Fortunately for vegetarians, most desserts already are suitable for their diets. Ice cream, cake, pie, cookies, and most sweet pastries are made without the use of meat, poultry or fish. These dishes are made primarily with flour, eggs, milk, sugar, fruits, and candies, all of which are acceptable within the parameters of a vegetarian diet. Therefore, vegetarian dessert is rather easy to come by.
The only desserts that vegetarians usually have to be wary of are those made with gelatin. Gelatin, which is used to make Jell-O® and other desserts, is made from the bones, tendons, and skin of animals. For this reason, gelatin is not suitable for vegetarians. There are a number of vegetable-based products that can be used to substitute gelatin. Agar-agar, for example, is a product made from seaweed that can be used as a substitute for gelatin.
Gelatin is also sometimes used as a thickening agent in dairy products such as sour cream. Although sour cream made without gelatin is acceptable for consumption by vegetarians, sour cream thickened with gelatin is not. Some baked goods such as cakes and pies call for sour cream; therefore, in order these treats to be made in a manner that is suitable for vegetarians, they must be made with sour cream that does not contain any gelatin.
Many traditional recipes for pie crust call for lard, which is rendered animal fat. Any product made with lard is not suitable for vegetarians. In order to make a pie as a vegetarian dessert, the recipes must be altered so that they are made without this ingredient. As lard is less commonly used than it used to be, this is usually not difficult for anyone trying to bake a pie for a vegetarian dessert.
It is important to note that many desserts that are suitable for vegetarians are not suitable for vegans. This is because vegans are restricted to foods made without any sort of animals products, including dairy. Some vegans even refrain from consuming honey as it is a product that comes from bees. While ice cream and chocolate cake made with dairy products are just fine for vegetarians to eat, they can not be consumed by vegans.
There is one kind of vegetarian dessert that is also almost always suitable for vegans. This dessert is sorbet. Sorbet is usually made simply with fruit, sugar, and water. This vegetarian dessert is completely free of any kind of animal product which means that it can also be considered a vegan dessert.
