The best Cake Baking books: Reddit reviews

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I use King Arthur Flour, so I was really excited when I found a copy of The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion that someone had donated, for 3 dollars in a local thrift shop. Needless to say, it will be used.

Bakewise is awesome, the author is a chemist and really delves into the science behind ingredients, techniques, etc.

From amazon: "It's not surprising that James Beard Award-winner Corriher (CookWise) once worked as a chemist. Her no-nonsense approach to cakes, muffins, breads and cookies shows her deep knowledge and understanding that baking is, above all things, a science. This hefty collection of more than 200 recipes offers amateur and expert bakers alike clear, numbered steps and a plethora of information on ingredients, equipment and method. Invaluable troubleshooting sections solve pesky problems on everything from pale and crumbly cookies to fallen soufflés."

Shirley Corrihur's "Bakewise" covers the how's and why's of baking:

BakeWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking with Over 200 Magnificent Recipes https://www.amazon.com/dp/1416560785/

Michael Ruhlman's "Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking," covers some important baking ratios. (The Kindle Ed is on sale right now.)

Kenji Lopez-Alt covers the science of cooking. He has several good videos on YouTube where he makes pizza and artisan bread.

Stella Parks is a terrific baker who covers the science of baking. Her award winning book may be interesting to you:

BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393239861/

BakeWiseis one of my favorites.

It was delicious. Followed "The Milk Bar Layer Cake Formula" from Christina Tosi's "All About Cake".

I used a chocolate cake recipe that I know works at altitude (I can only handle so much experimentation at one time).

La Lechera dulce de leche

Chocolate crumbs- this is what Tosi calls the 'textural' element- these aren't very sweet, but they added exactly that- a crunch/texture that made the cake intersting to eat. She also has a vegan version.

Butterscotch buttercream frosting from Jill O'Connor's "Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey". I make a half recipe and don't include the caramel sauce or bourbon. (It's plenty sweet)

I followed the 'Cake formula' to put it together and it worked great. Used a 6" cake ring and acetate, stacked the layers, froze over night, unmolded and kept in the fridge for 3 hours, then cut and served. It was delicious.

My father-in-law's birthday is next month, and I can't decide which cake I want to make for him...

Just a warning, her recipes are more advanced, and the specific ingredients she uses are very important to get a good outcome. My wife is trying to cook through Tosi’s book, but she says it’s tough (and my wife has been a great baker for years).

https://www.amazon.com/All-About-Cake-Christina-Tosi/dp/0451499522

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Product name: How to Bake

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• How to Bake

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Check out the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook by Christina Tosi

https://www.amazon.com/Momofuku-Milk-Bar-Christina-Tosi/dp/0307720497/

Okay, you have some great gift ideas there. A photo book of the baking pictures she had sent you is an incredibly sweet and thoughtful gift. It shows you pay attention and value what she does. It should also be fairly cheap, so I of she likes tea and you can throw in the tea from the place you meet it will be a killer gift! The thoughtfulness is off the charts.

If you really want to knock out our of the park, you could include a cheap cookbook, too. Here's one of the highest rated ones on amazon that looks really fun: Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make. That might not be the best choice because I don't know her or what type of banking she does, but that's an example of something that you could get in time for Christmas if you have amazon prime. There are also kindle versions of very highly rated cookbooks if she has a Kindle or tablet. I find that is sometimes the most convenient way to follow recipes in the kitchen, and the bonus there is they are usually cheaper and you can have it delivered instantly Christmas morning.

When I had access to a bigger kitchen with more equipment, I loved making myself overly complicated birthday cakes from the Milk Bar cookbook. Sweet foods and cheesy foods are my weaknesses, now and forever.

My own search ended with Shirley Corriher's Deep, Dark Chocolate Cake recipe from BakeWize: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking. The only thing I've changed from her original recipe is an increase in oil.

Deep Dark Chocolate Cake

2 1/3 cups sugar (463g)
3/4 tsp salt (5.4g)
3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder (69g) 
1 tsp baking soda (5g)
1 cup water
1 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (218g)
4 large egg yolks (74g)
2 large eggs (99g)
1/4 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place baking stone in center of oven if you have one.
   
2. Generously spray cake pan(s). Line the bottom of the pan(s) with parchment paper that has been cut to size. Spray top of parchment paper.
   
3. In a heavy saucepan, stir together the sugar, salt, cocoa, and baking soda. In another pan, heat water to boiling. Stirring constantly, pour boiling water a little at a time into cocoa mixture, mixing well. Place on heat and bring back to a boil. Turn off heat and allow to stand in pan for at least 10 minutes.
   
4. Pour cocoa mixture into a mixing bowl. Add the oil and vanilla and beat on low for 10 seconds. On low speed, beat in the flour and then, with minimum of beating, beat in the yolks, eggs, and buttermilk.
    5. Pour batter into prepared pan(s). Place in oven on the stone and bake until the center feels springy to the touch, about 25 minutes for round layers or 35 minutes for a 9x13 sheet cake. (I use an instant read thermometer and call it done when the temp reaches 206F) Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes on a rack. Run a thin knife around the edge and jar the edge of the pan to loosen. Invert onto the serving platter. Cool completely before icing.

One of my players made the mistake of talking to some dolphins during a recent session. Spoiler: dolphins are assholes and sexist in real life, not to mention DND.

Here is a book about it https://www.amazon.com/Reasons-Dolphin-Useful-Guides-Oatmeal/dp/1449401163

I think it's a little crooked, but it was a fun process. I opted for walnuts in place of pecans and think I should have blended them with a bit more oil. The walnut crunch layer isn't as dry as it looks, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it's going to want to crumble into bits as I cut it.

Here's the recipe however the recipe from 'All About Cake' is a bit more simplified (the chocolate cake recipe doesn't deal with any of extra steps like making a fudge sauce).

I think investing in a copy of The Cake Bible would be a good idea for you. You'll get extremely detailed instruction and a variety of recipes for cakes, icings, and fillings in varying difficulties. At the back of the book, you'll find instructions and a few different recipes for wedding cakes.

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The instruction in this book just can't be beat. You will learn so much.

Recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/Cake-Bible-Rose-Levy-Beranbaum/dp/0688044026/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522036236&sr=8-1&keywords=the+cake+bible

Seriously, couple bucks, clear instructions, AWESOME cakes.

At 10, most budding cooks are into pastry (AKA dessert type dishes). Given that you have a new kitchen toy - a KitchenAid - I would give a gift of time and play. Buy her The Cake Bible, a classic and pair it with some shelf stable cake baking ingredients/pans/bowls as needed and "coupons" redeemable for the required ingredients and the parental assistance time to make 2 cakes of her choosing from the book. Kids really just want time with their attentive parents, so you can hit all the bases with one gift.

I quite liked Bakewise by Shirley O'Corriher. She goes into how ingredients will affect the finished product, how to spot cake recipes that won't turn out well (and how to fix them), and why technique matters.

Thanks! The recipe is another taken from How to Bake. I'll see if I can dig it out for you later.

I really like The Cake Bible and the Bread Bible for a similarly methodical approach to baking. Rose Levy Beranbaum breaks down every ingredient, every substitution, every process, and brings a scientific curiosity to all her recipes, with stellar, replicable results.

The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. Probably one of the best cookbooks published of all time. The great part is that she is VERY easy to contact and will respond to anyone that needs help if you go to her website.

Grew up with good (wholemeal) bread from the shops, then moved to the UK, to find out there hardly is any good bread to be had from the supermarkets, and bakeries are almost non-existent in my city. My GF had been baking bread before, and when a colleague mentioned bread baking, this book, and the fact that all the recipes in it turned out right for her, I started baking as well a few times. When I found out about the Lahey no-knead recipe I set off on an almost-daily breadbaking binge. Throwing a knead bread in sometimes for a change as well. As with all first breads, my first bread was very bricky. But last week, I managed to make a flawless ciabatta and now consider myself to be at least a bread-baking apprentice.

When you're cooled down enough to experiment (in late September), get the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook. The recipes are a little more labor intensive but they are delicious and great inspiration for new ideas. The cornflake/chocolate chip/marshmallow cookies are to die for - I made a batch during Icepocalypse a couple of years ago and didn't have enough room in my fridge for them to chill so I just covered them in plastic wrap and put them on the porch railing. Worked perfectly.

The Cake Bible is where I would (and did) start.

wow you guys are good. me and my bf love to cook but its nothing like this. more like gourmet college food haha. but you should check out momofuku milk bar's book if you want a challenge

That is good to know, my fridge is the same way! We've been working our way through the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook and I really wanted to start trying some of the ice cream recipes.

Hello Cupcake. You'd be amazed at some of the stuff you can do with frosting, food coloring, and a bit of candy.

There are a lot of great cookbooks out there, and I recommend getting several different ones that cover individual areas and ingredients. There is only one when it comes to baking, though: The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion. The Challah and blueberry lemon buckle recipes are worth the price alone.

The cheesecake in The cake bible is the best cheesecake I have ever eaten. As for advice (other than just using it) is make sure you do NOT open the oven. ever. I believe the recipe in TCB says to cook it, turn off the oven, then wait an hour before removing it. Really waiting a couple hours till it is room temperature seems to work best for me. I have never had it crack if I do this, every time I have opened it though, it has cracked.

If you want to be super easy, most store bought cake mixes are vegan - some do contain whey so you have to check. You can add 1 can of soda to the dry mix and bake as directed. For light cakes, use 7 up or clear soda, for dark, you can use coke etc. Also, some of the canned frostings are vegan.

If you want to bake, Isa Chandra Moskowitz is where it's at. She has a cupcake book, most recipes can be doubled and baked in a 9X13. They are all stellar: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1569242739?tag=savechea-20

My wife has that book. It's the cover of the book "Hello, Cupcake!"

You can also get the book from Amazon.