Book Review: Vegan Pie in the Sky by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

I've probably owned the desserts-to-die-for bible of Vegan Pie in the Sky  long enough now, and baked enough of its treasure chest of goodies, to be able to provide a decent review and tell you what I think.

I have a small collection of vegan cookery books by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, who seem to have cornered the vegan market with their many amazing recipes, and I bought this book after trying a couple of recipes from their website.

The first was the Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Crunch Topping. Utterly amazing. I actually made this for two American friends around Thanksgiving time last year. Both were heartily comforted by its taste of the USA in the pumpkin element (even though I have to admit, I actually substituted with butternut squash!), and were extremely impressed with what I'd managed to create.

The second was the Pear Frangipane Tart, and I had been looking for a vegan and also gluten-free cake (so my dad could enjoy some too) to bake for our family Christmas Eve get-together last year. I wasn't actually vegan at the time, but I was being more conscious and trying to cook cruelty-free whenever I could.

After making this fabulously delicious tart (you wouldn't believe it was gluten-free!) and having experienced (and it was an experience) the pumpkin cheesecake, I decided to go all in and buy the book. It's since become a much-thumbed kitchen manual of things that make you go "Ooooooo" ever since.

I have say to say, one of my favourite recipes so far though has been the Blueberry Bliss Cheesecake. No one would ever know it doesn't contain a single ounce of dairy-cheese, and it is lighter and much easier on the stomach than the standard version. It's also much healthier (one vegan baked delight that I can honestly say is healthier than the traditional version).

Isa and Terry have really got it sussed with this cheesecake recipe - if you've been wondering how on earth to recreate a cheesecake in a vegan version, this is the one to try.

Another surprise is the vegan Key Lime Pie. I love limey, citrusy desserts, and key lime pies have always come under my 'favourites' list. So it was a treat indeed to make this pie, without the egg yolks and condensed milk.

And more recently, I tried out the Brownie Bottom Peanut Butter Cheesecake as a birthday cake for my dear pa. He has Coeliac's disease, so I needed to adapt the recipe by making a gluten-free base (the joy of this book is that many of the toppings/fillings are gluten-free, so as long as you tweak the bottom bit, you can make a nice selection of gluten-intolerance friendly pies). I think for this pie, all I did was swap the flour in the crust recipe  for a mixture of gluten-free flour and ground almonds, and it worked fine.

I have made several more pies and goodies from this book, including the Old Fashioned Chocolate Pudding Pie and the - oooooooohhhh - Coconut Cream Pie (it tastes like sin should taste, and I love it so much I think I shall have to marry it), and they have pretty much all turned out to be splendid. It's probably my most-used cookery book, so um, yes. It seems I'm all about the pie.

I'm glad to say there are several more recipes to munch through, and there is only one that truly doesn't make me drool and I know I shall never make, which is the Grasshopper Pie - and that's a minty chocolate one with a green top - bleugh (I've always hated mint chocolate cake and also ice-cream).

But otherwise, there's enough of a selection of fruit pies, cheesecakes, chocolate puddings and vegan twists on traditional desserts here to make any sweet-toothed pie-chomper go weak at the knees. I think you can probably tell, I highly recommend Vegan Pie in the Sky.

Comments

[Galen]

I've had this book for awhile but haven't made anything from it yet. I think I need to get baking everything you've made sounds wonderful.

[Andrea - Chocolate and Beyond]

I don't know how you've resisted Galen, I'm like a child in a sweet shop when I get a new cookbook! Well, there is no time like a weekend to get baking, would love to know what you end up baking first :)

[Norma Beggs]

Decided to try the Pecan Pie recipe from this book since there are so few vegan versions of this pie. To everyone's delight (non-vegans included) it was all the rage. It was even compared to Costco's amazing pecan pie which is the ultimate compliment from my family. You won't be disappointed!!!

[Andrea - Chocolate and Beyond]

Hi Norma, thank you for your comment! The pecan pie is incredible isn't it? I love this book! Haven't baked anything new from it in a while (although have done the coconut cream pie yet again!) but I must have a thumb through again soon. The only problem is, I have so many other fab vegan cook books to thumb through, too! :)