Most of the recipes were subpar or out of the ordinary. I recommend this book only if you are an adventurous person. I understand that it is written by an eighteen year old. I only kept the book because she is in college and I used the money as a donation, otherwise, I would have returned the book. Of course, there a few recipes I will try. They seemed to be worthy of my time to create.

Save time and money by ordering The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, what a wonderful book. This book is the best vegan book I have ever bought or read. Colleen's book is well worth the investment!

THis book has a lot of recipes for goodies especially for fancy ocassions. Very good pictures and directions. Lots of new ideas.

This product was received promptly and in great condition. It made a wonderful gift.

I had the chance to review Hannah's book and I loved it! It's full of beautiful photos and recipes that will appeal to vegans and non-vegans alike. Can't wait for Hannah's next book!

Got this as a gift for my hubby's birthday as I am a regular reader of Bittersweet. This book is a beautiful addition to our vegan cookbook collection. So far we have enjoyed chai "cheese"cake and green tea freezer pops, with caramel macchiato "cheese"cake and green tea tiramisu next on the list! Looking forward to trying more recipes, the photos on each page are so delicious looking!

I just got it and it looks good but it has some things that I wished was different. First, I don't know where to get vegan cream cheese and that's obviously crucial in many recipes. Also, many of the recipes contain tofu... which some low-protein diets don't allow. I can't wait to make some recipes. Also, prepare to buy special items like brown rice syrup, vegan cream cheese, agave syrup, and other very specialty items.

I saw Hannah on one of the Food Network Specials a few years back and was hoping for a cookbook. Although I'm not a Vegan I enjoy cooking from various cuisines and from different dietary aspects. Looking over the book I was immediately pleased with the amount of photos. There is a photo with every recipe, which really should be the standard in cookbooks in my person view. It helps you to see what the finished product looks like. When something looks really yummy you are more inclined to want to make it. I was pleased with the clever use of ingredients and recipes. I'm glad she didn't take the route of using the fake egg found in some of the other vegan baking books. I was also pleased that she offered cakes make without refined sugar. I have tried a few of the recipes and have been so pleasantly surprised, they were all so wonderful. My family raved about them, as well. Also being a picky eater, i was pleased to find that I would actually love to try 95% of the recipes. I was very pleased that she used agar, most cookbooks don't bother. Care was taken to out line the recipes in a food allergy index.

I think Hannah would be an excellent choice for the Food Network or PBS or Discovery Health Cooking program. It shows that younger people can be intelligent and creative enough to create a book of recipes without a culinary or dietary degree or major restaurant experience. One of the most popular Food Network cooks is often criticized for not having a culinary degree although she doesn't claim to be a chef, she had restaurant experience. Therefore the world needs to start seeing more woman like this (that is not a grandmother). The younger the person is the more people can see that some of the best things can come from young women who don't have a culinary degree. A culinary degree is fabulous to have , but for those that don't like Hannah, kudos! She has really showed us a fabulous job of what she's working with despite not using the wide range of ingredients a normal dessert book has to work with.

I hope the positive response from this book will encourage Hannah to create a second dessert book. I also hope that she will add a recipe for Vegan marshmallows made with Agar. I know stores sell the Ricemellow Creme, but I want to make Gourmet Vegan Marshmallows.

More than any other cookbook I've acquired lately, more even than Veganomicon, from the moment I opened this book up, I have felt compelled to create create create! I've had this book 48 hours and made the lemon curd (part of the Poppy Seed Cupcakes recipe), the vanilla pudding and the Toffee (both elements of the Pumpkin Parfait Trifle recipe) and the Decadent Almond Cake.
It's tough finding excellent Vegan substitutes for the two dessert staples, lemon curd and vanilla pudding. Neither of the recipes Hannah offers is the final final, but they're closer than any of the other (many) recipes I've tried. I'll be using them until I find better.
This girl, Hannah Kaminsky, is brilliant! The ingredients, techniques, and flavor combinations are unique.
For example, lemon curd w/out the usual eggs and butter can taste sharp and hard. Cornstarch can make it tough, like a jello and agar is difficult to work with. What does Hannah use as her thickening agent? Instant mashed potatos for cryin' out loud! Just begs to be tried, doesn't it?
Tomorrow I'll be tring the Lace Sugar Crisps, the Lemon Lime Sunshine Bundt....................

When asked to review this book, I had mixed feelings - I adore Hannah and her blog, she's a wonderful writer and photographer, but I'm not Vegan so the soy products used in the recipes were alien to me.

But I forged ahead and was more than pleasantly surprised with my final products. I made the Peanut Butter Scones and the Black Bottomed Brownies - both had really good flavor and the brownies were the fudgier type, which was perfect for us. Again, not being a vegan and never trying soy before, I could tell the difference between these two recipes and like recipes using butter, cream, milk. I did not think they were bad, just different. They were delicious for what they were.

Will I use these recipes for my own use again? Probably not - but I have friends who are lactose intolerant and I never get to bake for them.. now I can. I think we all know someone who has food allergies, or people who can't digest dairy products or gluten. This is the perfect book for a carnivore to have on hand for those times when you want to show a little baked goodness love to those people. :)

So, although I will grab my high caloric/fat/cholesterol recipes for my own consumption (I'm all about the butter/sugar/flour thing!), I will use the recipes in this book often because I prefer to bake for those I love.. and the chance to start baking for those I haven't been able to bake for in the past is a high priority for me.

I recommend this book to carnivores, vegans, vegetarians, lactose intolerants, gluten-free bakers and those with food allergies.. you will NOT be disappointed with the final results. :)

Hannah Kaminsky's writing is so delightful, and the photos of each recipe are so appealing, that I just had to try out her recipes - even if doing so required a special trip to the natural foods store! Although this isn't a food allergy cookbook, all recipes are by definition dairy- and egg-free, and there are plenty of nut-free options that can be enjoyed in my household. The Cookies and Crème Pound Cake was a particularly big hit with my family. I recommend this cookbook not only for vegans, but also for those who are allergic to dairy and/or eggs (note: the book is not appropriate for those with wheat or soy allergies).

The book is a perfect reflection of Hannah's personality, warm and friendly, inviting you to try new things and be opened to the world around. When I first got to know her, I had no idea this very mature soul both in her writing and approach to food, came in such a young and cute package.
I love to make the Peanut Butter Scones With Chocolate Glaze for brunch and take them to the gym when the 4 o'clock sugar craving hits. I bake the Lemon-Lime Sunshine Cake almost every weekend to take to friends and gatherings. It is moist and each bite does burst in your mouth like a ray of sunshine. In that spirit, the book is written with the whole spectrum of dessert lovers in mind, vegan or not, and it reads like a novel. Hannah generously gives us her tried and true, favorite recipes as well as tips and tricks to achieve the best tasting treats. Reading through it is like spending time with a good friend over a good brownie or a cup of coffee. Did I say brownie? Yes...and many more like Strawberry Love Muffins, Butterscotch Blondies, Whoopie Pies, Mocha Devastation Cake, Ginger Dream Pie, Five Minute Coconut Fudge....and I am just scratching the surface.
Although not vegan, we do respect the animals that feed us, giving them the day off once in a while. I am more into tofu, soy milk agave nectar, with a weakness of vegan "cream cheese" than he is, but he is a good sport and when I told him I was going to bake from Hannah's book, he took it upon himself to give me the "Carnivore opinion". So far, everything has been a hit.Hannah explains in detail what is needed to get baking her vegan ingredient guide at the begining. She also included a section entitled "Tools of the trade" where she explained everything anybody needed to know for baking, especially novice bakers.
I love baking from it because I can relax, kick back, knowing that Hannah has tried her recipes several times and gives us only her favorites. I can open the book at any category (sweet tarts, cookies and bars, cakes and cupcakes, pies and tarts, miscellaneous morsels and desserts) and just make up a treat. Some items take a little longer than others but are by no means daunting or intricate. I also really like the food allergy index at the end of the book. I have more and more clients with food allergies or dietary restrictions so I know that I can bake something without second guessing if I did not sneak in something they could not have without even paying attention.
Hannah has done a great job in broadening the horizons of vegan baking with a great writing style and mouth watering pictures!

The book is a perfect reflection of Hannah's personality, warm and friendly, inviting you to try new things and be opened to the world around. When I first got to know her, I had no idea this very mature soul both in her writing and approach to food, came in such a young and cute package.
I love to make these for brunch and take them (minus the glaze) to the gym when the 4 o'clock sugar craving hits. In that spirit, the book is written with the whole spectrum of dessert lovers in mind, vegan or not, and it reads like a novel. Hannah generously gives us her tried and true, favorite recipes as well as tips and tricks to achieve the best tasting treats. Reading through it is like spending time with a good friend over a good brownie or a cup of coffee. Did I say brownie? Yes...and many more like Strawberry Love Muffins, Butterscotch Blondies, Whoopie Pies, Mocha Devastation Cake, Ginger Dream Pie, Five Minute Coconut Fudge....and I am just scratching the surface.
Although not vegan, we do respect the animals that feed us, giving them the day off once in a while. I am more into tofu, soy milk agave nectar, with a weakness of vegan "cream cheese" than he is, but he is a good sport and when I told him I was going to bake from Hannah's book, he took it upon himself to give me the "Carnivore opinion". So far, everything has been a hit.Hannah explains in detail what is needed to get baking her vegan ingredient guide at the begining. She also included a section entitled "Tools of the trade" where she explained everything anybody needed to know for baking, especially novice bakers.
I love baking from it because I can relax, kick back, knowing that Hannah has tried her recipes several times and gives us only her favorites. I can open the book at any category (sweet tarts, cookies and bars, cakes and cupcakes, pies and tarts, miscellaneous morsels and desserts) and just make up a treat. Some items take a little longer than others but are by no means daunting or intricate. I also really like the food allergy index at the end of the book. I have more and more clients with food allergies or dietary restrictions so I know that I can bake something without second guessing if I did not sneak in something they could not have without even paying attention.
Hannah has done a great job in broadening the horizons of vegan baking with a great writing style and mouth watering pictures!

I am vegan; my husband is not. He loves to bake desserts but doesn't like to eat them alone, so for Valentine's Day, I gave him this book. It's beautiful. The pictures make you want to bake something NOW. The first recipe he tried was for the Dried Fruit Focaccia. Wow! We can't stop eating it. He's even been replacing his morning Pop Tart with some toasted focaccia that he spreads with vegan cream cheese. He's already scoping out the next recipe he wants to make. The handy ingredient guide offers explanations for the items that might not be familiar to him - like Agave Nectar - but that are increasingly easy to find at your local grocery, health food store, or food co-op. Yes, my Valentine's Day gift to him was a little selfish on my part but it has made us both very happy!

Just so you know, historically I have proven to be a pretty good cook but a pretty bad baker. I love the freedom I have when I am about to "create" a meal. That feeling quickly turns to dread when I hear either the word "bake" or "dessert". I got tired of running from the dread and tired of preparing meals with no happy ending - What? No dessert? What is WRONG with you?

I ordered this book because all of the pictures made it look so easy. I also ordered this book because we are exploring the Vegan, non-dairy diet. I was more than a little afraid, but I did not need to worry. I had no trouble locating the ingredients (a lot of them were new to me) and I had my husband select a desert. Great ... he selected one that appeared more complex than the rest ... figures! Well, I am happy to report, that I made the "Cheese" Cake Thumbprint Cookies and they were GRRREAT! We are both really big cheese fans too and they tasted incredible, I was truly expecting to miss the cheese.

This is a great little book ... right down to the size, the solid construction and the front and back flaps that keep your place. I am pretty rough on cookbooks so I take care to be gentle with them but with this one I don't have to worry about.

Hope this helps! Take care and Happy Baking!
Barbara ")