After a wayward trip crisscrossing the nation courtesy of the postal service, I finally received my order for Vegan Desserts by Hannah Kaminsky (she’s the brains and talent behind one of my favorite blogs, BitterSweet).
Being a non-baker of the highest order, I eased into the cookbook by trying a non-baking recipe, Watermelon Bombe. Not only does it not involve any baking, but I also used the “cheater” method. The recipe in the cookbook is for making each layer from scratch, with an alternative method of going with store-bought ice cream and sorbet. Naturally, I went to the store.
Fortunately, the flavors I wanted to get happened to be on sale. I picked up:
- Green tea soy ice cream for the rind
- Vanilla almond ice cream for the white part
- Mango coconut water sorbet for the yellow watermelon
- Strawberry sorbet for the red watermelon
I split the recipe in half and used two smaller bowls to make a red and a yellow watermelon. Guess which one I made first? Yup, the yellow one. I got the hang of it on the second one so the red melon came out a lot neater. I left out the chocolate chips, so they’re “seedless.”
I didn’t care for the green tea ice cream by itself but in this recipe, I like it. The slight bitterness goes well with the sweetness of the other layers. It was actually pretty easy to make and it looks fancy – great for a fun summertime treat, especially with the heat around here this week.
As for the rest of the cookbook, it starts off with an Ingredient and Kitchen Tools Glossary – not just a dry description what it is, but Hannah’s take on the item, where to find, substitutions etc. The next part, Troubleshooting is very helpful with trying to figure out what went wrong. The recipe section is broken down by season, covering everything from pies and cookies to ice cream and cakes. There’s even a doggie treat, Canine Cookies. And practically all of the recipes come with beautiful color photos.
Stay tune for a future post in which I actually attempt to bake something from Vegan Desserts. Should be interesting.
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Gorgeous! I want to give a link to a watermelon sorbet (presented like watermelon slices) from Gourmet: http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/diaryofafoodie/2008/02/watermelonsorbet. It’s refreshing and tasty, but Hannah’s idea really looks cuter and sounds tastier!
I’m seeing a lot of coverage for this book; that’s great! Not really a fan of cold desserts but there is so much to bake in the book too!
Those are really cute! They seem like they’d go over well with kids.
I love it!!! Maybe because I am Italian so I like gelato cassata, or maybe because I love making Bombs!!!!
Ciao
A.
Yay, you’re the first person I’ve seen to attempt this in any capacity, and I’m so glad you liked it! It’s definitely one of my favorites, since I love ice cream so much… I actually hadn’t thought of doing a yellow watermelon, and yours came out so cute! I may have to play around with that more… The yellow gives dozens of new flavor possibilities!
Thank you so much for the initial review! I hope you love everything else you chose to sample. ;)
Great review and photos. It looks VERY refreshing!
Whoa! I love the way the dessert looks, and also the fact you can use a shortcut to make it. What a great idea to make two smaller ones in different colors. Even the “imperfect” one looks cool. I think I would probably add the chocolate chips to mine. :D
hey well done! that looks like fun. The book looks like it will grow to be a bit of a gem..troubleshooting?! now that’s a great idea! looking forward to watching your foray into desserts. yum yum
p.s does the book cover gluten free?
These are beautiful! i have the book but haven’t had a chance to make anything from it yet. It’s such a pretty book, though, and I have no doubt the recipes will yield amazing results.
Stacy – Thanks, I haven’t seen sorbet presented like that. I liked Hannah’s version better too, where you get to eat the whole thing.
FoodFeud – I’m just the opposite, I prefer frozen to baked. But that’s not to say I wouldn’t eat a cookie or cupcake if one was offered. :-)
kathryn – It’s very kid-friendly.
Alessandra – My first time making a bombe, it’s fun and I love it too!
Hannah – Actually the idea of a yellow watermelon came from your alternative method. It would be fun to try out different flavors and maybe even colors too. But I’m going to try baking first. :-)
Noelle – Thanks!
Andrea – I know, I was a little lazy on not doing the chocolate chips.
India-leigh – The troubleshooting section is awesome, I need all the help I can get. Yes, there’s gluten-free recipes in the book.
Serena – I agree, the book is beautiful. It’s great just to look through it, even if you don’t have time to make anything. :-)
That looks very appetizing!!
How cute! My family loves cold desserts..sorbets, “ice creams”, etc so this would be a hit and fun for a get together.
Wow-my kids would flip over those! They look like so much fun to eat!
Love Hannah’s blog! Those are the cutest!
Oh yummy. I once made a raw version of one of these for my kids. We are enjoying raw vegan frozen treats during this hot summer so far.
I am really impressed that you made the watermelon bombe–even the cheater version! Perhaps I shouldn’t be intimidated by that one after all :) I highly recommend the Mango Tango cupcakes and the Coco-nut Macaroons, my favorites so far.
Those slices are so pretty! I can see that dessert being a major crowd-pleaser!