I'm already gotten comfortable with dairy-free baking since there are a number of dairy-free people in my life. It's really not that difficult. Problem is, most of my dairy substitutions involve soy: soy milk, soy yogurt, Earth Balance Buttery Spread, and tofu. I've switched to almond milk and seen coconut yogurt but haven't tried it. Oil and lard can be used as butter substitutes but behave quite differently. I've heard of margarine without soy but couldn't find it**. So I decided to try coconut oil. (Still haven't come up with a tofu substitute)
Coconut oil is solid to something like 75-80°F and is supposed to work more like butter than other oils. The flavor also shouldn't be noticeable in most baked goods; it wasn't noticeable in this.
There was a lot of roasted butternut squash in the fridge and I wanted something with a fudge/brownie texture, not a cake texture. The spices were chosen to let the butternut taste like butternut, not pumpkin. It's not too sweet and works as either dessert or breakfast. The flavor develops and is even better the next day.
Fudgy Butternut "Brownies"
190 g flour (about 1-1/2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon star anise
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg74 g coconut oil (about 1/3 cup)
150 g brown sugar (about 3/4 cup)
42 g honey (about 2 Tablespoons)
2 large eggs
425 g butternut squash puree (15 ounces, about 1-3/4 cups)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9" square pan.
In a bowl, whisk together flour and spices. In a separate large bowl, cream together coconut oil and sugar. Beat in honey. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in butternut squash puree. Stir in flour mixture just until combined. Spread in prepared pan.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until tester comes out mostly clean. Cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely.
* soy lecithin and soybean oil are okay
** just found stick margarine without forbidden soy
