[.ca] Cakes (ISBN 0836250745)

From Amazon.com:
A man in Texas wrote to Maida Heatter looking for her Bullseye Cheesecake recipe; he and his wife had divorced, she had taken the recipe with her, and he was desperate for it! No wonder--it's a stunning work of art with its impossible-looking concentric circles of rich chocolate and vanilla-almond-flavored cheesecake. That recipe can be found here, along with other treats such as Chocolate Soufflé Cake, Boston Cream Pie, Florida Rum Cake, Kugelhopf, Swedish Leaf Cakes, Portuguese Sweet Walnut Bread, and West Indies Ginger Cake. Heatter, deemed "the legendary baking maven" by Food & Wine magazine, is a member of two cooking halls of fame: James Beard's and Chocolatier's. She has been cooking for decades and clearly indicates how to make classics perfect; she shares her tricks and tips freely like a good friend. (She swears by Philadelphia Brand cream cheese, for example.) She also steers clear of unusual or hard-to-find ingredients, even for the more exotic-sounding cakes. The book includes plain, chocolate, layer, and fancy cakes; cheese and nut cakes; yeast cakes and sweet breads; muffins, cupcakes, and gingerbreads; and ice cream and sauces. Simply divine.

great recipes:
I just had my first succes from this book, and it is called the old fashioned coconut cake. A delicious cake, sophisticated in it's simplicity. The book is written in a very friendly and encouraging matter, the description of the techniques and what to expect during the proces of creating your master pieces give you all the confidence you need to bake an excellent treat for any occasion. The recipes vary from pound cakes to layer cakes with frostings and from cheesecakes to sweet breads and yeasted sweet treats. Had there been some pictures, I would have given it 5 stars (I like the visual aspect as an extra inspiration). But the recipes definately deserve 5 stars in itsself.

Like having the author in your own kitchen:
That the recipes are excellent sort of goes without saying with this author, but it is her recipe writing style that sets this book apart. Carefully written, there are no surprises at the end of the recipe that you needed to know at the beginning, and all sorts of hard-earned tips right when you need them: Yes, it's supposed to curdle, yes, it's OK if it cracks a little on the top, dry bread crumbs really will help the bundt cake pop right out of the pan, etc.

Buy This Book for nothing else but pages 176-179!:
This is by far the VERY BEST Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe you will ever try! Not only did my Mom try it years ago for parties etc. but she handed the cookbook down to me, and I used this recipe for a "Groom's Cake" for my then fiance, soon to be husband. 18 years later, it is still his very FAVORITE Cake of all time. This recipe is a doozy...lots of ingredients, and it does take some time to put it together, but believe me, it is worth every minute of the baking experience. Maida Heatter's directions are so easy to understand and the cake itself is foolproof! That's not to say that this is the ONLY FABULOUS recipe in the book, far from the case! This book is a treasure trove of wonderful dessert cake recipes. You will not be disappointed. Thank you Maida Heatter for a Carrot Cake that is par Excellence!

Baking Book That Takes The Cake!!!:
This book is full of wonderful recipes that just prove that Maida Heatter is the expert on baking. I started off with the Zucchini bread, which is out of this world. I then tried the sticky buns. My family thought I bought them at a bakery. And they weren't that difficult. Anybody who has baked before will be able to complete them with ease. I recommend this book and her others to anyone who loves baked goods, especially cakes.

A Dessert Book By Which Others Should Be Measured:
Stated simply, there are no better dessert cookbook writers than Maida Heatter. I have five of her bookbooks and from pleasant experience know that she has no bad recipes in any of her books. This one is no exception. If you can read English and own an oven, I'm not sure how you could possibly screw up one of these cakes. Ms. Heatter spends two to three pages on the simplest of cakes. She tells you where to place the rack in the oven, how many minutes to beat the sugar and butter together and what the batter will look like. For example, in the recipe for Cranberry Upside-Down Cake on page 201, she says: "The mixture might appear slightly curdled--it is okay." I'm happy to say I cooked this cake for the first time a few days ago. My friends thought it was wonderful. The best lemon cake I have ever baked and/or eaten has to be East 62nd Street Lemon Cake(page 22.)Over 20 years ago, when I had never melted chocolate in my life, I cooked a perfect Queen Mother's Cake (pp. 54-56.)The Robert Redford Cake(59-61)is a wonder to behold. Then there is the Oreo Cookie Cake, and on and on they go. There are sections on all kinds of cakes here: plain cakes, chocolate cakes, layer cakes, fancy cakes, cheesecakes, fruitcakes, cakes with fruits and vegetables, yeast cakes, sweet breads and more. And all kinds of tips-- even how to wash a pastry brush. There are no photographs in this book but who needs them? Your own cakes will be pretty enough to photograph. If you own other Heatter cookbooks, be forewarned; these recipes have been previously published in two of the author's earlier dessert books but here the cake recipes are all together. I must admit that I find the cheesecake recipes-- at least most of them, a little over the top. I suppose that's because cheesecake recipes have been anthologized to death and Ms. Heatter sought out the most exotic ones. And I, being a lazy cook, an unwilling to fool with baking a cheesecake in a pan of water. Having said that, if I could have only one dessert cookbook, it would have to be this one.