review and giveaway :: chloe's vegan desserts

Gooey, chocolate goodness and so easy to make.

Time for a way-overdue review and giveaway. The nice folks at Simon and Schuster sent me Chloe Coscarelli's Chloe's Vegan Desserts way back in February, and I'm just getting to it now. ***hangs head in shame*** I am extremely backed up on reviews, so in the coming weeks, I'm going to make a concerted effort to try to catch up. That means lots of giveaways for you lucky readers, so check back often.

Back to Chloe's Vegan Desserts ... for those of you who have been living on another planet, Chloe is famous for winning TV's "Cupcake Wars" by wowing zee fussy judges with her Chocolate Orange Cupcakes with Candied Orange Peel.

Let me cut to the chase: This is an adorable, unpretentious cookbook featuring 100+ easy, plant-based dessert recipes, from cupcakes and cakes to puddings, cookies and milkshakes. The photography is mouthwatering, and so are the "Giada-esque" glam shots of the lovely Chloe and her impossibly white teeth. Paging through the book, I tagged about 25 recipes I wanted to try. I ended up making three, all with fabulous results. Read on and see how they turned out, then enter to win a free copy of Chloe's Vegan Desserts

Rum Raisin Rice Pudding made with arborio rice

Chloe's Rum Raisin Rice Pudding was ridiculously easy and was – no lie – the best rice pudding I've ever made. She uses arborio rice, which cooks up extra creamy, along with a shot of caramelly dark rum. The recipe said it made 10 servings. Maybe it's the effect of marathon training on my appetite, but but realistically speaking, I would call it 5 servings. [Who eats 1/4 cup of rice pudding, especially when it's this good?] I think I'll add a bit of lemon or orange zest next time, to tease out the flavors even more.

Hot Fudge on the Bottom Cake

Chloe's Hot Fudge on the Bottom Cake makes this book worth buying, even if it's the only recipe you make; you will bake this easy-peasy, magical gem again and again. It's reminiscent of a 'chocolate lava" cake, with gooey, pudding like yumminess oozing from the bottom [To see what it looks like sliced, see first photo in post]. I am not the world's biggest chocolate fan, but this recipe won me over. I liked that it was decadent without being so heavy that you needed to nap after enjoying a slice.

Yes, I'm crunched out. I made Chloe's Granola.

The Homemade Granola was easy, delicious and yielded a gleefully large batch. If you are a cereal-and-milk person, you will adore this. I'm not a huge cereal and [non-dairy] milk kind of girl, so I ended up snacking on this granola by the handful and also sprinkled it atop my vanilla coconut yogurt.

My quick-n-dirty assessment of Chloe's Vegan Desserts:

The good: Easy, delectable vegan recipes. Good for both seasoned and newbie vegan cooks. Uses vegan pantry staples. Gorgeous photos. Positive, uplifting tone. Very approachable.

The not-so-good: Honestly, there's not much to not like about this little number. My only real issue with the book were the way a few of the ice-cream recipes were written. They were not really "ice cream" recipes as much as they were "gussy up your ice cream" recipes, aka "Semi-Homemade." And I'm not a fan of Semi-Homemade. For example, the Coconut Sorbet with Cashew Brittle calls for a pint of coconut sorbet, and the Praline Ice Cream calls for a quart of vanilla non-dairy ice cream.  I wanted to know how to make the Coconut Sorbet! But given all the other positives, this is a minor transgression.

To win your very own copy of Chloe's Vegan Desserts leave a comment with your favorite vegan dessert. And don't forget to leave some sort of contact info either an email or blog, otherwise you will be disqualified. Extra "vegan brownie" [yuk-yuk] points for following me and/or Chloe on Twitter. US readers only please. I'll announce the winner next week. Good luck!