What I’m Reading: Rawsome Vegan Baking

Hey guys! First of all, thank you so much for your words of encouragement after Monday’s post. While I wouldn’t wish that feeling on anyone, I’m glad to hear I am far from the only person whose child has taken a tumble. I laughed out loud more than once listening to people’s stories. (And put Crisco on my grocery list to prepare for the future… Don’t ask.)

I did end up enjoying my Diet Coke to calm my nerves. Was it as Nectar of the Gods that I was expecting? No. But it was better than another glass of plain water, so that’s something. Between y’all’s stories and Randy’s hugs, I got through the rest of the night unscathed, even staying away from dessert. Go team!

But for those nights where I just want a little something (or a big something, with a side of something else…), I have found the perfect cookbook! Emily von Euw has put together a fantastic book of raw, vegan desserts called Rawsome Vegan Baking: An Un-cookbook for Raw, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Beautiful and Sinfully Sweet Cookies, Cakes, Bars & Cupcakes. This means, technically they are clean and, for the most part, healthy. Woo!

The book came out of her blog, This Rawsome Vegan Life, which has other great ideas, but I still prefer paper cookbooks. You can make notes in the margins with tweaks and when you tried out the recipe. (Am I the only person who does that?)

I first skeptically got this book from the library, thinking that this might be a good in theory, not so much in practice, but quickly put a copy on our next Amazon order. With the help of raw nuts, pitted dates, cocoa powder (OK, she uses cacao powder, but I had the other stuff which looks to be just as clean), and coconut oil, I made great desserts without the guilt.

So far I’ve made it through three recipes, each one better than the last. The Ultimate Caramel Chocolate Squares were so rich, I only needed a little sliver. Which was perfect, because I think these were modeled after a Twix bar. The Rawified Reese’s Ice-Cream Cake is pretty darn close to the real deal. The next time I make it, I think I would use the standard recipe for a crust (1 cup nuts, 1 cup dates mixed in the food processor) to make it more of a pie. The Avocado Mint Cream Bars with Chocolate were amazing! They tasted like a mint ice cream sandwich, which is impressive considering there is nary a dairy product in sight.

Next on my list is the Chocolate Cheesecake with Chocolate Chile Drizzle. My mouth is watering just typing that!

The book makes good use of a small, 8″ springform pan, so if you buy the book, it’s probably also worth the investment. Even if you’re not wasting away a perfectly good beer drinking, frozen custard eating summer on a clean eating challenge, I still think this book is for you!

Once you make some recipes out of it, let me know which are your favorites.

P.S. Instead of (or in addition to) reviewing the for fun books I’m reading, I’m going to start doing reviews of cookbooks. My collection is big enough I could go a couple of years, but I’d love to hear your suggestions for books I just have to pick up.