Sweet Eats for All: 250 Decadent Gluten-Free, Vegan Recipes - from Candy to Cookies, Puff Pastries to Petits Fours

by Allyson Kramer

From a popular blogger and gluten-free vegan a comprehensive guide to making allergy-friendly sweet treats for any diet, complete with options free of refined sugar.

Are your food allergies or special diet making it hard to satisfy your sweet tooth? Dessert lovers, take Sweet Eats for All provides creative twists on classic confections for people following all sorts of special diets. Recipes include steadfast staples like German chocolate cake and key lime pie alongside innovative dishes like matcha-cashew ice cream and chocolate butternut pots de creme. You'll also find tips, techniques, and common conversions and substitutions. Each gluten-free vegan recipe is clearly labeled as soy-free, nut-free, or corn-free, and the book dedicates an entire chapter to desserts free of refined sugar.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Vegan

316 pages, Paperback

First published September 2, 2014

About the author

Cookbook author and food photographer specializing in allergy-friendly recipes.

Reviews

[Punk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good news: No custom flour mixes and a wide variety of cakes, cookies, muffins, pies, tarts, custards, puddings, bars, quick breads, candies, chocolates, and frozen desserts.

Bad news: A wide variety of ingredients, so wide I actually started counting. It started with the sweeteners: Bananas, agave nectar, beet sugar...yup, I thought, sounds legit. I turned the page and sweet holy fuck. There were TEN MORE sweeteners on the next two pages. Add to that fifteen flours, starches, and meals. Eight fats. Twelve binders. And eight non-dairy dairy substitutes. So, everything. Plus agar.

You need a deep, deep pantry, and a very long arm. Kramer also uses bean flours (besan/chickpea), oats, nuts, corn starch, tofu, coconut milks and creams, and non-dairy margarine. So there's still plenty left to be intolerant/allergic to. Each recipe does have icons that show if it's free of soy, nuts, corn, and/or beans, and the introduction does give some advice on substitutions, but individual recipes don't really address it.

I have a lot of foods I need to avoid, and I still found quite a few things in here that looked like I could make, either as written or with a little bit of fiddling. It has a lot of my favorite flavors like ginger and lemon, and things like spice cookies and apple cake, but also stuff I haven't seen anywhere else, too, like a Butterfinger analog and sour candies.

Measurements are in U.S. volume. Every recipe has head notes, though it'd be nice if they were more descriptive. There's a color photo for less than half, and the index is nicely thorough.

Allyson Kramer's blog has many of these recipes up, and savory cooking as well, and is worth checking out.

[Donna Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A super fun cookbook that definitely has some good recipes to try out!

[Aleece · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great cookbook for those that can’t have gluten or dairy or have chosen the gluten free or vegan lifestyle. This cookbook has everything sweet lover’s dream of: cakes, cookies, pies, ice cream, puddings, custards and much, much more. There is something in this cookbook for everyone! The way this cookbook starts out is by giving readers and eaters the ingredients that will be used throughout this cookbook. From sugars/sweeteners, flour/starches, fats, binders and milk, cream and cheese all of the ingredients are laid out with possible substitutions that can be used. This book also provides homemade basics so you can make your own almond milk instead of buying it if you prefer. For me personally I don’t own the ingredients that are asked for in the book (I am not gluten intolerant or vegan but I know a lot of people that have dietary restrictions and I wanted something that I could make for them) however, if you purchase these items because you want to try some of these recipes the ingredients will not go to waste because they are used a lot throughout all of the recipes in this book so you aren't buying something to use just once.

Also there are lots of tips on the recipe pages that give you other ideas that you can use with the recipes such as turning cupcakes into a sheet cake or turning a puff pastry into cookies. There are so many recipes that are versatile. I would have liked more pictures because everyone loves to look at desserts but overall this was a well thought out and well put together cookbook that many will enjoy whether they have dietary restrictions or not.


I received this advanced copy from Da Capo Lifelong Books through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

[Susan B · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband and I have made several recipes from this book now, and I have to say that the results are delicious overall! We've made the banana cake, no-bake peanut butter cookies, apple crisp, lemon poppy seed scones, strawberry pistachio truffles, German chocolate cake, creme brulee, and chocolate chip cookies. We're planning to try many more, starting with the hot fudge sauce and upside-down pineapple cake (though not to be eaten together) :)

It's a beautiful book. Lots of lovely photos to depict what the prepared sweets should look like. Also information about specialty ingredients that are part of a gluten-free, vegan diet, with suggestions for substitutions where possible.

I won the book in a giveaway (yay!), but this in no way colours my review. It's an excellent cookbook and I highly recommend it.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My opinion: I have to say that I could not believe the beauty that was in this cookbook. Ms. Kramer presented stunning desserts that are both gluten free and vegan friendly.

I will admit that I was cynical, but intrigued about how appealing the recipes in this book could truly be, but I found that there were numerous recipes I would make. I'll admit it...when I am wrong...I am wrong!

Easy to follow recipes, partnered with beautiful photos of finished goods. The cover says it all!

Source: Publisher for review through Netgalley

[Odette Cortés · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very helpful and illuminating cookbook. Although at first it seems to have a very slow start, as it teaches you were to find or how to create substitutes for ingredients, in the end it has an enourmous amount of knowledge that translates into wonderful food.

I like that Sweet Eats for All gives you a lot of options to create delicious desserts.

I got this book from NetGalley.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost a keeper.