Cake Basics

"This series of stripped-down pictorials worth a thousand words is the missing link between elementally vague text-based cookbooks and video instruction you can't slow down enough or take into the kitchen. Elegant design you can't help but devour. Highly recommended for all experience levels."
-- Library Journal

The My Cooking Class series comprises nine titles, including three new ones. Their success is attributed to a refreshing approach that presents every recipe in complete visual sequences from start to finish. Every ingredient and every step is shown from above and in full color so that it's as true to life as possible -- just like a real cooking class. Basic skills unique to each type of cuisine are explained in the opening pages, and specialized tasks are clearly demonstrated. Variations, notes and glossaries are welcome additions to each "class."

No one can resist a cake, but making a cake from scratch can be a tricky undertaking. If the ingredients and baking temperature aren't just right, the results can disappoint. The 70 recipes in Cake Basics make it very easy to recreate old favorites and enjoy new and irresistible delights for all occasions.

Cake Basics covers:

• Basics, including icing, frostings and decorations
• Simple cakes
• Layer cakes
• Loaf cakes
• Chocolate cakes
• Cheesecakes.

The foolproof and tempting recipes include:

• Chocolate ganache
• Marble fruits
• Genoise sponge cake
• Blood orange and almond cake
• Red velvet cake
• Lemon meringue layer cake
• New York City Blackout cake
• Flourless chocolate cake.

The book also includes practical tips on how to avoid common problems encountered when cooking cakes from scratch, and a glossary clarifies baking terms.

Abi Fawcett is a freelance food stylist whose clients have included Jamie Oliver.