Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 23rd Century Table

Mocha Devastation Cake, cake and photo by Hannah Kaminsky

Not my treats this time, but delectable vegan desserts presented in a new book called My Sweet Vegan by Hannah Kaminsky of the bittersweet blog. I was privileged to see a copy of the proofs before it was published and to write a "blurb" for the cover. Unfortunately, my piece was not there in time for the printing, but it's on the book's webpage, and here's what I wrote (and I meant every word of it!):

"This is going to be the book vegans reach for on special occasions, or when company comes, or just for those times when your sweet tooth gets the better of you! There is an amazing variety of goodies, from simple to sublime, even some gluten-free and diabetic-friendly! Hannah pays attention to detail and I especially like her well-written instructions, and notes on ingredients and equipment, important for new vegan cooks and bakers. Most of the recipes call very easily-accessible ingredients, and even in the odd recipe where she uses ingredients in an unusual way, they should not be difficult to find. And a plus-- the fat content in most of the recipes is not excessive. This book will be happily splattered and dog-eared by use in no time!"
~ Bryanna Clark Grogan, author of 'Nonna's Italian Kitchen' and 8 other vegan cookbooks, and The Vegan Feast Newsletter




Hannah Kaminsky at work

I'm sure that Hannah must be sorely tired of hearing this, but it is quite amazing that she is only 18 years old and not only has she created a huge repertoire of fabulous vegan desserts, but she has written such a professional book! There is even a food-allergy index in the back of the book (gluten-free, wheat-free, peanut-free, tree nut free, and soy-free). And, in addition, she also created all of the beautiful photos in the book! Congratulations are definitely in order!

The first recipe that I tried from the book was the Plum-Good Crumb Cake, with little plums from a tree in our yard. Fantastic! Here's a photo of it from Hannah's book:


photo by Hannah Kaminsky

Buy some copies of this book for holiday gifts-- especially one for yourself! It is available from various outlets-- this page has a list of links. NOTE FOR CANADIANS: There is some difficulty with amazon.ca at the moment-- the book is not appearing as it should. However, it is actually less expensive for Canadians to purchase the book from amazon.com right now due to the exchange. The Canadian shipping is very inexpensive right now. So, you don't have to hold out for amazon.ca. Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe also has it on sale, and they ship internationally without a problem.

Here are photos of just a few of the recipes in My Sweet Vegan, all courtesy of Hannah and Fleming Ink:


Not-Nog Cupcakes, photo by Hannah Kaminsky


Peanut-Plus Cookies (gluten-free, with a surprise ingredient!, photo by Hannah Kaminsky)


Silken Chocolate Mousse Cake, photo by Hannah Kaminsky


Poppy Seed Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling, photo by Hannah Kaminsky


Mexican Chocolate Torte, photo by Hannah Kaminsky


Brilliant Berry Parfaits, photo by Hannah Kaminsky

Enjoy!