Dark Souls and doughnuts – what video games taught me about vegan cookery

Whether you're fighting mythical creatures or baking egg- and dairy-free cakes, there is pleasure to be found in imposing constraints

I'm a level one gal in a level 12 world, but I'm scraping by. I time my dodges carefully, angling just right to catch the boss as he lunges where I'm no longer standing. Then I jump back, down an estus flask and restore my health, staying a whisker out of reach. But this time I've miscalculated. I'm not quite far enough away. The game forces me to watch as my outmatched, under-levelled character meets the business end of an axe in a frustratingly long cinematic sequence.

"YOU DIED," the screen glares.