cafe gratitude in larchmont village hasn’t been open very long, and it’s already one of the best spots to eat in los angeles. the almost all vegan restaurant (one of their drinks contains honey) has a massive menu with something for everyone—raw food, cooked food, gluten-free stuff, salads, soups, tacos, sandwiches, bowls, booze, desserts, you name it! i hit up the small restaurant a couple nights ago for dinner with my friend milque, and our meal was fantastic. the cafe bustling, service was friendly and the food was delicious.

i’m gonna spoil this blog post by starting with dessert, because it was honestly the highlight of the evening.

i am adoring - tiramisu: nut flour cake soaked in espresso with vanilla “whipped cream” & chocolate frosting. $8

as we’ve mentioned before, the menu items at cafe gratitude are all named with positive affirmations. while it makes for a somewhat awkward ordering process, the food doesn’t suffer, so i can’t complain. for dessert we got a slice of “i am adoring”, cafe gratitude’s vegan tiramisu, which was shockingly good. i’d heard people rave about this cake before, but i wasn’t prepared for its awesomeness. it was perfectly spongy with layers of creamy coffee-flavored frosting and a dusting of cocoa on top. if you haven’t tried it yet, the tiramisu alone is reason to check out cafe gratitude.

i am transformed taco plate: two handmade corn tortillas with brown rice, beans, salsa verde, guacamole & cashew nacho cheese. served with a side salad with fig balsamic dressing. $11

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today is my husband’s birthday, and every year i try to track down a vegan version of his all time favorite dessert: tiramisu.

vegan tiramisu is very difficult to come by, especially in los angeles, and on thursday i started to panic because i didn’t have a plan. after some extensive googling, i found a reference to the elusive dessert on nite moon cafe’s facebook page.

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there are a lot of vegan cupcakes available in los angeles, but i can say from what i’ve tried that clara’s cakes are some of the best. the blogosphere has been buzzin’ about clara’s cakes for a while, so i was super excited when i got a chance to try them yesterday. i’m happy to report that they exceeded my expectations, and i’m already plotting my next cupcake indulgence.

vegan tiramisu cupcake

clara’s cakes is an all vegan cupcake company run by 13-year-old baker clara polito. that’s right, clara is only 13 and she makes some of the best cupcakes i’ve ever tasted. so far i’ve only tried the tiramisu flavor, and it was intense. as described on clara’s website, “If this cupcake could be a person it’d be a chic, sophisticated, Italian woman. Magnifico vanilla base with espresso filling and cream cheese. Delicato cream cheese frosting topped with cocoa powder and a single semi-sweet chocolate chip.”

the moment i tasted the rich cheesy frosting, i knew this was going to be a good cupcake…but when i got to the cream cheese espresso filling center, it blew my eff-ing mind! (keeping the language in this post clean, for the kids!) seriously, this thing was incredible. the cake was all soft and moist, and the frosting was luscious and creamy. to be honest, i usually get pretty bored with cupcakes once the frosting is gone. i have been known to only eat the frosting and discard the cake. not with clara’s cakes though, these tiramisu babies had frosting in the MIDDLE to keep me happy all the way through. the center of the cupcake was the best part, all gooey and coffee-flavored.

after trying the tiramisu, i’m dying to get a taste of clara’s other flavors. her menu is pretty creative, with stuff like bubblegum frosting, and vegan cupcake flavors including thin mint, orange dreamsicle and neapolitan. you can order cupcakes online from clara’s website, and i highly suggest you do so ASAP. there is also going to be a bake sale next month at locali to help raise money for clara’s school trip to nyc, so mark your calendars! let’s show this young vegan baker some support…i promise you won’t be disappointed.

clara politio of clara's cakes

clara’s cakes website
follow clara on twitter

PS: i also got to meet clara herself yesterday, and she is rad. read her musings about animal rights, vegan food, and cool music at her blog, clara in veganland.

tiramisu by vegan bake sale. drool over it.

this isn’t just any tiramisu, it’s INSANELY AWESOME TIRAMISU. recently one of us (mr. meaner) celebrated a birthday—and instead of a cake, we had these adorable dishes by vegan bake sale. the popular italian dessert is traditionally made with espresso-dipped biscuits, egg yolks, mascarpone cheese, sugar and cocoa…and we are always on the lookout for animal-free versions of it. it’s been mr. meaner’s favorite cake in the world since way back when he was a vegetarian—so if we ever see a vegan tiramisu on a menu, no matter how full we are, we have to order it. i’m happy to report that vegan bake sale has taken the tiramisu crown!

i don’t know how she did it, but this layered dish was better than any tiramisu we’ve eaten (vegan or otherwise). pure genius, i tell you! it was pretty to look at, and it tasted AMAZING. i made a futile attempt to only eat half of the dish, and save the rest for later…but it was just too good to resist.

vegan bake sale is not taking orders at the moment, but maybe if you have a really special occasion and offer her millions of dollars, she will make an exception. ; )

until then, just be jealous. and enjoy the pictures.

i have been looking all over the place for vegan tiramisu in los angeles, and the whole time it was right under my nose.

vegan tiramisu from m cafe. $6

in my search for the cheese and egg-filled dessert, i never thought to look at m cafe de chaya on melrose, which happens to be right down the street from my office. the macrobiotic restaurant is almost entirely vegan (except for a few dishes containing stinky dead fish), and has an entire case filled up with cakes, muffins, cupcakes…and little dishes of tiramisu. while the vegan tiramisu from m cafe comes in a cup and is kind of parfait-style with the lady fingers mashed up, i can tell you it is extremely delicious and authentic. right down to the espresso infused cream mixture and the cocoa sprinkles on top, it tastes just as good as the original.

i have heard some people complain that m cafe’s deserts are too ‘healthy-tasting’ and not decadent enough, but that’s just not true of their tiramisu. they perfectly mimicked the texture of something made with eggs and creamy mascarpone, all mixed up with chocolate, coffee and cookies. if you, like me, have been missing tiramisu…no need to look any further. m cafe has got it down.

right now i don’t know of anywhere else to get vegan tiramisu in los angeles. if i am wrong, holler at me.

m cafe de chaya
7119 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 525-0588