09/22/2022
SIGNING THE CONTRACT FOR THE REVISION OF THE CAKE BIBLE FOR ITS 35TH ANNIVERSARY!!!
this is one my favorite of all the reviews over the years because it includes so many things dear to my heart.
Bryan Wallk
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Cookbook Bar None
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2003
If you are the kind of person who loves boxed cakes with Crisco icing that's so sweet it burns your teeth, don't bother with this book. If on the other hand you actually possess working taste buds, you will find that this cookbook offers the finest selection of cake recipes in existence. Although there are some very elaborate recipes in this book, the heart and soul of it is in the basic cakes and icings. Ms. Levy has gone back and actually taken the trouble to figure out what makes cake work and has therefore been able to improve on recipes and methods. Most of the recipes in this book exchange sweetness for flavor. Therefore the chocolate cake has a deep, intense chocolate-y taste that requires a complimentary icing (or at least a glass of milk). That's the way cake is supposed to be (before they added all the preservatives and moisturizers). If anyone disliked the buttercream icing they either didn't make it right or they are out of their mind. I personally don't care for icings made with egg yolks (too rich) but the icing made with beaten egg whites is pretty much the best thing you could ever frost a cake with and (as stated in the book) flavors magnificently. Ms. Levy's raspberry sauce is better and more intense than most of the sauces I've had in the best restaurants and the same holds true for most of the other fillings.
If anyone doubts that this book is a treasure I offer the simple fact of wedding cakes. To wit, how many times have you seen people actually eat and enjoy a wedding cake? Usually most of it is left over to be thrown out (appropriately). When I have made wedding cakes using this book there has never been a crumb left and people talk about it for years afterward.
Baking is tricky, it's not like cooking where you can make adjustments to fix things. I'm quite surprised when a baking recipe works right off the bat, I expect to blow it the first time out. This book is not about following a few simple steps and cranking out a good cake. This cake is for people who love to bake, love cake and want to become a better baker and learn how to make the types of cakes that suit their palate. Properly used this book can give you the tools to create your own style of cakes that will in time become identified with you by everyone who experiences them.
The Cake Bible is one of the foundational cookbooks in my collection and by far the most often used. I agree that the binding could be better but who needs photos of plain chocolate cake? Books with pictures are for coffee tables, this book is for the kitchen. I would recommend it to anyone with a passion for baking.
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Rose Levy Beranbaum - -
- - - Visit http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/ - - -https://www.instagram.com/realbakingwithrose/
