Exquisite desserts began appearing in the best raw food restaurants and cafés several years ago. No longer did we have to settle for seventies-style, heavy-as-bricks date-almond balls. I began to wonder how many of our favorite treats could feature unprocessed ingredients? And still taste amazing? For everyone? Raw for Dessert is my answer.

In this book you'll find recipes that are innovative, delicious, and easy. Innovative, because we need an alternative to the past. We can eliminate animal products (including milk, cream, butter, and eggs), processed foods (white flour, white sugar, corn syrup, trans fats, and chemicals), and even the age-old tradition of baking itself. No more rolling a piecrust into a ragged attempt at a circle; no more burning the cookies or failing to boil candy to the elusive soft-ball stage. Instead we can practice the art of substitution-to create traditional-tasting cakes, cookies, pies, creamy desserts, ice creams, and candies. Ground nuts replace flour; dried fruits and other natural sweeteners replace sugar; and avocados and coconut replace butter, cream, and eggs. When traditional tastes can be enhanced by small amounts of non-raw ingredients, however, I offer them as an option.

The results are consistently delicious. Fruit desserts rely on minimal ingredients to highlight their natural sweetness, shapes, and colors. These desserts are great for every day. Richer treats can also be free of gluten and dairy products and provide health-promoting vitamins, enzymes, and fiber-while tasting as good or better than traditional versions. Imagine raw coconut cream pie, pineapple upside-down cake, cookies 'n' cream ice cream . . . and lots and lots of chocolate desserts don't have to be damaging to be delicious.

They also don't need to be difficult to prepare. Easy was my goal with Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People, and it remains so in Raw for Dessert. We're all too busy in today's hectic world to toil away in the kitchen when wonderful, healthful recipes can be made for a reasonable amount of money, in a reasonable amount of time. A blender, a food processor, and a modest group of implements are all you need. Inevitably, a few recipes are a bit more challenging. So I encourage you to read Essential Information before you begin the adventure.