Total World Domination…in just 168 pages

I got a new cookbook last week. It has 75 recipes that all, in the end, make the same thing. There are very few foods that could be made 75 different ways and make everybody happy, almost every single time. Cupcakes come in at the top of that list. What’s even more impressive about this book is the fact that these recipes are dairy-free…and still delicious. Let’s face it, there aren’t many dairy free recipes out there that taste just as good as the “regular” stuff, but this book is full of them! Let me take a second to clarify that I am not a vegan. Neither do I have any reason to avoid dairy or wheat in my baking.

Say hello to the newest book at Bakingdom’s round table: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. I was so excited about this book and all of the many recipes that I had to ask HRH Beermeister to pick the first recipe for me to try (come back tomorrow to for his pick…and boy-oh-boy was it a good one)! I mean, just listen to some of these options!! Crimson Velveteen with Old-Fashioned Velvet Frosting, Chocolate Cherry Creme, Orange Pudding Cupcake with Chocolate Ganache, Blueberry Lemon Creme!!! And that’s not even getting into the mouthwatering frostings and fillings! How could I possibly decide?? The illustrations don’t help. There are beautiful pictures throughout of ingredients, equipment, and, of course, the cupcakes.

Just look at that! It makes me want to reach right into the page and try to grab the cupcake and dig in! There’s about 40 different cupcake recipes, including Vanilla Gluten Freedom (which comes in chocolate, as well) and a healthier Sexy Low-fat vanilla. However, the lack of both eggs and dairy in all of these recipes makes them at least a little healthier than other cupcake recipes because they are lower in cholesterol. These cupcake recipes are followed up by 25 frosting recipes, plus other recipes including glazes, fillings, and even little almond flowers for decorating are sprinkled throughout. The authors make recommendations for most of the cupcakes as to which frosting would be good with that particular cupcake, but I love the idea of mixing and matching to come up with my own combos! It’s very exciting to think of all the options there are beyond traditional vanilla and delicious chocolate!

The authors also include a great introduction that is both funny and helpful. They take the time not only to explain their reasons behind the book, but they also go into techniques and helpful tips for getting great results. They offer ingredient and tool information, as well as troubleshooting and decorating sections. This is terrific for the less experienced baker to learn new things. Anyone trying to step away from boxed cake mixes would also do well to look into this book. Although, I have to point out that there are some ingredients, such as fresh rosewater, dried lavender flowers, and agave nectar, that may be difficult for people in more rural areas to locate. Not to mention that they can run pretty high in cost, due to their rarity. But for each of the more unusual ingredients, there are a dozen more that are pretty basic, but yield far from basic results.

This wonderful book is available on amazon.com for $10.85 with free shipping! You’ll note, if you go check it out on amazon, that it has over 260 reviews; nearly all of them give the book five stars. That many people raving about it has got to make it worth checking out! And I’ll see you tomorrow with my first foray into the book! It’s a doozy!