Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #431746 in Books
• Published on: 1997-10-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

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.

Customer Reviews

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!

No photos!
I was disappointed that there were no photographs inside this book, as I find photos helpful not only for choosing what I want to bake, but also helpful in creating a finished cake.

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.