio of Beauty Bar on Henderson Avenue. Dozens of Dallas bakers will turn out vegan renditions of cakes, cookies, pies and a few savories too.
The bake sale is part of an annual campaign of vegan bake sales held around the world — from Brazil to Canada to Germany to Ireland — and in major cities around the United States. They ramp up in mid-April; the peak usually occurs on the last week of April.
The overall goal is to promote cruelty-free food, and more specifically that it is possible to make vegan versions – i.e., no animal products – of pastries and sweets. Most recipes for cookies, cakes and pies use butter, eggs and dairy to achieve the flavors and textures that people find familiar and comforting. But Dallas has a sizable community of skilled vegan bakers who show up every year with delicious offerings.
Organizer Jade Degrio launched the Dallas chapter in 2009 when it was held at Transit Bikes. It moved to Beauty Bar the following year. Participants for this year's event have already begun posting preview photos on the event's Facebook page, including almond-butter cookies; strawberry pop tarts; chocolate-pudding-pecan pie; asparagus-and-mushroom tart; assorted cupcakes from Cupcakes on Demand; and vol au vents filled with a cream cheese-dill-chive filling and topped with jalapeno and soyrizo.
Proceeds from each bake sale are benchmarked for a charity or nonprofit organization. In Dallas, the recipient is Resource Center Dallas, which Degrio told DallasVegan.com that she selected because of the current focus on the Human Rights Campaign.
The bake sale will take place at Beauty Bar on Henderson Ave from 12-4 pm. The sale is cash-only; items range from $2 for individual items to $5 and up for whole cakes/pies (suggested donation).
