Veg-Jing Out: Your weekly guide to a guilt-free lifestyle in the capital.
Despite the fact that plant-based meals have largely earned their rightful place in the mainstream dining scene, vegan and gluten-free desserts still face a fair amount of skepticism at best and outright derision at worst. Maybe it’s because decadent, indulgent treats rely so heavily on ingredients such as eggs, butter, and cream, or maybe it’s simply the fact that disrupting long-held dietary norms requires baby steps before they can be fully normalized. Whatever the reason, the idea that confections devoid of animal products are somehow less than is flat out wrong. Just ask Gorana Rudan and Neda Stevanovic, the sweet teeth behind Cake Republic, a vegan and gluten-free bakery based in Beijing. We caught up with Rudan to find out more about plant-based desserts and what it’s like running a small bakery in China.