SAN ANTONIO - Doughnuts don't have to be made with eggs, milk or traditional butter to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Cake Thieves bakery is working to bring the vegan lifestyle into the mainstream. Those who eat a vegan diet don't consume food made with animal products.
“Our slogan is 'we make vegan things that don’t taste vegan, because that would be gross.' It’s a sarcastic, yet playful, jab at the thought that vegan stuff doesn’t taste good," Cake Thieves founder Lauren O'Connor said.
O'Connor first started the business six years ago when she was living in Brooklyn, New York. When she moved to San Antonio about a year and a half ago, she continued Cake Thieves.
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"About eight years ago, I became vegan after watching a couple of documentaries on the meat industry and the dairy industry," she said.
Along with Cake Thieves co-owner Kia Geronimo, the two make dozens of vegan doughnuts and other pies and pastries daily.
“All it really is that we replaced the eggs, the butter and the dairy in it. There are vegan versions of all of those. There’s vegan butter, there’s almond milk and there's egg replacements. We just use all of that in our baking," O'Connor said.
Cake Thieves' products are available at local coffee shops, including Mila Coffee on Broadway Street Monday-Sunday, White Elephant Coffee Company Monday-Sunday and Larder at the Hotel Emma on the weekends.
They expect to start selling at Rise Up Beverages on Broadway in the near future, and you can also place orders with Cake Thieves.
"It’s just word of mouth, basically. People follow us on Instagram. I think people have a misconception that a lot of vegan things taste bland, like they don’t have any flavoring, but you would be surprised," Geronimo said.
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Cake Thieves hopes to eventually open a vegan diner, complete with other traditional diner food like pancakes and burgers.
"I would encourage people to try it, because it tastes just like the alternative product. There’s less guilt involved, and it’s delicious," O'Connor said.