Dairy Free Pastry Cream, otherwise known as Crème Pâtissière is a sticky sweet custard filling for eclairs, profiteroles, doughnuts, cakes and any other patisserie or bake you care to make! It's made with just eggs, dairy free milk, sugar and flour, which gives a lusciously silky sweet sauce to create a sweet treat or dessert for your friends and family.

Dairy Free Pastry Cream (Crème Pâtissière)

Gavin Wren Baking, Basic Ingredients, Dairy free baking, Recipes, Sauces

I’m tackling a patisserie basic today, luscious crème pâtissière, that thick, sweet, yellow cream found in the most amazing patisseries treats and tarts. This version here has undergone a lactose free tweak, making a dairy free pastry cream that everyone can enjoy.

“Krem pat”

Don’t worry, I’ve not adopted a peculiar language or speaking in tongues. It’s how I first heard crème pâtissière referred to during a croissant making workshop. The instructor was demonstrating other uses for the lovely, flaky, layered, enriched dough, working through pain au chocolat, before mentioning we could make pain au raisin.

He suddenly shouted across the kitchen to his assistant “Can I use some of your krem pat?”. She said “sure! It’s in the walk-in”. As I blankly wondered what the hell this krem pat was, he went on to explain crème pâtissière, or pastry cream as it’s also known.

I love…come and read more…

Ice cold and ready for summer, this dairy free banana milkshake with peanut butter is also vegan, perfect for a hot day and anyone's diet, it's a summer drink that will keep you cool and your tastebuds tantalised. Made with any non-dairy milk, frozen banana, a smattering of peanut butter and topped with crushed pecans, it's even more delicious than it looks.

Dairy Free Banana Milkshake with Peanut Butter, Shame and Sharing Life Experiences

Gavin Wren Dairy free baking, Drinks, Vegan

What’s more important in life? Honest, open connection to other people or a dairy free banana milkshake recipe mixed with peanut butter and topped with pecans? The answer lies in their similarities, as you’ll see…

I’m lost. Really, I don’t know what I’m doing. I hit two hundred blog posts just over a month ago, I’m about to hit three years of blogging and I’m reaching a creative hiatus. I promised myself at the beginning that blogging will be what I want it to be. I swore never to cling to a certain subject or style, simply because that’s what I did last week; it’s the creative freedom which brought me to blogging, so creative freedom is what I must defend if I’m to continue to thrive in my blogging.

To be frank, I enjoy writing about life the most. Food may feature, because there is something utterly compelling about… come and read more…

What's the best milk to make dairy free porridge with? I've tried them all, in this blog post I explain the findings, as well as the recipe for the thickest, creamiest, dairy free porridge made with jumbo oats and topped with beautifully spiced apples and pears for a breakfast that's gonna keep you going all day.

The Best Spiced Apple and Pear Dairy Free Porridge

Gavin Wren Breakfast, Recipes

Today I’m writing about how to make the best dairy free porridge, topped with delicious spiced apples and pears and drizzled with a sweetener of your choice, or none at all, which makes this a no added sugar recipe. It’s the perfect bowl of hot wholesome goodness for your morning’s chow during this cold snap. Brrrrrrrrrrr. It’s cold. Really cold. Every morning I sit patiently in my car and watch the heating create a lozenge …

Stop Food Intolerance

The Future of Wellness & Food Intolerance

Gavin Wren Food Opinion Pieces, Writing

It’s an incredibly unique thing, our current obsession with food intolerance. The world has experienced vast swathes of intolerances in history, normally towards large groups of other people. Today, there’s a swelling mass of people claiming that certain foods don’t make them feel very good. Often backed up with little or no scientific data, these people are changing the course of food in our country and reshaping the profile of products on the shelves in …

This salted dark chocolate peanut butter sauce is a rich, decadent, dairy free sauce that makes a sumptuous topping for desserts, sweets, cakes and ice creams. Featuring no refined sugar it’s made using 70% dark chocolate, plain peanut butter, salt, agave syrup and almond milk so perfect for those leading a sugar free or dairy free diet.

Salted Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Sauce – Dairy Free

Gavin Wren Baking, Dairy free baking, Desserts, No Added Sugar, Recipes, Spreads & Dips, Vegan

Today’s recipe is a fuck-me-that’s-good (sorry mum) salted dark chocolate peanut butter sauce which could easily tempt you into eating the entire bowl with a spoon before it gets to the table. Glossy, silky dark chocolate mixed with peanut butter and a hint of salt to offset the sweetness makes for an unapologetically decadent dairy free sauce. Make as much as you desire, just don’t expect there to be any leftovers. Crowd Pleaser. Everything I …

If you're looking for a wheat alternative pancake recipe, try these 'shrove Tuesday special’ white spelt pancakes (or crepes) which are simple and dairy free, using oat milk or any other dairy free milk and are perfect slathered with maple syrup or lemon juice and sugar.

Spelt Pancakes – Dairy Free – Video Recipe

Gavin Wren Dairy free baking, Desserts, Recipes, Spelt & ancient grains

So, how was that spelt? I seem to have developed a decidedly healthy infatuation, something which flashed through my consciousness like a crisp spring morning and makes a welcome change from trying to un-develop decidedly unhealthy infatuations, yes, I’m looking at you 81% cocoa dark chocolate. I realised just last week, as though it were hidden in plain sight, that every. single. time. I’ve used flour on this blog, it’s been spelt. That’s 18 months …