Celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with Annie’s T Cakes!
Let’s talk about Annie’s T Cakes! This AAPI woman-owned bakery ships vegan mooncakes across California, and here’s why these pastries are so significant.
Annie Wang of Annie’s T Cakes
After struggling to find vegan renditions of classic Asian snacks, Annie Wang set out to make her own. And in January of 2021, Annie’s T Cakes was born! The Oakland-based home bakery now possesses a huge fanbase and several impressive collaborations. For example, Annie’s T Cakes teamed up with A24 to bake custom vegan cookies for the Everything Everywhere All At Once premiere.
Founder Annie Wang and family making cookies Photo courtesy of Annie's T Cakes
Vegan Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival
Annie’s T Cakes specializes in plant-based East Asian baked goods like Taiwanese Pineapple Cake, Almond Cookies, and Tangyuan. But their most buzzworthy offering is Vegan Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival! The Chinese pastries are traditionally made with salted duck egg yolks, which makes Annie’s T Cakes’ rendition that much more impressive!
“Mooncakes were one of the foods I ate with my family growing up to celebrate special occasions. There are so many different styles and flavors and it's something I grew up with very fond memories of. But once I became vegan, I could no longer share in that tradition with my loved ones anymore. I made this and other mooncakes so that folks like myself, [who] grew up sharing these traditional desserts with loved ones on special occasions, could once again participate in making cherished food memories as they used to,” Wang told VegOut.
Vegan Salted Egg Yolk Mooncake
The Lotus Paste Mooncake with a Vegan Salted Egg Yolk is Annie’s T Cakes’ most customary flavor. But the bakery also offers the following varieties: Red Bean with a Vegan Salted Egg Yolk, Jasmine Tea with Candied Lemon, Black Sesame with White Chocolate Chips, Matcha with Candied Strawberry, and Hojicha with White Chocolate Chips.
Now, you’re probably wondering about the vegan salted egg yolk, huh? When asked what it’s made of, Wang said, “My goal was to make it as allergy-friendly as possible. Instead of using cashews as a base, I opted for potatoes! The rest of the process I'll leave up to the reader's imagination.”
Annie’s T Cakes Ships Across California
Although the bakery is based in Oakland, Annie’s T Cakes ships across California! So whether you or a loved one live in the Golden State, this is your sign to support this AAPI woman-owned business! Customers can pre-order vegan mooncakes online from August 1 to September 22 for local pickup or state-wide delivery. Options include single mini or full mooncakes for $5 and $9 respectively, as well as gift boxes of four to six flavors for $38 and $58 respectively.
When asked what she hopes to achieve through Annie’s T Cakes, Wang said, “Before working in the food space and food tech, I worked in environmental policy and nonprofits. There is a lot of opportunity to positively shift the climate through the food space. I hope to be able to both positively impact the climate while also creating more diversity of flavors and leadership in the food space.”
Lotus Paste with Vegan Salted Egg Yolk Mooncake Courtesy of Annie's T Cakes
For more information, visit AnniesTCakes.com.
