My Sweet Vegan

From Hannah: “While some people may go crazy for cupcakes, I can’t help but be drawn to layer cakes instead. A marvel of both architecture and artistry, they allow for so much creativity; even amateur attempts are often more impressive than a handful of sloppily frosted cupcakes. I’ve written about my love of these colossal confections before, but now, you can see me demonstrate my favorite ways of assembling, icing, and serving these desserts. That’s right, coming up on November 1st in Boston, I’ll be demonstrating how to decorate layer cakes at this year’s VegFest. I’ll be there to sign books and perhaps sell some felt sweets all day, and then if you can stand to listen to me babble for 50 minutes while I smear some frosting on a cake, you get to eat a slice of it, too! Sound like a good deal? Good, I’ll see you there!”

Copies of My Sweet Vegan will be available for sale and signing after Hannah’s talk, and at her table in the exhibitor room, where she will also be offering dessert samples throughout the day.

Some recent PR on Hannah’s first full TV appearance with a sample MSV recipe! …

“Hannah Kaminksy, author of the full color dessert cookbook My Sweet Vegan, recently completed her first televised baking demonstration with Supreme Master Television.  It aired internationally in early September, but the fifteen minute demo is now available to view any time at http://www.suprememastertv.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=vege&wr_id=488&goto_url=&url=link2_0. The show, entitled “Baking with Hannah Kaminsky, Author of My Sweet Vegan: Cashew Crème Pear Tart,” was an episode in the television series, Vegetarianism: The Noble Way of Living.

As the focus of her demonstration, Kaminsky opted to prepare the Cashew Crème Pear Tart recipe from My Sweet Vegan, due to its use of seasonal ingredients. The recipe also has broad comfort food appeal, since it was developed to be naturally egg-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free. When asked about her recipe creation process she responded “I don’t use egg replacer for most things just because I see it as a whole new craft, I’m not replacing things, I’m not taking them out, I’m just creating something from scratch.”

Kaminsky is well known for her ability to take on special diet recipe challenges, churning out sweets that are always vegan, but which are also frequently free from major food allergens. To accommodate food allergies and sensitivities, a food allergy index was included in My Sweet Vegan to note which recipes are made without soy, wheat, gluten, tree nuts, and/or peanuts.”

And … the recipe … just a sampling of My Sweet Vegan!

Cashew Crème Pear Tart
Recipe from the dessert cookbook My Sweet Vegan, by Hannah Kaminsky
Serves 12 to 14

Crust:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup almond meal
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup margarine
2 tablespoons brown rice syrup

Cashew Crème:
1 1/2 cups whole, raw cashews or 1 cup cashew butter
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pear Topping:
2 firm, medium-sized pears
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sliced almonds for garnish

Preheat your oven to 325° F (160° C).

Combine the sugar, almond meal and brown rice flour in a medium bowl. Melt the margarine and pour it in, along with the brown rice syrup. Stir to coat all of the dry ingredients thoroughly, and press this mixture firmly into the bottom of a 9-inch round springform pan. Bring the crust about 1 inch up the sides of the pan, and set aside.

If using whole cashews, begin by grinding them down in your food processor. It may take 5 to 10 minutes for the cashews to begin releasing their natural oils and turn into a smooth paste, but don’t stop short, as it is important that there are no lumps. Add your freshly processed cashew butter, or a store-bought version (available in many natural food stores), to your blender or food processor along with the water, maple syrup and vanilla. Process to combine. Smooth the resulting crème into your crust and set aside again.

To core and slice your pears, cut them in half lengthwise, and then cut each half into slices of about 1/8 inch thickness. There is no need to peel the pears, as the skins add extra flavor, texture and fiber. Toss the slices with the sugar and cinnamon, and arrange them on top of your cashew crème. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pears soften.

Let cool and sprinkle with sliced almonds before serving.

The photo above was taken by Hannah, and appears in My Sweet Vegan.  Every recipe in the cookbook is accompanied by a full color photo taken by Hannah.

Hannah Kaminsky has hit TV, Everyday Dish TV that is.  This online vegan cooking show features demos from cookbook authors, bakers, and chefs, and Hannah was pleased to travel to Portland and become a part of it.  She filmed the making of two recipes, but the Whoopie Pies is the first to be released.  View the talented young baker at work in her Whoopie Pie web demo.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blogging for this announcement:

I’m coming to Portland! The so-called “vegan mecca” of the US, there are so many reasons to be excited about busting out of my little east coast home for a week to see another corner of the country. And, if anyone in the area is so inclined, you can see me! This weekend, Sunday the 29th at noon, I’ll be at Herbivore signing books, chatting it up, and most importantly, handing out free samples of some goodies from the book!

As if that isn’t enough exciting news, you might notice a new column in the July/August issue of VegNews just hitting shelves, by yours truly. Not only was I honored by being named one of the top 21 vegan blogs of the year (although I still have trouble believing it), but I also had the incredible opportunity to see my words in print for this wonderful magazine. Did you like it? Enjoy the recipes? Have suggestions for the next one?

Since my photos didn’t make it to print for some reason, here are my pictures of what the FroYo really looks like, in all of its meltingly delicious glory:

The vanilla base, straight out of the machine.

After being frozen a bit more solid and scooped.

The chocolate variation!

So, with all of that craziness said, I hope to either see you soon, or hear about your thoughts on the article (or both)!

Comment on this post at Hannah’s Blog, Bittersweet.

Among the hundreds of cookbooks on the market, Vegan.com selected My Sweet Vegan as one of the top ten vegan titles for 2008.  When asked to share one of her favorite recipes for the Vegan.com top ten vegan recipes of 2008, Hannah selected the Root Beer Float Cupcakes from My Sweet Vegan.  Hannah said, “People usually try this recipe out of curiosity, wondering if the cupcakes will actually taste like a root beer float … but once they take that first bite, their hooked!”

Root Beer Float Cupcakes
From My Sweet Vegan

Batter:
1 Cup Root Beer Soda
1 Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
¾ Cup Granulated Sugar
⅓ Cup Canola or Vegetable Oil
½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 Teaspoons Root Beer Extract
1⅓ Cups All-Purpose Flour
½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
¾ Teaspoon Baking Soda
Pinch of Salt

Chocolate Ganache:
5 Ounces Dark Chocolate, Chopped
¼ Cup Plain Soymilk
1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup

Vanilla Frosting:
1 Cup Vegetable Shortening
3 Cups Confectioner’s Sugar
2 Tablespoons Plain Soymilk
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a dozen muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a large bowl, combine the soda and vinegar and let stand for a few minutes. Add in the sugar and oil, whisking vigorously until slightly frothy. Integrate your extracts. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently introduce this dry mixture into your large bowl, being careful not to over mix. Distribute the batter evenly between the prepared tins, filling the cupcake liners approximately ¾ of the way to the top. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until evenly browned, and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. After letting the cupcakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, remove them to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely before preparing the ganache. When the cupcakes are ready, combine all of the ingredients for the ganache in a microwave-safe container and microwave for about 60 seconds. Stir thoroughly to help incorporate the melting chocolate. If the chocolate is not yet entirely smooth, return the sauce to the microwave for 15 to 30 second intervals, stirring between each heating and watching carefully to ensure that it doesn’t burn. Drizzle the ganache in squiggles over the tops of the cupcakes. You will probably have plenty of leftover ganache, but I don’t see that as a particularly bad thing. Allow the ganache squiggles to fully cool and dry before preparing the frosting.

With your stand mixer, beat the shortening thoroughly, until creamed. Add in the confectioner’s sugar, and beat on a low speed, so as not to spray powder everywhere. Incorporate the soymilk and vanilla, and combine thoroughly, until the frosting is thick and creamy. Apply to your cupcakes and enjoy.

Yield: 12 Cupcakes

For her work on My Sweet Vegan, Hannah was recently interviewed and featured in the Stamford Advocate.  Article by Moina Noor …

Think eggs, milk and butter are essential to scrumptious desserts? Hannah Kaminsky will try to convince you otherwise. Kaminsky, who is 19, recently published her first cookbook, “My Sweet Vegan,” which includes more than 70 recipes for goodies such as Root Beer Float Cupcake, Chai “Cheesecake” and Mocha Devastation Cake, for which she won a bake-off at the Dogwood Festival in Fairfield in 2006. (more…)

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Hannah Kaminsky will be interviewed on Vegan Radio.  The show will air on Thursday, February 14, between noon and 1pm EST.  If you are in the Northampton, MA area, tune in to 103.3FM.  For out of area listeners, visit the station website www.valleyfreeradio.org for the web stream.

Following the show, a podcast of the interview will be available on www.veganradio.com. 

Update: The show is now available here on Vegan Radio via podcast.

My Sweet Vegan was honored by a recent feature in the news for the Humane Society’s Factory Farming Campaign.  The article is below, posts of the recipes to come in time for Valentine’s Day!
 
January 23, 2008  ~ My Sweet Vegan is full of delicious vegan dessert recipes.

“Nothing says Valentine’s Day more than chocolates and sweets. And Hannah Kaminsky knows something about desserts.

Her new cookbook, My Sweet Vegan: Passionate About Desserts, is winning the hearts of countless people who are falling in love with her amazing culinary creations.

What’s just as remarkable as Hannah’s desserts is the fact that she has achieved such success at only 18 years old.

Hannah also does her own photography, and each recipe is accompanied by a beautiful image so readers can anticipate what their dessert will look like.

She also maintains a popular blog, Bittersweet.

For treats to share with the sweetheart in your life this Valentine’s Day, Hannah offers her recipe for Cashew Crème Peart Tart and Strawberry Love Muffins, which she says are perfect for breakfast in bed.

Hannah Kaminsky whips up delicious vegan desserts in her kitchen.

From the Heart

When it comes to making compassionate food choices, Hannah says, “A love for animals is truly my primary motivation. It was unbearable to read about the cruelty that so many animals suffer.

I knew that if I could help others create delicious vegan foods to replace even a fraction of their traditional diets, the impact could be quite tremendous.”

And there’s a lot to love in My Sweet Vegan. When asked about people’s favorites, Hannah says that everyone adores the whoopie pies and that they are wonderful for sharing.

A personal favorite of hers is the green tea tiramisu, and she is also partial to the pumpkin pecan pie.”

After a recent feature in the Connecticut Post, Hannah had a reporter come to her house for an interview and dessert sampling for the Fairfield Weekly … 

Hannah Kaminsky’s sweet veganism, Fairfield Weekly ~ By Starre Vartan

“Most 18-year olds are so busy crashing parties and figuring out where to go to college they can barely feed themselves, relying on chips-and-dip or a fast-food session before they fly off to school or work or wherever.

Hannah Kaminsky of Fairfield is different. She’s got a cookbook, My Sweet Vegan to her credit and a second on the way; this petite vegan spent much of high school in the kitchen instead of the mall, testing and refining recipes, creating vegan versions of classics and inventing new treats along the way. Anti-authoritarian views and a sweet tooth led her to creating her own desserts: “I hate other people telling me what to do and I can’t follow recipe directions, so I have to make my own.”

Hannah also creates crafts and takes pictures; her pursuits are detailed on her blog, Bittersweet (www.bittersweetblog.wordpress.com). It’s a fun, well-written site about the creative force that drives her, featuring posts about knitting, to sharing news of kitchen implements she’s discovered, or a new animal-free ingredient she’s trying out. There’s recipes, too.

It’s the recipes that got Hannah her book deal, which she worked on throughout her senior year and finished last summer before setting off to UMASS-Amherst.

Hannah was inspired by her vegetarian friends, who filled her in on animal-rights issues. First she went veggie, soon after began eating vegan, and hasn’t looked back since. And while she favors animal-free recipes and blogs, she reads about all kinds of cooking. “I subscribe to over 300 blogs, from Post-punk Kitchen to Have Cake Will Travel to the Fat Free Vegan,” she says. “I have a huge notebook and I’m always coming up with ideas. Sometimes I have dreams about recipes!”

These days, it’s not hard being a vegan baker, and Hannah uses all sorts of veg-based substitutions found in area supermarkets. “Eggs are the trickiest.” Apple cider vinegar gives moisture and lift to cakes and cupcakes. You can use bananas or apple sauce to add moisture. I like agave or maple syrup rather than honey.”

Some recipes required some real experimenting in the kitchen. “I sometimes have to try things four, five, or six times before I get it right,” she says. Visiting her family’s home in Fairfield recently, I enjoyed a top-secret treat: a vegan lemon meringue pie. She wouldn’t tell me how she created the light, usually egg-white based meringue topper, but the recipe will appear in her next book. In the vegan cooking world, it’s sure to create a stir, as this has been a sought-after, but heretofore hard-to-find recipe. As she writes in her book’s introduction: “It was unacceptable in my eyes to serve a good vegan pastry; it needed to be delicious by anybody’s standards.”

Hannah will be at Borders, 1499 Post Rd., Fairfield, on Feb. 2 from 2 to 4 p.m”

Hannah Kaminsky, author of My Sweet Vegan was visiting the Barnes & Noble in Westport, CT when a surprise camera crew from Channel 12 news arrived to do a story … 

It is great to see the media so interested in the rising popularity of veganism!