[flickr id=”6871745353″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”false” size=”medium” group=”” align=”none”]
I know I’ve mentioned Vegan Divas in the past, but I thought it is worth mentioning again for a number of reasons. They’ve been continually improving their recipes to the point where some items, you really couldn’t tell are vegan…
I attended a Valentine’s party for their new items, and as you can see, the table was goodie-laden. There were cookies in the background that crumbled like sable cookies – how could there not be butter in these?! – that Francois Payard himself handed me, telling me proudly how I would not be able to tell the difference. Apparently those cookies are his personal favorite. (Coincidentally, this morning’s post is about Francois Payard Bakery… and I forgot to mention that he’s married to Fernanda Capobianco, the gorgeous and super talented woman behind Vegan Divas!) I could name drop and tell you all the freakin’ awesome and cool people that were at the party (and yes, you’d recognize the names, if not from TV then from the NYC food world!), but I already did that on Twitter and Facebook 😉
Another item that is a true point of pride: their new cake, which boasts a brownie bottom and a ‘ganache’ top. I truly could not tell this had no eggs/white sugar/dairy in it at all, amazing. The bottom is fudgy, while the top is even fudgier… so good. One of the many things that makes Vegan Divas heads and shoulders above other vegan chocolate desserts is that they use chocolate, not carob… which makes all the difference in the world. Chocolate itself isn’t non-vegan! Milk chocolate is obviously non-vegan, but Vegan Divas use real chocolate with no dairy. Awesome.
I highly recommend getting your butt over to Vegan Divas and trying their beautiful, delicious desserts STAT!
Please note, I did sample these goodies free of charge, but I was under no obligation to post about this at all, positively or negatively, and received no monetary compensation.
TT says
no up close pics? 🙁
are vegan desserts healthier than non-vegan? how do you make a cookie or cake without butter?
Feisty Foodie says
I’m not really sure if it’s healthier – I know vegans will tell you yes (for obvious reasons), but as a non-vegan, I don’t honestly know. I think some of the items are lower in fat/calories as a result, but I don’t consider that a hard&fast mark of ‘healthier’. I’m not sure how all of the desserts are made, but some substitute coconut butter/fat/oil (I didn’t eat those), for example. They do taste good though – give it a try!
T.C. says
The chocolate heart cake looks good.
Carob? Bleh.
Feisty Foodie says
No, it’s NOT made with carob, that’s one of the many awesome things about these and why they taste so good!
T.C. says
No, I was bleh’ing Carob itself. I read that they use chocolate. Wish I could see a close-up of the cakes too.
hungry says
So they use raw chocolate, right? That makes sense and is totally smart. Also, a famous pastry chef’s wife is vegan?! Woah and woah! I guess it helps having him as a guide and taste tester.
Feisty Foodie says
I’m not really sure if they use raw chocolate; I just know that it’s dark chocolate (no dairy whatsoever), and also that apparently refined sugar is not vegan (something about the process makes it non-vegan). So the chocolate they use doesn’t contain any of that- I’m also not sure what raw chocolate is exactly.
Also, Francois insists that he is not as involved in Vegan Divas as one may think; it’s Fernanda’s company and passion. He does give input here and there when she asks, but I do not believe he has much hands-on involvement (though he obviously does taste everything and has his favorites!). And yeah… she has said that she will have him vegan in 5 years or less 😉
hungry says
Raw chocolate has not been processed with dairy or sugar yet. Just roasted, ground, and formed into chocolate. At least that’s what I think.
How can he be vegan? Is he not going to taste his own pastries anymore? He needs to do quality control, no?