Perfect Cakes: 200+ Flawless Recipes and Expert Techniques for Celebrations―From Cheesecakes to International Showstoppers

Perfect Cakes has come to be my favorite book on cake baking. It's not just a book filled with endless untried recipes that give no hint of what to expect. All of the recipes in this book are preceded by some type of history or information about the cake that leaves one with the impression that the author is familiar with the recipe and has probably made it a time or two! The introduction includes information about common ingredients and equipment used for cake baking which is a plus for those new to cake baking or for those looking to expand their baking skills. The book is well designed with beautiful photos and a layout for the recipes that is easy to follow. The ingredients are in a shaded box (yellow) and the instructions are enumerated in red. This makes it easier to find your place in the recipe when you are ready for the next step. I am currently working through the pound cake section and have become fascinated with the high ratio mixing method. This is a method developed by Procter & Gamble during the 40's. Mr. Malgieri provides an explanation of the method, shows how to convert a recipe to use it, and provides a few recipes. I have made the High-Ratio Lemon-Buttermilk Pound Cake several times, and it has become a requested item among friends. As indicated, the cakes made using this method are moist, fine textured, and delicious. Other cakes that I have made with excellent results include the Orange Poppy Seed Cake, Cinnamon Coffee Cake, Town Hall Cake, and the Buttermilk Cake Layers. Some of the recipes may require a bit of skill and will be a nice challenge for the experienced baker but the book has plenty of recipes for a beginner to start with. If you like to bake cakes, this is definitely a book to add to your library.

If Maida Heatter is the queen of cakes, as Mr. Malgieri calls her in his dedication of this beautiful cook to her, then he must be king. This is the third dessert cookbook of this author I own, and-- forgive the pun-- he just gets batter and batter. Mr. Malgieri tells you practically everything you ever needed to know about baking a cake. There is information on ingredients, equipment, sources, a bibliography, all kinds of different cake recipes, as well as information on frosting and decorating. (For example, now I know that one cup minus two tablespoons of all-purpose flour equals one cup cake flour.) I marvel that at this late date there are still new cake recipes to be had. This book is full of them. And in keeping with my theory that each book should have at least one dynamite recipe, the green tea pound on page 42 makes the cut. I'm pleased to say that a slice tastes great straight from the oven with a glass of cold milk. In addition to this great recipe, there are certainly many others I want to try. If you are on a diet or do not bake, however, just looking at these great photographs makes the book worth having. Printed on slick acid-free paper with great color photographs, this book is too pretty to get cake flour on. It is worthy of a coffee table.

Loved the colorful illustrations in the book

Gave it to niece for Christmas, she loves it and using it. A must have for all new cake bakers/decorators

The recipes are good but the text is too light to read without squinting.

Who can go wrong with a Nick Malgieri book in your kitchen? The book is written with the recipes being highlighted so you don't have to look for them on the page; I have only tried a few at this time but this may very well be the cookbook I will actually try to bake all of the recipes just to see which one(s) I will like to use forever.

The book was in great conditions. Some of the recipes are really good. It just depends on what you like. I

This is the best cake book ever made. I love it and so do my friends and family. I purchased two. I would definitely buy it again for a gift

This book contains baking recipes to make cakes and fillings and tops.And the name and quantities are correct, There are some photographs inside the book, but not all the recipes have pictures, that is unfortunate and that is why I deducted one point. The photographs that are in there, are beautiful, and all the recipes are great and the ones I tried have always worked out right.