It would be impossible for me to overstate how much I admire Philip Khoury. I may not be vegan, but I thrill to his plant-based baking books. Yes, I often do want to bake for friends who are vegan but, as someone interested in baking yet with no technical proficiency of my own to draw on, I learn so much from him. But I think what I find so particularly captivating is his intellectual curiosity – and this is matched by his technical rigour and exquisite palate. I don’t know him except through his writing, but he seems such a lovely soul, and it’s this that makes his meticulousness and attention to detail feel so calming and kind; they, in turn, make his recipes confidence-boastingly easy to follow.
I’m ashamed that his first book, A New Way to Bake, isn’t on CookbookCorner, and recommend it unreservedly as a novice-friendly introduction to plant-based baking, so I'm delighted to welcome this inspiring follow-up, a creative flowering of its own. “This book”, as he writes in his introduction, “isn’t about making substitutes or tiptoeing around tradition. It’s about rethinking what’s possible and unlocking new ways to create flavour, texture and indulgence by using what we’ve had in our pantries all along.” This, for me, is crucial: so many plant-based cakes and bakes are stuffed with spooky stuff; there’s nothing artificial in Khoury’s recipes.
Talking of recipes, it really is about time I let you know what some of them are! It’s hard to pick out just a few, really, but I’ll do my best. For a start, there’s pretty much anything you need to know about plant-based patisserie, the dough itself, the lamination, and the wherewithal to make croissants, doughnuts, buns and brioche or, rather, Vrioche. I have to pick out the Chocolate-glazed Cream Buns; then there are Orange and Maple Spiced Biscuits; Stuffed Almond Croissant Cookies; Pistachio and Matcha Loaf Cake; Tarte Tropézienne, a particular favourite of mine; Pistachio Yule Log; Perfect Peach Pie; Anzac Muscovado Custard Pie; Chocolate Mousse Three Ways, including his famous two-ingredient one! And there is a chapter on savoury baking, from which the Courgette Galette and Cheesy Sun Buns are especially calling to me! And the recipe I’m sharing with you today is his gorgeously gooey Peanut Butter Choc Chip Cookies. I made a batch yesterday and they’re nearly all gone already!
Extracted from Beyond Baking, Philip Khoury (Quadrille, £30.00).
Photography by Matt Russell.
