Just Desserts

Emily Mainquist of Hunt Valley is on a mission to share her vegan desserts with others. So, for a year and half, she has baked, refined, and tweaked more than 60 recipes for her first cookbook, Sweet Vegan: A Collection of All Vegan, Some Gluten-Free, and a Few Raw Desserts ($18.95). The results will be released on Earth Day, April 22, which is appropriate, Mainquist says. "Vegan is earth friendly. It's better for the environment." A portion of the book's proceeds will benefit Farm Sanctuary, a farm-animal protection group. The 25-year-old entrepreneur already has left a mark of sorts. She is the owner of Emily's Desserts in Baltimore (her products can be found in Whole Foods and Wegmans) and is looking to expand into a retail space. She isn't formally trained, but her culinary interest began early in her grandmother's kitchen. "She was constantly baking, making plates of cookies," says Mainquist, who grew up in Timonium. "When I would go there, we would be baking instead of playing."