1 of 5 2 of 5

Emily von Euw says her vanilla chocolate chunk cheesecake with peanut butter is simply irresistible.

“It’s super creamy and rich and just uber-chocolatey,” von Euw told the Georgia Straight by phone from her home in Burnaby. “I think almost everybody loves chocolate. I’m like a chocoholic. It’s so satisfying. I can’t imagine somebody putting up their nose at it, even if they know that it’s raw and vegan and everything. It’s just too good.”

The vanilla chocolate chunk cheesecake is just one of the over 100 recipes in her first cookbook, Rawsome Vegan Baking, which Page Street Publishing released this month. Subtitled An Un-cookbook for Raw, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Beautiful and Sinfully Sweet Cookies, Cakes, Bars and Cupcakes, the 224-page book also contains such tantalizing recipes as avocado towers with dark chocolate mousse and cinnamon pistachios, mini beet mousse cakes with sweet cashew cream and spiced nuts, and strawberry cheesecake pops with coconut flakes. All are illustrated with von Euw’s gorgeous photography.

Von Euw runs the popular food blog This Rawsome Vegan Life, which she started up in 2011. Back then, the 20-year-old Simon Fraser University student noticed a lack of raw dessert recipes online, so she set about filling that niche.

“I’m always trying to push myself to come up with more creative recipes and really satisfy people’s need for a really decadent thing to eat that’s still super good for you and vegan,” von Euw said.

Avocado towers with dark chocolate mousse and cinnamon pistachios. Emily von Euw

Her diet is plant-based, mostly raw, and dominated by fruits. Locally, von Euw enjoys dining at Gorilla Food and Eternal Abundance in Vancouver and Café by Tao in North Vancouver.

Although these restaurants serve delicious meals, it’s still common for people to react negatively to the idea of eating raw vegan food.

“Pretty much all the time it’s just because people have a lack of knowledge about it and a lack of understanding,” von Euw said. “I would tell them to look through my book and see some of the things that you can make with just dried fruit and nuts really. And also check out other raw food blogs and see what kinds of stuff you’re able to create with these really simple whole foods. It kind of blows your mind really.”

Rawsome Vegan Baking author Emily von Euw. Christine Taylor

At SFU, von Euw is considering majoring in history. In the future, she hopes to live somewhere tropical, near the fruits she loves to eat.

For now, she’s attending classes and hard at work on her second cookbook. Set to be published by Page Street in December, the book will focus on healthy juices, smoothies, energy bars, and snacks.

Strawberry cheesecake pops with coconut flakes. Emily von Euw

As well, Von Euw is already thinking about writing a third cookbook.

“When I first started university, I had no idea my blog would take me to where I’m at right now,” von Euw said. “So, I was going to major in something useful. Originally, I was planning on doing something with kinesiology and psychology. But there’s less pressure to do that now. Because I think where my blog is going and with these two book deals, this can very realistically be my job.”