SF's best vegan treats

July 6, 11:01 PMSF Bakery ExaminerLindsey Danis

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Maggie Mudd vegan sundae. image by jordanpattern.

There are vegan baked goods all over San Francisco, sure, but anyone who has tried a fair amount of them know that most are unsatisfying and merely okay. The five vegan options listed below will delight vegans and non-vegans alike. Only two of these vendors has as actual bakery or store; the rest rely on farmers' market and wholesale sales, so be sure to keep them in mind for birthdays, dinner parties, weddings and the like, and support the vendors at your local farmers markets or at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, where you can find these guys:

1. Scream sorbet
Scream uses Paco Jet ice cream machines to shred frozen nut milks and grind fresh fruits into fluffy, fruit-forward sorbets. Scream is available at the Thursday morning Ferry Plaza Farm Market, Thursday Marin Civic Center market, Sunday Oakland markets (Temescal and Jack London square) and additional markets all over the Bay area. While flavors vary with the season, Scream is playful and imaginative: you might expect to find lemon rosemary, rhubarb, beet lemon, cashew caramel, watermelon or vanilla almond.
http://screamsorbet.com 1-888-932-5572

2. Core Elations nut milk shakes
With names like Shakti Shaker and Chai High, Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market visitors might be tempted to pass by Core Elations, shrugging it off as a hippie-feelgood enterprise (yeah, I'm guilty). These shakes are full of nut milks, fruit, berries and good-for-you supplements. They're delicious, sweet and filling, perfect for a snack or a late breakfast. Corey Pooley began a vegan sushi stand at the Santa Cruz farm market nine years ago and started making shakes and smoothies at some point along the way. The ingredients are 70% locally grown. Check with Corey or one of his workers at the Saturday market to find out where else Core Elations goods are available.

3. Maggie Mudd coconut milk ice cream
Maggie Mudd makes soy and coconut-based vegan ice creams. Its coconut-based confections are creamier, richer and have a greater depth of flavor. Maggie Mudd's best coconut ice creams don't mask the signature flavor too much. Sample flavors like lychee coconut, dubliner (coffee-coconut-oreo-whiskey), pina colada or coconut-run-chocolate. Maggie Mudd products are available in select grocery stores or at Maggie Mudd or Holy Gelato.
http://maggiemudd.com 903 Cortland Ave, 415-641-5291
http://holygelato.com 1392 9th Ave

4. Alive Restaurant desserts
Alive's raw seasonal cheesecake and flourless chocolate-coconut-banana cake are popular vegan sweets. The cheesecake is made from cashew cream and flavors vary with seasons but can include pumpkin, lavender pomegranate, candy cap and lemon. Alive even offers classes, so you can learn to prepare raw vegan desserts at home!
http://aliveveggie.com 1972 Lombard St 415-923-1052

5. Sugar Beat Sweets
Owner/vegan Melisser makes checks and double-checks the authenticity of every product she sources for Sugar Beat Sweets. SBS sells retro-chic dyed frosting cupcakes and cakes in flavors like german chocolate, peppermint patty, citrus dreamsicle and chocolate coconut. SBS does not have a store, but cupcakes are available for purchase by the dozen (minis for 4 dozen).
http://www.sugarbeatsweets.com 415-834-5950