My Sweet Vegan: Passionate About Dessert
by Hannah Kaminsky

I became aware of veganism not long ago. Ever since, I try to cook everyday dishes the vegan way, as much as I can. But making a dessert the vegan way is a bit tricky, if they are not fruit based. Pies, trifles, cheesecakes, are anything but vegan. Or so I thought until now. Hannah Kaminsky, has done an excellent job of delighting us with her vegan dessert collection, through her book - My Sweet Vegan.

To be honest, before leafing through the book, I was expecting just a humble set of recipes. But I was pleasantly surprised to see the ‘real deal’. Classic recipes like Crumb Topped Brownies, Autumn Harvest Pie; kids favorites like Peanut Butter Bombs, Oreo cookies and Crème Pound Cake; modern creations like Green Tea Tiramisu, Wasabi Chocolate Cupcakes; you name it, Hannah has it. A modern twist to the original recipes is what I like the most about this book. Each recipe is accompanied by a lovely picture, taken by Hannah herself. So you don’t have to guess whether the dish looks the way its supposed to be. To see whether the recipes are as good as they look like, I attempted to try a few.

I was drawn to this recipe as soon as I opened the book. Savory focaccia is all I have known so far. This sweet twist proved to be delicious. We gorged half as it is, while the other half (Hannah, you may want to close your ears) was baked into bread pudding. It was one of best puddings I ever had. The slightly sweet, fruit studded bread was perfect.

Combining island flavours of the drink Pina Colada, these delicate mini cakes were a hit. The coconut, once baked, was aromatic, making the cake light on texture, but strong on flavor. It tasted just fine even without the sugar glaze that Hannah has suggested. I enjoyed it with evening tea.

What a dessert book is, without chocolate. It was difficult to choose just one among many. I chose this recipe to test, as it had my favorite combination – chocolate and almond. The crust is made with ground almonds, while the mousse is made with silken tofu and chocolate. The cake was out of this world. I made extra mousse and served in small bowls, topped with mixed berries. I am so looking forward to making this cake over and over again.

Now, this is not all. There are other mouth-watering array of recipes, categorized into Sweet Starts, Cookies and Bars, Cakes and Cupcakes, Pies and Tarts, and Miscellaneous Morsels and Desserts. The book also has a food-allergy index, so there is no reason not to enjoy this book.

Thank you Hannah and Alisa, for sending me a copy to review. I thoroughly enjoyed the recipes I tried so far. Hannah, I cannot appreciate enough what you have achieved at such a young age. Kudos!

Reviewed by Suganya

Suganya's website, Tasty Palettes, is a culinary diary featuring recipes, restaurant reviews, and more. The website can be found at http://tastypalettes.blogspot.com/

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