Some of you may recognize this from my Chronicle Books Happy Haulidays Wish List. I bought it for myself after the holidays, with the discount they generously gave to those who entered their contest but didn't win. I'm here to tell you- if I'd known how good some of these cakes would be, I'd have been willing to pay FULL price for it. The recipes are easy to follow, there are no ingredients called for that will send you on a wild goose chase around town to track down, and the few slightly unusual (to the average home baker) ingredients also come with recipes. Why buy creme fraiche & cranberry sauce if you can make your own? (I'll be making that cake for my mom, BTW)
I started with the first recipe in the book- the Brown Sugar Bundt Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze. I admit to tinkering with the glaze itself (added 2T of butter and made more of a caramel sauce than a glaze) instead of following the recipe provided. However, for the cake, I did exactly what the book said. The batter was rather thick and concerned me, but I needn't have worried. The result was a very dense, moist cake. I made it for my cross-stitch club and the ladies loved it. My dad, Mr. Picky, got some of the leftovers and allowed as I could leave most of it at his house. I strongly suggest putting a scoop of good quality vanilla ice cream on top of a piece and microwaving it for about 20 seconds. Just long enough to slightly warm the cake and soften the ice cream. SWOON.
Next up? Either the Dark Chocolate or the Maple Nut. No matter what I choose, I don't think I'll go wrong!
$15.95
$19.99
$16.95
$16.95
$24.95
$22.95
$14.95
$19.95