These are heady times for vegan bakers, who are shedding their reputation as makers of tasteless, hockey-puck pastries.

Vegan bakers—who eschew milk, eggs, butter, and honey—took first-place honors twice on the Food Network's "Cupcake Wars" television series. A vegan bakery recently opened at Walt Disney World. Vegan bakeries have evolved into fast-growing businesses, racking up sales of moist flax-seed cakes, soy-butter cookies and fudgy brownies (one secret: adzuki beans).

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