Love Fed: A Vegan Dessert Book by Christina Ross {Recipe + Giveaway}

Recently I attended the launch party for Love Fed: Purely Decadent, Simply Raw, Plant-Based Desserts. The book was written by Christina Ross of PatisseRaw & Love-Fed.com. PatisseRaw is a transitional raw & vegan dessert line sold online & locally in Southern California. It’s through Christina’s experience with PatisseRaw & her love for sharing recipes & inspiration from nature on her website, that her Love Fed cookbook was born.

It was a gorgeous spring day in Santa Monica, just perfect for an outdoor tasting party, which was held in the garden-like setting of Lazybones boutique.

As soon as I walked into the party, I immediately popped one of these chocolate treats into my mouth! So delicious…

True to its name, these Strawberry Sublime “Cheese” Cakes (made with melted coconut oil, cashew flour, strawberries & agave nectar) are truly sublime!

However, my favorite dessert at the party was the Raspberry Macadamia Cake! My parents are from Hawaii, so I love any dessert that has macadamia nuts. However it’s that mouth-watering taste of the raspberry that had me literally reaching for two three (tiny) pieces throughout the party.

Don’t these Carrot Collective Cupcakes look scrumptious? Thanks to the folks at BenBella Books, I get to share this wonderful recipe with my readers!

Carrot Collective Cupcakes

Yield: 24 mini cupcakes

Prep time: 25 minutes, plus about 2 hours for frosting to set

Ingredients for Cupcake Base
4 c. shredded carrot
(approximately 8 carrots)
2 c. pecans
2 c. raisins
1 c. shredded coconut
¼ c. hemp seeds
2 tsp. agave nectar
4 tsp. almond oil

Ingredients for Frosting
½ c. cashews
½ c. macadamia nuts
1 c. coconut milk
½ c. melted coconut butter
¼ c. agave nectar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. lemon juice

24 whole pecans, for garnish
Ground cinnamon, for garnish

Directions
Line two 12-cup mini cupcake pans with cupcake liners or grease lightly with coconut oil.

To make the cupcake base: Begin by pulsing the carrots in a food processor until pulpy. Add the pecans and raisins and pulse until roughly chopped and combined with the carrots. Add the shredded coconut, hemp seeds, agave nectar, and almond oil and pulse until the mixture holds together. Divide the mixture among the 24 cupcake liners, pressing the dough into the pan. Refrigerate while you make the frosting.

To make the frosting: Place the cashews, macadamia nuts, coconut milk, coconut butter, agave nectar, vanilla extract, and lemon juice in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a medium bowl, cover, and place in the refrigerator until firm enough to scoop, about 2 hours.

To assemble: Using an offset spatula, gently remove the cupcakes from the pan. Frost the cupcakes, then garnish each with a whole pecan and a sprinkling of cinnamon.

Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Enjoy!

One of the neat things about this cookbook is that at the end of each recipe is a “Make It Your Own” box. The idea is that if you want to add to the recipe, swap out an item or basically come up with your own variation of the dessert, then Christina gives you the space in her cookbook to make the sweet treat your own. How thoughtful!

Speaking of thoughtful, I had a lovely conversation with Christina at the party. She is so nice, generous & authentic. Not only did we chat about the book, but she asked about my daughter who was running around the garden area with my hubby. Christina’s soon to be one-year old son, Nova, was at the party as well. Her eyes lit up as she talked about his upcoming birthday celebration, as she described the food (and desserts!) that she would prepare for it.

I have vegan & vegetarian family & friends who would enjoy these desserts. Although I am not vegan, I do appreciate (and I’m trying to lean towards) healthy, plant-based desserts. After sampling these vegan treats made by Christina, I’m truly convinced that you do not have to sacrifice taste just because a dessert isn’t prepared with flour, milk, butter or any of the items found in traditional sweet treats. Love Fed has proved to me that you can have your (flavorful, no-bake vegan) cake & eat it too! 😉

Are you eager to get your hands on this book? Well guess what…one lucky Real Mom of SFV reader will win a copy of Love Fed: Purely Decadent, Simply Raw, Plant-Based Desserts. Please enter below for a chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rules: One winner will be randomly selected via RaffleCopter and notified via email. Winner must respond within 48 hours to claim the prize or a new winner will be chosen via RaffleCopter. The cookbook will be shipped directly from the publisher. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to send me an email to realmomofsfv@gmail.com

Disclosure: No monetary compensation was received for this post. I received a complimentary cookbook which helped facilitate this review. The recipe featured in this post is used with permission. As always, my opinions are 100% my own.