World Vegan News - December 15 2006
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Suzan J. Seymour of the Florence section of Northampton got the idea of having a vegan wedding cake - a cake that includes no animal products, not even milk or eggs - after she and her partner attended a friend's party.
The host's husband was allergic to dairy products, says Seymour, so the spread included several "delicious chocolate cakes" from Oh Sweet Mama's Vegan Bakery in Florence.
That's how the non-vegetarian Seymour wound up calling Megan P. Shackelford, owner of Oh Sweet Mama's. The result: a three-tiered wedding cake that Seymour says was a hit with the 150 wedding guests.
Shackelford, a Florence resident, founded Oh Sweet Mama's three years ago. She now sells her products at Cafe Evolution in Florence, as well as at Cornucopia Foods, State Street Market and Elbow Room in downtown Northampton.
Shackelford says she grew up baking with her mom in Rochester, N.Y., and became a vegetarian at age 17, after reading "Animal Liberation," by the Australian philosopher Peter Singer.
The 1975 book is considered one of the seminal works in the animal rights movement. Singer, a professor at Princeton University in New Jersey, is also co-author of "The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter."
"Why are there never any really good vegan things around here?" she groused.
She decided she'd have to make them herself. And she did. Customer Seymour says guests at her wedding commented on the flavor and moistness of the triple-decker cake - and were surprised to learn it was vegan.
Shackelford has about 30 baked goods in her repertoire, including such delicacies as chocolate chip potato chip cookies, peanut butter krispies, pumpkin spice muffins, chocolate cupcakes with a variety of "creamy" frostings (her most popular item), apple walnut scones, orange cakes, chocolate-dipped almond biscotti and a chocolate cheesecake.
The University of Massachusetts graduate had to experiment before coming up with flavors that were just right. "You have to try a lot of different recipes," she says. "You may need a little more of sweetener here, a little more salt there."
Reference: Pat Cahill
