Customer Reviews

Sweet Gratitude: A New World of Raw Desserts

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is an amazing followup to their excellent 'I am Grateful' book. I have been eating raw foods for over 20 years, and live with my husband and kids who don't follow a raw food diet. We all agree these are the best desserts we have ever tasted. I have seen many raw food deserts from many books, but these set a new standard for raw chefs everywhere. Eating the tiramasu and the cheesecakes almost made time stop! I suggest you make these desserts when you have nothing pressing on your agenda, because you may just forget everything else.

I have over 20 raw cookbooks, and this has risen to the top of my collection. If the house were burning down and I could only grab one raw cookbook, this would be it. This book is different from others in that it uses new ingredients and new techniques that make raw desserts that are truly set apart. Most every recipe has a wonderful accompanying picture. The cakes look amazing. I've made the chocolate/orange frosting and it was wonderful--thick, rich, pipable, and silky smooth. This is the first raw cookbook that I've seen address how to make true chocolate-covered cream-filled raw truffles. If you have a sweet tooth and follow a raw vegan diet, this book will make you very happy!
5/1/2009 update: This is STILL my very favorite raw recipe book. I'm eating German Chocolate cake--with a HUGE smile on my face. The cake has an amazing texture...just like a real cake (like a dense flourless cake). I've made the fudge and coconut cream pie...I'm just amazed at how delicious everything is.

Can't believe there are no reviews for this book. I had pre-ordered it. This is a wonderful dessert book. The cannoli's are amazing. If you want to impress others with raw food this is the book to purchase. Even my mother in law loves the Orange Dream Milkshake. If I could only have three books this would be one of them.

I made a lovely cream "cheese" strawberry cake based on a recipe in this pretty book. Other reviewers are correct, the recipes are expensive and often require ordering foods online or going to specialty shops. This I didn't mind, as I find pleasure in sourcing real food ingredients, but the requirement of processed soy lecithin in some recipes does not seem to represent eating real, whole foods.

The photos are nice, the treats look delicious, but every recipe contains a lot of added sweetener. The recipes already include dried fruit, I really didn't find that they needed so much "natural" sweetener (agave syrup, which I personally don't believe is any better for us then white sugar or honey). I actually used only a quarter of the sweetener called for.

The great thing about this book, though, is most ingredients are real, whole foods and every recipe is gluten-free, naturally.

This book has the best dessert recipes I've tried from over a dozen books in my collection! I agree with prior reviewers - some of the recipes take quite a bit of preparation, and you must have certain tools to do them well - for example, a very good scale, an understanding of how to measure (both dry and liquid), and the money necessary to prepurchase some ingredients that you will not easily find from local stores; you will likely be forced to use the Internet to purchase things like Irish Moss and other ingredients. Many recipes take more than a day of prep, and then some post-time like gelling. It's not likely that you will make and serve these things in the same day. But many of the desserts are well worth the prep and wait time!

This being said, the desserts are amazing - the best I've tried. Having tried 5-6 so far, they are incredible. You will not believe that they aren't using cooked ingredients - the structure and tastes are very well done (ex: lemon merengue, apple pie, several of the cakes). The accompanying photos help a lot to see how the creation might look if you followed it the authors way, you can, of course, mix things up and change the appearance to suit your own guests.

I consider this the book to use when one has company over and you are looking to put on a quality meal/show. While we do use it occasionally for everyday eating, it's a lot of work to throw it together for a family of 3. This is the type of book that will convert people to the raw food way in a most enjoyable way.

I am still looking for that 'chocolate chip cookie recipe' to die for. This book does not have one that rivals the best baked ones I am used to. Might have to create one and send it in... ;)

I'm new with raw food, and am particular about the cookbooks I buy. This one is a definite must have in your library. I made the Turtle Pecan Cheesecake and it came out FABULOUS. In my "cooked" life I was a cheesecake connoisseur, and this ranks right up there in the creamy cheesecake texture. The instructions are very clear on how to prepare date paste, milks, etc. Even a beginner like me was successful.

One of the other reviewers commented that the desserts were too expensive....if one were making these on a daily basis, sure. But these are treats. I cut up my cheesecake into individual slices & put them in the freezer to enjoy at a later time, and once thawed still taste great.

This is a GREAT raw dessert book and I can't wait to try more of them!

This is an excellent raw dessert cookbook. Really creative and all the recipes I've tried so far taste refeshing and hit the spot.

If you are familiar with making raw food, you will love this book! If you are not familiar with making raw food, you will learn a lot if you are open to a new, amazing way of food preparation. There are some recipes which are simple to follow and there are others which are a bit more complex - but so worth the effort. Some of them sound more complex, but once you get the hang of it, it's actually quite easy (like the absolutely amazing mud slide pie recipe - wow - totally brilliant).

I am quite creative in the kitchen and would never have come up with these recipes or anything close to them on my own. They are also extremely precise and everything turns out perfectly! You do need to have a high speed blender (such as a Vitamix) for many of the recipes - however, I think some of them would work with a regular blender. The high speed blender is such a great kitchen tool, though, that if this book inspires you to get one, you will be happy you did:) There are also detailed descriptions of ingredients which is helpful.

I also have Cafe Gratitude's first book titled "I am Grateful" and recommend that, too. Get this book - it will change the way you think about food...and you will enjoy a whole new level of healthful and beautiful food.

Raw Desserts are the way to go. Try out this book for an intro to raw desserts, but be sure to be patient. Making fresh, healthy, raw desserts takes time, but is well worth it.

I'm a raw food person who stays away from excessive sweets. That being said this book rocks. My friend just made me the Strawberry Shortcake for my birthday. Everyone loved it. None of the recipes taste too sweet to me. All of them seem to be "just right" sweet. The recipes are easy to follow and it is important to follow them and have the "right" tools; however even if you make a mistake or alter a recipe it is sure to be delicious if you started with one of these recipes.