Vegan Desserts: Sumptuous Sweets for Every Season

by Hannah Kaminsky

Who knew vegan baked goods could be so delicious? Featuring more than 100 simple but scrumptious recipes, Vegan Desserts offers alternatives to treats that are normally heavily laden with butter, eggs, and other animal products. With an emphasis on fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs, this is a cookbook that any dessert lover will enjoy. Kaminsky insists that fresh, local produce—at the peak of ripeness—offers incomparable flavors that cannot be replicated with any amount of sugar, salt, or any baking extracts. As a result, her creative recipes will appeal to health-conscious bakers (all recipes are low in cholesterol and many feature natural sweeteners and whole grains), though even the sweetest sweet tooths among us will be more than satisfied by these tantalizing treats.

From Luscious Lemon Mousse and Roasted Apricot Ice Cream to Black Velvet Cupcakes and Almond Chocolate Blossoms, readers will find exciting new desserts as well as 100 percent vegan versions of old favorites. Clear, precise directions guide readers through every step, and a mouthwatering photo accompanies each recipe. Golden Saffron Pound Cake, No-Bake Pumpkin Crème Brulee, Black Pearl Truffles, Chai Poached Pears, Apricot Frangipan Tart—this cookbook has something for every dessert lover.

Genres: Cookbooks, Vegan, Nonfiction, Cooking, Food, Vegetarian

256 pages, Hardcover

First published April 21, 2011

About the author

Hannah Kaminsky's love of desserts compelled her to start experimenting in the kitchen at a young age to create incredible, cruelty-free treats. Her blog, BitterSweetBlog.com, features creative crafts, delicious treats, and mouth-watering photography. She is currently working towards her BFA in photography.

Reviews

[Alecia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the colorful photos and organization by season of these recipes. There is a nice variety of dessert types and complexities too.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I made the coconut macaroons and the mojito sugar cookies for Christmas, and was very impressed by how they turned out. They were enjoyed by vegans and omnivores alike. There is a typo (I assume) near the beginning of the macaroon recipe, though: it mentions putting some tofu in a food processor, but there is no tofu in the recipe list and it is not mentioned again. I did make a few substitutions suggested by a review of the book and recipe on a blog (maple syrup), which worked perfectly. I believe both recipes called for a stand mixer or food processor, but I didn't find them necessary. Whisks and spatulas got the job done fine for me.

I also made two batches of cookies from Babycakes Covers the Classics, which turned out all right, but definitely not as good as the ones from Vegan Desserts. I appreciated that this book didn't want me to go out and buy a big bag of xanthan gum and whatnot for one or two recipes. Granted, the Babycakes book was gluten-free where this one is not, but I suspect it would be easier to adapt these recipes to be gluten-free than to acquire all the ingredients for the Babycakes recipes. I had some Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour on hand from one of the Babycakes recipes and substituted it for the regular all-purpose flour that was specified for the mojito sugar cookies. The cookies still came out very light and airy and looked just like the picture (aside from my less-than-perfect icing drizzle). I got these from the library, but I'm planning on buying Vegan Desserts myself so I can make more of the recipes for myself.

[Marathon County Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent source of delicious vegan desserts, for vegans and non-vegans alike! Recipes are separated into the four seasons and every one is beautifully illustrated, which makes preparing many recipes quite easy! Just like Kaminsky's other excellent vegan dessert resource, "Vegan a la Mode" (which everyone should check out as well), this collection of recipes is sure to capture any lover of desserts!

Sarah M. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

[Jeannie]

I borrowed this from the library, read through it, and fell in love with the ideas in it. Sadly, I had to return it before I could cook from it. I will rate once I purchase the book and cook some of the ideas in it.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great pics. I love a cookbook with what the finished product is supposed to look like! I will be trying many of these, and this is one that will go on my Christmas list as "must have" books in my cook-book library.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't made anything yet but I like that the recipes seem easy and use items that are most likely already in your pantry. Looking forward to actually testing a few of them.