I am always amazed at the variety of readers I get, from international to gluten free. But no one is more surprised than me with all the Vegan readers I have. I mean, I think bacon should be the 5th food group. I sometimes feel that my Vegan readers see my creations as a challenge, a challenge to see if they can “veganize” it. And when they do I am always in awe, just like I am in awe when the gluten-free Daring Bakers make bread.

So when I was presented the opportunity to review Hannah Kaminsky’s(you might know Hannah from her great blog Bittersweet) new cookbook, My Sweet Vegan, I thought heck ya! Here is my chance to give my Vegan readers some love back. I was most excited to see how far the Vegan world has come. About a decade ago I dated a Vegan, and I will admit I hated cooking for him. To this day I dread eating anything with lentils because that is all we seemed to eat. So the idea of a cookbook dedicated to the world of Vegan sweets sounded like a good idea to me. I would have loved to have a cookbook while I was dating D. Though I doubt most of the products that are available now, weren’t back then.
The first thing I love about this book is that it has an Ingredient Guide of all the different types of Vegan baking items that are out there today. I had no idea, I must admit, that a lot of that stuff was even out there. From Agave Nectar to Ricemallow Crème to Textured Vegetable Protein….it’s all there with descriptions of what each is and is generally used for.

Like the beloved Dorie Greenspan, Kiminsky had a knack for writing her cookbook more like a conversation than just someone spewing information. It’s easy to read and never once did I have to look back at a recipe and think, what did she mean by that….it’s pretty straightforward. And better yet is the fact that EVERY recipe has a photo of it. I can’t tell you how much I prefer a cookbook that has a photo of each recipe…really keeps the guessing game to a minimum. Especially since many of the veganized versions look slightly different than that of the original, which is perfectly fine but you like to know that is how it is SUPPOSE to look.

I had originally planned on making three things from the book to highlight, but time has gotten the best of me and I wanted to review this before Christmas as I think it would make a fantastic gift for any Vegan you know, and non-Vegan for that matter. So I had to prioritize what to make.
When I first glance through the book I noticed a Canine Cake. Well you all know how much I love my puppy so that was tagged right away! It’s chocked full with carrots and peanut butter, two of my puppy’s favorite things. The original recipe made one larger cake but I actually quadrupled the recipe and make them into muffins.

Then I saw a Orange Dreamsicle Snack Cake. But this is where the time thing got me. I had run out of orange juice(or should I say a certain husband of mine drank it all!) and had no soy yogurt lying around the fridge. I do still plan on making this though!
And lastly was the Dried Fruit Focaccia. I adored the idea of a sweet focaccia and can’t remember every seeing one before. The original recipe called for apricots, raisins and cranberries but I was out of apricots and substituted cherries…worked out great. This was quite tasty and must hang my head slightly in shame because I did eat it toasted with some cream cheese on it(I really like it like that with a little apricot jam too!). But I must say that by me using the cream cheese simply demonstrates how those individuals like myself, who do not live the Vegan lifestyle, can integrate these Vegan treats into their everyday life!

So help support a fellow food blogger and buy this lovely cookbook. Even if you are not Vegan, I bet you know some who is or is at least a Vegetarian. Surprise them with a treat for this book…or buy them the book.

So I wrote a little bit about this book in my previous post when I selected Chipster-Topped Brownies to make for my husband and for game night. But in all my browsing through the cookbook I knew instantly the recipe that I wanted to make…..the Cranberry Upside Downer. It was bright and vibrant and I knew it would photograph well…plus it looked tasty(the most important thing). It’s a cleaver take on the old pineapple upside down cake, however it is much spicer(there is cinnamon) and of course more tart because of the cranberries. If I had some, cinnamon ice cream would have gone fabulously with this cake. This cake was easy to make and smelled so good baking in the oven that is caused both the dog and me to howl in hunger. The only nervous part is of course flipping the cake, but luckily it came out beautifully. And though it did warn that the berries might stick, mine did not. Once fliped you have a jewel encrusted cake that sure be a stunner at an Fall event you would be hosting.

Like I said in my previous post the directions are very clear and I would be confident that any of my non-baking friends could make this cake, as well as most things in this book. The most refreshing thing about this book is that it uses widely available ingredients. Which is nice because sometimes I really want to try a recipe but can’t find all the specialty ingredients needed to make it.

Cranberry Upside Downer

1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup minus 2 TBSP sugar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans…I used walnuts
2 cups cranberries-fresh or frozen(if frozen, do not thaw)I used fresh
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 whole milk
1/3 cup red currant jelly, for glazing the cake

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Put a 8X2 inch round cake pan on a baking sheet.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
Melt 6 TBSP of the butter in a small saucepan. Sprinkle in 6 TBSP of the sugar and cook, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil. Pour this evenly over the bottom of the cake pan, then scatter over the nuts and top with the cranberries, smoothing the layer and pressing it down gently with your fingertips. Set aside.
Working with a stand mixer, preferabley fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the remaining stick of butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and continue to beat until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Pour in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half of the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. Mix in the milk, then the rest of the dry ingredients. Spoon the batter over the cranberries and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cake is golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove it from the oven and run a blunt knife between the sides of the pan and the cake. Carefully turn the cake out onto a serving platter. If any of the berries stick to the pan-as they might-just scrape them off with a table knife and return them to the cake.
Warm the jelly in a small saucepan over low heat, or do this in a microwave oven. Gently brush the glaze over the hot cake.

Source: Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, Houghton Mifflin Company, November 2006

You will see many more recipes from this cookbook popping up on my blog from time to time, for this one has just too many to choose from. I hope you add it to your Christmas wish list…that is if you can wait that long.

Amoung the one I hope to get to are: Chocolate Armagnac Cake, Swedish Visiting Cake, Caramel Crunch Bars, Pecan Honey Sticky Buns, The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart, Rosy Poached Pear and Pistachio Tart and the Coconut-Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise all are things that sound wonderful too me. Those are just some, there are really many more, but then I would just be listing the index

So life has more than caught up with me and has not allowed me to be baking or blogging like I want to. My poor hubby has Bronchitis and is super miserable. Unfortunately for him(and me) he coughs all night, so sleep is not much of an option. This week he started back to work. We only have one car(trying to help out mother Earth) and he usually walks to the park and ride. But being sick I now get up and drive him in the morning. I am horrible at going back to sleep after I get up and so I have been averaging about 3 hours of sleep or less a day for over a week now. Luckily the weekend came and I got to get a little more sleep and therefore start to function once again. Sadly, all week, due to being so tired, I had NO inspiration for my blog. Nothing, nada. Last night I had a girls game night to go to and so I had to force myself to make something.

I turned to the book that I agreed to review as well as post a couple recipes about, Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Sara from I Like to Cook asked me if I would be interested and I jumped all over the chance. The nice thing about this cookbook is that it is truly for everyone. It is well written in everyday speak so that non-foodies can understand. But also has great recipes that would inspire any level of cook. The book is HUGE, weighing in a 6 pounds and is chalked full of recipes. I have spent the last few weeks going through the book and breaking them down into categories, the two main ones being: stuff I want to make and stuff my husband will eat…which are usually very different. Since my hubby is sick I decided to make something from his category. I ran across a recipe for Chipster-Topped Brownies. I thought how perfect, my husband loves brownies and he loves chocolate chip cookies and this combines the two. It is a fairly simple recipe with the only hard part being the spreading out the cookie dough over the brownie batter. I must admit that I did not do that well on that part. I think the next time I make these(and I will make them again) I will make a little more cookie dough because I definitely needed some filler around the edges. I’m not sure what I was expecting of these but they did not turn out how I expected. I guess I just assumed there would be a brownie layer and then a cookie layer. But this is really more brownie than cookie and the cookie part forms the most yummy crispy top that is very addicting. My hubby loved them, the girls at game night loved them and the small amount I had(evil diet) was wonderful.

The good thing is now that I have baked, had a little more sleep and will go play hockey tonight….the world is starting to get back to normal. I have a list of things I want to bake now, many of them from this book. So if you don’t own this yet, I highly suggest that you get on Amazon or go to your local bookstore and purchase this cookbook, you wont be sorry.

Chipster-Topped Brownies

For the Brownie Layer

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 2/3 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp salte
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup walnuts

For the Cookie Layer

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks of butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, either chips or chunks

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9×13 inch pan, line it with wax or parchment paper and butter the paper. Put the pan on a baking sheet.
To Make the Brownie Batter:
Put both chocolates and the butter in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stirring occasionally, heat just until the ingredients are melted, shiny and smooth. If the mixture gets too hot, the butter will seperate from the chocolate. Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with a stand mixer, preferable fitted with a paddle attachement, or working with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until pale, thick and creamy. Beat in the salt and vanilla extract. Reduce speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate and butter, mixing only until incorporated. Scraped down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then, still on low speed, add the flour, mixing only until it disapperar into the batter. Using a spatula, fold in the walnuts, and scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Set aside.
To Make the Cookei Dough:
Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
Working with the stand mixer in the cleaned bowl or with the hand mixer in another large bowl, beat the butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. One at a time, add the egg and the yolk, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the dough. Still on low, mix in the chocolate. Drop the cookie dough by spoonfuls over the brownie batter and, using a spatula and a light touch, spread evenly over the batter.
Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the cookie top is deep golden brown and firm and thin knife inserted into the brownie layer comes out with only faint streaks of moist chocoalte. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature.
When the brownies are completely cool, carefully run a knife between the sides of the pan and the brownies, then invert them onto another rack, remove the paper and turn right side up onto a cutting board. Cut into bars about 2 inchesX1 inch.

Source: Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, Houghton Mifflin Company, November 2006

I was rearraging my cookbooks once again today….have gotten a few new ones so had to reorganize. It got me thinking about which ones are my cookbook staples. Now keep in mind I have well over 150 cookbooks, so to be a stand out says a lot. I mostly looked for wear and tear on them and maybe a splatter or two. Hands down my most used book comes from an unlikely source and that is Caprial Pence and Melissa Carey’s Caprial’s Desserts. I say unlikely because I own a ton of baking books and yet I seem to go to this one on many an occasion. It’s a great book because it gives “master recipes” and then gives you ways to modify them to your liking. I think this is great because I feel that so many new cooks think that if they stray from the recipe that it wont turn out right. Oh sure if it calls for three eggs and you decide to put in six, then yeah, that is a bad idea. But if for example you make the Angel Food Cake, you get the master recipe plus four suggestions including: coconut, chocolate, hazelnut and orange. I love her Mom”s Peanut Butter Cookies and the Chocolate-Hazelnut-Caramel Bars. I use her pie crust recipe and pastry cream too. My husband loves her cinnamon rolls. I realzied that I have made close to everything in the book and liked it all…some more than others of course…like the Gingersnap-Mascarpone sandwiches…..so yummy.
The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten is my go to for more simple but delicious dishes. I know some would argue that they are not that simple, but most are to me. This was her first book and it is still my favorite of her cookbooks. I think that in general the first cookbook that someone puts out is their best. Take Rachel Ray for example. Nothing against her, I think she is doing a great job of getting people back into the kitchen and she is just adorable…she laughs like the Pilsbery Dough Boy..how cute is that. But Rachel has also spit out a ton of cookbooks lately and you know some of those recipes just have to be mass produced crap. Back to Ina. Love her, her books and her Food Network show. For almost every party we use her pan-fried onion dip as well as the sun dried tomato dip. The fresh corn salad is a great accompaniment to any summer dish. I made her version for beef bourgunon countless times…always a crowd pleaser. I make the roasted vegtable torte for my veggie friends. Her outrageous brownies are exactly that. And she gives away the secret that makes all chocolate recipes better….coffee. Add coffee to your chocolate item and you will be very happy with the results. There are yummy coconut cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting and some divine pecan squares. There are many things to love about this book.
My last cookbook is for when I want to wow people. It is not a cookbook for a novice by any means. Many of the recipes take hours to prepare….but oh so worth it. The Trellis Cookbook by Marcel Desaulniers is named after his restaurant in Colonial Williamsburg, VA. I had the pleasure once of dining there and it was more than memorable. I had a wonderful dry jack cheese cheese cake with duck confit and scallop served with a “salad” of pears and caramelized onions with wheat berries, currants, walnuts nad basil-parmesan dressing. The salad is in another one of his cookbooks called Salad Days which I also recommend. All of his dishes are very innovative and highly original. It is broken down in to the seasons to ensure that you are using fresh ingredients. A few of my favorties are the Chilled Stilton and Pear Soup; Curly Endive, Spinach, Fresh Corn, and Roasted Peppers with Smoked Bacon Dressing; Grilled Duck Breast with Raspberries and Macadamia Nuts; Grilled Breast of Chicken with Wild Mushrooms, Applejack and Pears; and last but not least his signature dessert(which they made a cookbook about) Death By Chocolate. All through out the cookbook, Marcel offers up what he call a “chef touch” but really it is just ideas on how to make the dish better. If you have the time and the culinary skill level, I highly recommend this book.