Author: Fran Costigan
Publisher: Running Press (2013)
Milk, dark or riddled with nuts – it’s
hard to find a single person who’s day isn’t
made better with a little chocolate! With hundreds, if not thousands, of ways
to enjoy the gift of the cacao tree, chocolate is arguably one of the most
versatile foods in nature. What would the world be like without a chocolate
chip cookie, a chunk of chocolate fudge birthday cake, a bowl of spicy-sweet
mole or the occasional melt-in-your-mouth truffle? For those ascribing to a
vegan lifestyle, be it for economical, health or ethical reasons, a lot of
those decadent chocolate treats are off limits. Yes, vegan chocolate chip
cookies existed in the 1960’s “hippie” era, but if you’ve ever had one of those
“traditional” vegan concoctions you know they were anything but decadent! Fran Costigan is out to bring the indulgence
of chocolate back to everybody’s table with her new book: Vegan Chocolate.
Chocolate Orange Sesame Truffles (p. 58) |
Aptly titled, Vegan
Chocolate makes no mystery as to the treats within its pages. As if the
title wasn’t enough to sway you, the front cover displays a to-die-for looking
chocolate cake (sadly, that recipe is not indicated in the book, but I believe
it’s Sachertorte (p. 105)) and almost
every page is laced with Kate Lewis’ stunning photography. A full index caps
the almost 300-page book off, and is a great resource for that “I-need-chocolate-now” moment, and each recipe section
also has a listing of its offerings at the beginning for more leisurely
browsing. Along with the wealth of recipes, Costigan also includes an
indispensable guide to “Ingredients,
Sweeteners, Chocolates and Equipment” (p.12), a well-stocked “Resource” (p.290) list, a suggested “Reading List” (p. 296) and even a
Rolodex-worthy compilation of relevant “Organizations
and Publications” (p.297). Costigan proves time and time again her worth as
a culinary artist – vegan or no – and definitely erases any notion of vegan
food as stuff for health gurus only. Recipes range from a simple Chocolate Sorbet (p. 209) to gourmet Lemon Olive Oil Truffles (p. 44) and an extravagant
Raspberry Chocolate Silk Tart (p.165),
and it’s truly hard to believe that absolutely no dairy, eggs or even refined sugar are components! As fancy and
complicated as the recipes seem to be, rest assured that Costigan has done her
due diligence in this respect too and makes replicating her creations as easy
as possible.
Chocolate, Orange and Almond Olive Oil Cake (p. 72) |
Of course, I couldn’t
wait to get into the kitchen and bake up something lusciously chocolate – the problem
was what to choose! I eventually settled on the Chocolate, Orange and Almond Olive Oil Cake (p. 72) to start off. The
dessert is extraordinary, and wouldn’t be out of place in an elegant bistro or
trattoria, but if you can measure, pour and mix it is remarkably simple. To me,
unfortunately, it doesn’t really belong in a “chocolate” book – the only
element of chocolate is in the glaze (which is a separate recipe). That said,
when I made the cake I added a touch of cocoa powder for a bit of “back-up”
flavour. Continuing on my “chocolate and orange” kick, I knew I had to try the Chocolate Orange Sesame Truffles (p. 58), which looked spectacular
in their photo and definitely involved a kick of chocolate. These, too, were
extremely simple to make and relied on an unorthodox melting medium – orange juice
– rather than heavy cream or milk. A dab of tahini helped re-solidify
everything and they shaped nicely, even after being in the fridge for a day. The
balance of fruit, chocolate and sesame was spot on to my palate and I wouldn’t
hesitate to make a plate of these for a Christmas party. Lastly, I whipped up a
pan of one of my favourites: Blondies (p.
130). Granted, blondies really have no place in a “chocolate” book either,
as their whole mandate is “chocolate-free brownies”, but I have a soft spot for
those bars and wanted to see how Costigan’s recipe stacked up. I had to make a
few minor changes based on what I had available, and I opted to add some
chocolate-covered cacao nibs along with the chocolate chips for extra pizzazz,
but I have to say I was pleased by the final result and would make them again. In
fact, I did make them again, for a
school function, and they were thoroughly enjoyed without a word as to the lack
of eggs or dairy.
Blondies (p. 130) |
It is very hard to
go wrong with a food as perfect as chocolate, but many people find it too
difficult or time consuming to tackle in any great quantity. Not only does Fran
Costigan’s Vegan Chocolate convince you that chocolate is a boon, not a
burden, to the kitchen, but shows that elegant, decadent desserts are within
every home cook’s reach. Furthermore, Vegan Chocolate truly erases any
doubts as to the “cardboard” nature of vegan, refined sugar-free food and just may
tempt more than one diner over to enjoying more meat-, dairy- and egg-free fare
overall.
Available on Amazon
3 comments:
I was so happy to read this thorough (and positive) wonderful review of Vegan Chocolate. I'm curious abou the addition of cocoa powder in the Orange Almond Olive Oil Cake. It looks good!!
Thanks so much!
Fran
www.francostigan.com
In my childhood, I don't know that their several chocolates, even now I also don't know lol, but everyone loves chocolate they don't care what is the flavor, one of my friend who is a chocolate lover and he is web content writer he wrote more than 10 articles on chocolates, I give him a small party and serve him this recipe.
"Vegan Chocolate" is a great cookbook for anyone who loves chocolate and wants to try vegan desserts. The recipes are easy to follow and the results are delicious. I especially love the Vegan Chocolate Mousse and the Vegan Chocolate Brownies. If you're looking for a new way to enjoy chocolate, I highly recommend this book.
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