The Cake Club: Delicious Desserts and Stories from a Southern Childhood

by Susie Quick

Hardworking. Loyal. Outspoken. Ahead of their time. Hilarious. The "Fancy Frosters" of Charleston, West Virginia, were a close-knit and devoted circle - a merry band of Southern women who got together once a month to swap recipes and stories, to cook and bake together, to celebrate friendship and have some hearty laughs...and of course to eat.

Food editor and cookbook author Susie Quick's mother Emma was a member of this very special circle of sisters, aunts, cousins, and friends. Susie grew up to be a sophisticated "foodie," but she never forgot the great homemade desserts and ingenious creativity of these talented and delightful home cooks.

The Cake Club collects their most prized recipes for southern desserts, along with those of Susie's other colorful friends and relatives - all presented with their original homespun flair combined with the author's modern simplicity and style. The book includes seventy-five recipes for cakes, pies, cobblers, crumbles, cookies, candies, and other treats, plus a chapter of "Lady Food" that's sure to make a lady out of any cook.

From the very first recipe ("Funeral Cake") to Brown Sugar Pound Cake, Tunnel of Love Chocolate Macaroon Bundt Cake, Blackberry Bread Pudding, Emma's Molasses Crinkles, Minnie Pearl's Chess Pie, and the other treasured creations in this book, The Cake Club will entertain, inspire, and bring back memories of an earlier era. With stories like "A Good Man Really is Hard to Find" and "Driving Miss Minnie," photographs, and voices from several generations, this unique and delightful cookbook pays tribute to the healing power of friendship, shared recipes, and a delicious piece of cake.

Genres: Cookbooks

176 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2004

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Filled with delightful recipes and wonderful stories, this book is as much fun to simply read as it is to bake from. The author tells tales of her mother's cake club - a group of women made up of grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and friends who met to bake and socialize. The dessert recipes are great, but the stories might be even better.

[Maria Kemplin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The "Fancy Frosters" of Charleston, West Virginia were a close-knit group of women who met once a month to share recipes and friendship. Author Susie Quick's mother was a "Fancy Froster" and in this book she shares 75 recipes for cakes, pies, desserts, and other treats. The recipes are excellent, but even better are the stories along with each recipe - with titles like "Funeral Cake" and "A Good Man is Hard to Find (Especially in Nashville, Tennessee)".
The Cake Club makes you want to cook, not just because the recipes are great but because the stories along with them are so funny! Her mother smothers everyone with sugary sweets, even the diabetcis - "A little can't hurt!" she says. There is a Coca Cola chocolate sheet cake that is a favorite, also Funeral Cake, Brown Sugar Pound Cake, Blackberry Bread Pudding.
This book is a great gift... though there is a teeny bit of sex and swearing mixed in, so while an Aunt or Sister might love this book, it's not one you'd give to the Preacher's wife.
The author was editor at some fancy gourmet magazines and now lives in Midway, Ky and runs "Honest Farm" (sustainable, local, and heirloom).