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Simple Cake: All You Need to Keep Your Friends and Family in Cake [A Baking Book]
A nostalgic ode to the joy of homemade cake, beautifully photographed and with easy mix-and-match recipes for a sweet lift any day of the week.“A sweet book full of incredible photography, delightfully simple recipes, and so, so much love.”—Alison Roman, author of Dining InNAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES AND FOOD52Everyone has a favorite style of cake, whether it's citrusy and fresh or chocolatey and indulgent. All of these recipes and more are within your reach in Simple Cake, a love letter from Brooklyn apron and bakeware designer Odette Williams to her favorite treat.With easy recipes and inventive decorating ideas, Williams gives you recipes for 10 base cakes, 15 toppings, and endless decorating ideas to yield a treat—such as Milk & Honey Cake, Coconut Cake, Summer Berry Pavlova, and Chocolatey Chocolate Cake—for any occasion.Williams also addresses the fundamentals for getting cakes just right, with foolproof recipes that can be cranked out whenever the urge strikes. Gorgeous photography, along with Williams's warm and heartfelt writing, elevate this book into something truly special.
292 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2019
294 people are currently reading
646 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
April 1, 2019
I've never actually read a cookbook before. I mean I own plenty of them and I've probably used a hundred in all my years of clattering around my tiny kitchen desperately seeking non-existent counter space and trying to keep egg shells out of my batter. I love to bake. Despite my lack of anything resembling a science background I love the way the ingredients interact with each other. Like if I combine this pile of stuff with this liquid I get a giant plate of awesome to eat.
It's pretty amazing when you stop to think about it.
But when I found this book I thought this time I'm going to sit down and really read what this lady has to say. Because something about this book just grabbed me before I'd even opened it. The subtitle is "all you need to keep your friends and family in cake."
I just love that.
That's one of my favorite things about baking, handing out the results to my family and seeing them get all cozy on the couch with warm cookies or getting icing all over their faces and totally blissed out on sugary goodness. Of course now I can't do anything in the kitchen without the assistance of my sous chef who, at the ripe old age of six is still prone to sampling everything he can get his hands on salmonella be damned. And that adds a whole nother layer to the pleasure I get from baking. I get to sort of step back and think about how he'll have that as a memory of childhood that his mom made yummy treats and taught him how to level off the flour and measure out vanilla and scrape down a bowl while your beating it.
I think what makes this book special is its simplicity. I know, big surprise right? But I get Odette Williams point. The idea with this kind of baking isn't to create some five tier masterpiece covered in fondant and fifty kinds of frosting. Its to create something simple that tastes amazing that you can share with people you care about. She emphasizes being a thoughtful baker, staying conscience of why you're baking and who you're doing it for. It's amazing what a difference that makes when you just take a second to enjoy what you're doing instead of just throwing the ingredients in the bowl.
To that end Williams presents the reader with ten basic recipes for "the only cake you'll ever need," fifteen simple, and simply astounding toppings, and finally thirty "cake worthy moments," ideal times and places and situations that can all be made better with cake. There's a super helpful chart in the back that breaks down which toppings go best with which cakes and sublimely simple variations on presentation that any level of baker can handle. Each recipe also has several ingredient variations to try when you're feeling more confident with the basics. It really is as if she's saying "see the potential here for all kinds of fun flavors and textures? Now you try!"
It's all written in Williams breezy, gentle style with brief anecdotes about why each cake is important to her, what makes this one a "vacation cake" and this one a "self-care cake", and my all time favorite the "golden buttery treat" which involves pan frying a slice of "versatile coconut cake" in butter which I will have to wait until Dan takes the kids to visit his mom to try for myself.
The book is also full of basic baking techniques and explanations that I'd never stopped to consider before but Williams makes very easy to understand. For instance I never really got the point of sifting dry ingredients beforehand. To me it was always good enough to whisk everything around a few times. But low and behold! One sifting session later and I've got the lightest cake I've ever eaten!
Another thing that stands out is Williams confidence in the reader that you can totally handle this stuff. It really is like having a kitchen savvy friend who's saying "look I was like you once but you just have to practice, play around and try things."
I'll confess here that I've only tried one cake so far, the "Milk and Honey Cake" which won me over immediately just with its name. Henry and I were very careful to obey all Williams' instructions and sure enough we produced two just gorgeous golden brown cakes that tasted like absolute heaven. I experimented just a touch with a simple powdered sugar on one and a totally decadent honey whipped cream on the other. We gorged ourselves silly for three days and it was heaven and I regret nothing.
I took this out of the library but ended up purchasing it almost immediately because I knew I'd found my go to baking book for life. There's something about the idea of cake whenever you want it that just fills me with pleasure. I can just sit here and decide if I feel more like I want "chocolatey chocolate cake" or "tangy olive oil cake" this weekend and do I want caramel sauce or creme anglaise? And then I can wander into the kitchen, take down my mixing bowls, hoist the boy up on his stool and bake the afternoon away.
Bliss.
It's pretty amazing when you stop to think about it.
But when I found this book I thought this time I'm going to sit down and really read what this lady has to say. Because something about this book just grabbed me before I'd even opened it. The subtitle is "all you need to keep your friends and family in cake."
I just love that.
That's one of my favorite things about baking, handing out the results to my family and seeing them get all cozy on the couch with warm cookies or getting icing all over their faces and totally blissed out on sugary goodness. Of course now I can't do anything in the kitchen without the assistance of my sous chef who, at the ripe old age of six is still prone to sampling everything he can get his hands on salmonella be damned. And that adds a whole nother layer to the pleasure I get from baking. I get to sort of step back and think about how he'll have that as a memory of childhood that his mom made yummy treats and taught him how to level off the flour and measure out vanilla and scrape down a bowl while your beating it.
I think what makes this book special is its simplicity. I know, big surprise right? But I get Odette Williams point. The idea with this kind of baking isn't to create some five tier masterpiece covered in fondant and fifty kinds of frosting. Its to create something simple that tastes amazing that you can share with people you care about. She emphasizes being a thoughtful baker, staying conscience of why you're baking and who you're doing it for. It's amazing what a difference that makes when you just take a second to enjoy what you're doing instead of just throwing the ingredients in the bowl.
To that end Williams presents the reader with ten basic recipes for "the only cake you'll ever need," fifteen simple, and simply astounding toppings, and finally thirty "cake worthy moments," ideal times and places and situations that can all be made better with cake. There's a super helpful chart in the back that breaks down which toppings go best with which cakes and sublimely simple variations on presentation that any level of baker can handle. Each recipe also has several ingredient variations to try when you're feeling more confident with the basics. It really is as if she's saying "see the potential here for all kinds of fun flavors and textures? Now you try!"
It's all written in Williams breezy, gentle style with brief anecdotes about why each cake is important to her, what makes this one a "vacation cake" and this one a "self-care cake", and my all time favorite the "golden buttery treat" which involves pan frying a slice of "versatile coconut cake" in butter which I will have to wait until Dan takes the kids to visit his mom to try for myself.
The book is also full of basic baking techniques and explanations that I'd never stopped to consider before but Williams makes very easy to understand. For instance I never really got the point of sifting dry ingredients beforehand. To me it was always good enough to whisk everything around a few times. But low and behold! One sifting session later and I've got the lightest cake I've ever eaten!
Another thing that stands out is Williams confidence in the reader that you can totally handle this stuff. It really is like having a kitchen savvy friend who's saying "look I was like you once but you just have to practice, play around and try things."
I'll confess here that I've only tried one cake so far, the "Milk and Honey Cake" which won me over immediately just with its name. Henry and I were very careful to obey all Williams' instructions and sure enough we produced two just gorgeous golden brown cakes that tasted like absolute heaven. I experimented just a touch with a simple powdered sugar on one and a totally decadent honey whipped cream on the other. We gorged ourselves silly for three days and it was heaven and I regret nothing.
I took this out of the library but ended up purchasing it almost immediately because I knew I'd found my go to baking book for life. There's something about the idea of cake whenever you want it that just fills me with pleasure. I can just sit here and decide if I feel more like I want "chocolatey chocolate cake" or "tangy olive oil cake" this weekend and do I want caramel sauce or creme anglaise? And then I can wander into the kitchen, take down my mixing bowls, hoist the boy up on his stool and bake the afternoon away.
Bliss.
March 13, 2019
#partner Thank You Ten Speed Press, Random House, & Odette Williams for my free copy of Simple Cake.
I am in love with this simplistic cookbook. Odette Williams gives you 10 base cakes to work with and they are simple and easy to bake. The recipes are flavorful and unfussy. These cakes will become your simple favorites. All you will need to do is mix up the toppings and fillings and you have a new cake. A new flavor profile to delight your taste buds.
Pick up this book, select your favorite cake and celebrate!
My favorite is the Lemon Yogurt Cake. So delicious!
I am in love with this simplistic cookbook. Odette Williams gives you 10 base cakes to work with and they are simple and easy to bake. The recipes are flavorful and unfussy. These cakes will become your simple favorites. All you will need to do is mix up the toppings and fillings and you have a new cake. A new flavor profile to delight your taste buds.
Pick up this book, select your favorite cake and celebrate!
My favorite is the Lemon Yogurt Cake. So delicious!
January 11, 2020
To revive day-old cake, “grill it in butter in a small frying pan.”
Don’t have to tell me twice.
Don’t have to tell me twice.
April 14, 2019
This is a fantastic little volume with a unique premise: 10 cake recipes, 15 topping recipes, and dozens of variations to provide for just about any kind of cake craving. The recipes are clear and concise, there isn't too much chatty narrative, and the end result is a book that anyone who likes to make cake can enjoy. This is really a standout cookbook.
April 2, 2019
There are those who bake big, beautiful cakes, with lots of layers and exorbitant amounts of buttercream frosting covered in fondant and glamorous decorations. I admire those people. I read their cookbooks. But I don’t make those cakes. I am busy and impatient, and I have no idea who all would eat those giant cakes.
However, I do love cake.
So when I saw Simple Cake, I thought, “This is perfect for me!” It has just a few recipes with lots of variations and topping ideas for small, charming, easy, non-fussy cakes. And the ones I tried are so delicious! I made the Back to School Cake, which is the Chocolately Chocolate Cake made in a 13”x9“ cake pan and sprinkled with powdered sugar. It is so moist and, well, chocolatey! This may be my new go-to recipe for chocolate cake.
Then I tried the Lovely Lemon Yogurt Cake with the Citrus Glaze in a 9” pan, aka A Cake for the Working Week. I added the optional poppy seeds because lemon and poppy seed is one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations. It’s super moist too, and it was truly simple to put together.
Simple Cake by Odette Williams is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a cookbook with simple cake recipes that will keep you and your family and friends very happy. Even though there are really only 10 basic cake recipes, the options and toppings mean those 10 cakes can be combined into a multitude of delicious desserts for every day and special occasions. This cookbook is perfect for beginners or for experienced bakers, like me, who struggle to find the time to make my own cake.
I love Simple Cake! I highly recommend it, and I can’t wait to try more of these recipes (Very Vanilla Cake, I’m looking at you!).
Thank you, Ten Speed Press, for the free book. I am so excited to be a part of your Ambassador Program for this book!
However, I do love cake.
So when I saw Simple Cake, I thought, “This is perfect for me!” It has just a few recipes with lots of variations and topping ideas for small, charming, easy, non-fussy cakes. And the ones I tried are so delicious! I made the Back to School Cake, which is the Chocolately Chocolate Cake made in a 13”x9“ cake pan and sprinkled with powdered sugar. It is so moist and, well, chocolatey! This may be my new go-to recipe for chocolate cake.
Then I tried the Lovely Lemon Yogurt Cake with the Citrus Glaze in a 9” pan, aka A Cake for the Working Week. I added the optional poppy seeds because lemon and poppy seed is one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations. It’s super moist too, and it was truly simple to put together.
Simple Cake by Odette Williams is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a cookbook with simple cake recipes that will keep you and your family and friends very happy. Even though there are really only 10 basic cake recipes, the options and toppings mean those 10 cakes can be combined into a multitude of delicious desserts for every day and special occasions. This cookbook is perfect for beginners or for experienced bakers, like me, who struggle to find the time to make my own cake.
I love Simple Cake! I highly recommend it, and I can’t wait to try more of these recipes (Very Vanilla Cake, I’m looking at you!).
Thank you, Ten Speed Press, for the free book. I am so excited to be a part of your Ambassador Program for this book!
November 13, 2019
my dear friend gave this to me for my birthday and I've made a couple of the eight cakes in here, and they were delicious and I'll be making more. this is my kind of baking book.
June 29, 2020
This is a great back to basics recipe book with some great topping recipes to mix it up.
March 20, 2019
BECAUSE CAKE SHOULD BE EASY AND BRING EVERYONE TOGETHER!!
If you're in need of cake, TURN IN HERE! Whether someone has a birthday or you are just craving some cake, this book will deliver! Odette has done a fantastic job of compiling these recipes to suit any occasion! I have made the Chocolatey Chocolate Cake topped with the Silky Marshmallow Icing and have absolutely fallen in love! The cake is delicious and moist and still is - three days later! I am looking forward to all the cake baking in the years ahead!
Why do I love flipping through this book so much? ALL OF THE POSSIBILITIES! Baking is my favorite thing in the world when I am given freedom to dream. This book helps facilitate those dreams! She has given ten different base cake recipes and fifteen toppings with variations, so you can make cake that is customizable to anyone's tastes and whatever you can dream up! She already has some really outstanding cake ideas in the back of the book to help grow that dream cake of yours! I appreciate her effort to include many pan sizes and baking times with each recipe too; I do not always have the proper pan sizes, and then it can quickly turn into a dicey guessing game of how long to bake the cake - she has done all of the work, so no worries about over or under baking cake here! Thanks to Ten Speed Press for providing me with this free book!
Here is to making more cake this weekend (and the next!) This book might even convince me to eat cake for breakfast too!
If you're in need of cake, TURN IN HERE! Whether someone has a birthday or you are just craving some cake, this book will deliver! Odette has done a fantastic job of compiling these recipes to suit any occasion! I have made the Chocolatey Chocolate Cake topped with the Silky Marshmallow Icing and have absolutely fallen in love! The cake is delicious and moist and still is - three days later! I am looking forward to all the cake baking in the years ahead!
Why do I love flipping through this book so much? ALL OF THE POSSIBILITIES! Baking is my favorite thing in the world when I am given freedom to dream. This book helps facilitate those dreams! She has given ten different base cake recipes and fifteen toppings with variations, so you can make cake that is customizable to anyone's tastes and whatever you can dream up! She already has some really outstanding cake ideas in the back of the book to help grow that dream cake of yours! I appreciate her effort to include many pan sizes and baking times with each recipe too; I do not always have the proper pan sizes, and then it can quickly turn into a dicey guessing game of how long to bake the cake - she has done all of the work, so no worries about over or under baking cake here! Thanks to Ten Speed Press for providing me with this free book!
Here is to making more cake this weekend (and the next!) This book might even convince me to eat cake for breakfast too!
March 27, 2019
I loved this cookbook with recipes for a variety of cakes/icings and other flavoring to make the baked desserts for everyday. Easy to find ingredients and the lemon cake I made tasted better than anything I could get at a bakery or store for a reasonable price.
July 24, 2020
I’ve made 6 of the 10 cakes and all have been great. She offers many topping, frosting, sauce recipes and a guide to mix and match. I haven’t tried many as we really get to the cake as is. This is my new go-to cake book.
August 17, 2019
Took this out from the library and made the milk and honey cake (delicious) and the fruit compote twice (extra delicious and versatile). Think I need my own copy for future cake occasions.
February 12, 2020
Some reviews write themselves. Last weekend I had a Cookbook Club meeting. It was early Sunday morning that I was sitting with a cookbook in my favourite chair by the window. I had inwardly rejoiced at the prospect of baking something from one of the cookbooks I needed to review, since the scope of this meeting was about baking. But, as I flipped through the cookbook, I couldn't find a recipe I had all the ingredients for, or even had the time to make. The meeting wasn't until late Sunday afternoon, but I still had laundry, lunch to cook, and other chores and, honestly, I didn't want to devote time I didn't have to elaborate baking. Don't misunderstand me, the books I've been sent to review are delightful and marvelous, but they offer a particular type of baking -- like cooking, baking can be broken down into two types: weekend and weekday. One needs time to complete and enjoy, the other can be enjoyed when it seems like you might not have any time to spare. With my husband and daughter giving me the saddest eyes ever because I would be baking (but not for them), I reached for my copy of Odette Williams' Simple Cake because I knew I would be able to bake not one but two cakes (one to take with me and one to leave with my darlings) AND, I would still be able to get everything I wanted to get done before leaving for the meeting.
Williams' book has only been with me a short while, and, in that time, it has become my go to for cakes. Not a book I was sent to review but one I treated myself to (and I'm so glad I did!). Reading through Williams' Introduction makes me a bit emotional -- it's all about nostalgia and memories. About Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book, eating more batter than cake, her father, and her children and family. Not only is her introduction about all these things, it's about luring the home baker into the kitchen with the promise of cake. Simple and joyful. I appreciated her warm tone -- one that told me baking a cake isn't complicated.
Simple Cake is organized into 4 main chapters: Let the Baking Begin!, Cakes, Cake Toppings, and Cake-Worthy Moments. I appreciate how she begins by outlining all the essential advice, equipment, and techniques you'll need and, follows this with the cake recipes and toppings. Williams even offers instructions on how to bake up cakes for any event or reason -- I already know that the "How Did You Get So Big?" Cake will be the one I bake for my daughter's upcoming birthday. Doesn't chocolate cake with marshmallow icing sound perfect? There's also a small section at the back of the book that is dedicated to ingredients. I appreciate that the book is called Simple Cake and the recipes contain a very small number of ingredients. How simple is that? The ingredients are all ones you most likely have in your pantry right now, and if you don't, then you can find them easily at the local supermarket.
I love to bake with my daughter and, Simple Cake is a great first cookbook for young bakers. With 10 cakes and 15 toppings the possibilities are limitless and offer what kids love the most: experimentation. A "choose your own cake adventure" if you will. It started with a fistful of leftover candy canes and some peppermint bark. We decided on the recipe for Very Vanilla Cake and instead of adding sprinkles for the Funfetti variation we added crushed up candy cane to the batter and a bit of peppermint extract. Our glorious creation was frosted with her Easy Creamy Icing and was then topped w/ chopped up peppermint bark. My daughter was so proud of our "Ode to Christmas" Cake! We sliced it up and she gleefully took her first bite. The look on her face is what childhood is all about. And, in case I'd forgotten, my first bite tasted like childhood too.
This is also a fun book to hand to any visitors that come to stay. Once the book is in their hands you tell them to choose a cake to make. When my dad was here, he picked out the Cinnamon Spice Cake and when my MIL came to stay, she chose the Bribery Cake (the Chocolatey Chocolate Cake topped with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream). My Mother-In-Law loves anything chocolate (my husband comes by it honestly!) so I was excited to bake her something special. What I wrote when I posted pictures of this cake to my Instagram feed is true: Perfection on a plate but, to be honest, it’s so much more. About three years ago I saw a gloriously layered and buttercreamed cake I wanted to make for my daughter’s birthday. The cake turned out fine, but that buttercream was such a fail that it brought me to tears (and, of all the things that do bring me to tears, food usually isn’t one). But with Willams’ tips and instructions I was able to overcome my fears and try again. This luscious frosting has been renamed (in my mind) “No Tears Swiss Meringue Buttercream” — it’s the perfect topping for a cake that I’m calling the “Have Faith Chocolate Cake” because when you pour the batter into the cake pan it’s so soupy you wonder (doubt) how it will ever bake, but, it does! (A good metaphor for life when you wonder how it can get better/turn out, then magic happens).
So, returning to my Sunday morning, I started to bake up a Cinnamon Spice Cake (full of beautiful ingredients like spelt flour, honey, and applesauce) which I frosted with the Cream Cheese Frosting and sprinkled with chopped, toasted pecans. The cake smelled like a dream while it baked! I chose to bake it as a 9X13" sheet cake but Williams also gives options (as she does with all of the cake recipes) for other sizes. Just as the cake for Cookbook Club was finishing baking, I got to work mixing up the Very Vanilla Cake recipe using the Funfetti variation for my family. I made it in a 6" springform pan -- a perfectly petite afternoon treat and, I also used some clear, imitation vanilla extract to really double down on those Betty Crocker-laced memories of funfetti cakes of my childhood. As soon as the cake cooled, I dusted it with icing sugar and then I whipped up a batch of Nutella Whipped Cream. While it might seem foolhardy to try to bake two different cakes in one morning, I think this situation is a perfect illustration of how simple Simple Cake is.
Some cookbooks can act like a safety net -- even when you're not sure of anything you can trust the recipes. Simple Cake is the cookbook I turned to so that I wouldn't show up empty handed to my cookbook club meeting and as I took the carrying lid off my cake carrier at the meeting, I knew that this cake would be loved. Sharing it with the group, I think that this is a cookbook everyone should have in their life. As I said earlier -- some reviews write themselves -- I knew when I came home on Sunday evening that I would write a review to share this book with you because even with a small, unassuming book like, Simple Cake, it's one that will bring much joy to your kitchen like it has in mine.
This review was also posted to www.shipshapeeatworthy.wordpress.com
I used my own personal copy to happily write this review.
Williams' book has only been with me a short while, and, in that time, it has become my go to for cakes. Not a book I was sent to review but one I treated myself to (and I'm so glad I did!). Reading through Williams' Introduction makes me a bit emotional -- it's all about nostalgia and memories. About Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book, eating more batter than cake, her father, and her children and family. Not only is her introduction about all these things, it's about luring the home baker into the kitchen with the promise of cake. Simple and joyful. I appreciated her warm tone -- one that told me baking a cake isn't complicated.
Simple Cake is organized into 4 main chapters: Let the Baking Begin!, Cakes, Cake Toppings, and Cake-Worthy Moments. I appreciate how she begins by outlining all the essential advice, equipment, and techniques you'll need and, follows this with the cake recipes and toppings. Williams even offers instructions on how to bake up cakes for any event or reason -- I already know that the "How Did You Get So Big?" Cake will be the one I bake for my daughter's upcoming birthday. Doesn't chocolate cake with marshmallow icing sound perfect? There's also a small section at the back of the book that is dedicated to ingredients. I appreciate that the book is called Simple Cake and the recipes contain a very small number of ingredients. How simple is that? The ingredients are all ones you most likely have in your pantry right now, and if you don't, then you can find them easily at the local supermarket.
I love to bake with my daughter and, Simple Cake is a great first cookbook for young bakers. With 10 cakes and 15 toppings the possibilities are limitless and offer what kids love the most: experimentation. A "choose your own cake adventure" if you will. It started with a fistful of leftover candy canes and some peppermint bark. We decided on the recipe for Very Vanilla Cake and instead of adding sprinkles for the Funfetti variation we added crushed up candy cane to the batter and a bit of peppermint extract. Our glorious creation was frosted with her Easy Creamy Icing and was then topped w/ chopped up peppermint bark. My daughter was so proud of our "Ode to Christmas" Cake! We sliced it up and she gleefully took her first bite. The look on her face is what childhood is all about. And, in case I'd forgotten, my first bite tasted like childhood too.
This is also a fun book to hand to any visitors that come to stay. Once the book is in their hands you tell them to choose a cake to make. When my dad was here, he picked out the Cinnamon Spice Cake and when my MIL came to stay, she chose the Bribery Cake (the Chocolatey Chocolate Cake topped with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream). My Mother-In-Law loves anything chocolate (my husband comes by it honestly!) so I was excited to bake her something special. What I wrote when I posted pictures of this cake to my Instagram feed is true: Perfection on a plate but, to be honest, it’s so much more. About three years ago I saw a gloriously layered and buttercreamed cake I wanted to make for my daughter’s birthday. The cake turned out fine, but that buttercream was such a fail that it brought me to tears (and, of all the things that do bring me to tears, food usually isn’t one). But with Willams’ tips and instructions I was able to overcome my fears and try again. This luscious frosting has been renamed (in my mind) “No Tears Swiss Meringue Buttercream” — it’s the perfect topping for a cake that I’m calling the “Have Faith Chocolate Cake” because when you pour the batter into the cake pan it’s so soupy you wonder (doubt) how it will ever bake, but, it does! (A good metaphor for life when you wonder how it can get better/turn out, then magic happens).
So, returning to my Sunday morning, I started to bake up a Cinnamon Spice Cake (full of beautiful ingredients like spelt flour, honey, and applesauce) which I frosted with the Cream Cheese Frosting and sprinkled with chopped, toasted pecans. The cake smelled like a dream while it baked! I chose to bake it as a 9X13" sheet cake but Williams also gives options (as she does with all of the cake recipes) for other sizes. Just as the cake for Cookbook Club was finishing baking, I got to work mixing up the Very Vanilla Cake recipe using the Funfetti variation for my family. I made it in a 6" springform pan -- a perfectly petite afternoon treat and, I also used some clear, imitation vanilla extract to really double down on those Betty Crocker-laced memories of funfetti cakes of my childhood. As soon as the cake cooled, I dusted it with icing sugar and then I whipped up a batch of Nutella Whipped Cream. While it might seem foolhardy to try to bake two different cakes in one morning, I think this situation is a perfect illustration of how simple Simple Cake is.
Some cookbooks can act like a safety net -- even when you're not sure of anything you can trust the recipes. Simple Cake is the cookbook I turned to so that I wouldn't show up empty handed to my cookbook club meeting and as I took the carrying lid off my cake carrier at the meeting, I knew that this cake would be loved. Sharing it with the group, I think that this is a cookbook everyone should have in their life. As I said earlier -- some reviews write themselves -- I knew when I came home on Sunday evening that I would write a review to share this book with you because even with a small, unassuming book like, Simple Cake, it's one that will bring much joy to your kitchen like it has in mine.
This review was also posted to www.shipshapeeatworthy.wordpress.com
I used my own personal copy to happily write this review.
November 2, 2019
This was the October 2019 cookbook for the Food 52 Baking Club. The concept is a great one, especially if you have young children and are looking for easy cakes to whip up quickly. There is a mix and match component to each recipe, as well as a variation so that while there are only a dozen or so recipes for cake, the combinations are much greater. I didn't think the lemon poppyseed cake was a knock it out of the park winner, other people in the club thought there were some real gems in here, so I will try to bake out of it even though the month has passed.
July 12, 2019
The idea is good: provide some basic cake recipes with different kinds of toppings, serving suggestions, and situations specific to each combination. However, this cookbook doesn't have enough pictures! To me, what sets a cookbook above others is it's visuals. I need to see the cake to decide whether or not I want to make the effort to make it. Although there are some photographs, there are not enough to accompany the promise of this cookbook.
December 8, 2019
3.5 stars
I liked the simplicity of the idea: A limited number of cake recipes that you embellish and alter with a range of mix-ins and frostings.
My favourites:
Lovely Lemon Yogurt Cake (If you like lemon, truly, give this a try!)
Madeleines (Because it isn't intimidating as so many other versions are)
Nana's Simple Glaze
Caramel Sauce
Raspberry Curd
I liked the simplicity of the idea: A limited number of cake recipes that you embellish and alter with a range of mix-ins and frostings.
My favourites:
Lovely Lemon Yogurt Cake (If you like lemon, truly, give this a try!)
Madeleines (Because it isn't intimidating as so many other versions are)
Nana's Simple Glaze
Caramel Sauce
Raspberry Curd
September 5, 2020
After reading all the reviews, here is my take. I have made 8 of the cakes several times each. Ready to make #9 Almond Gateau. I don’t have Madeline pans and need to make the Meringue when the humidity is low. All the cakes are liked by my family. They are the right size and good snack size cakes for everyday. They are as the title says, Simple Cakes! They are similar to other recipes out there and Odette uses a less fussy way of putting the ingredients together. That doesn’t mean you can’t use the more traditional way or adjust the ingredients a bit more to your liking. My suggestion is to make each cake as written and write notes on what you would improve. Try Odette’s variations. I think this book shows you that you can simplify your baking and have cakes that turn out great. It is a great book to use when teaching younger children to bake, and a great starter book for new bakers. Also, it is a great book to go to when you have made way too many banana bread recipes! The few cakes without a picture with the main recipe, are pictured elsewhere in the book. This book can inspire you to read other snack size cake recipes, cut other recipes in half, or branch out and make more complicated cakes as you gain confidence. For me and my family, they are delicious cakes that don’t need frosting and extra sugar.
July 25, 2020
A truly excellent book for the novice and intentionally un-fussy baker. As much as I love watching The Great British Baking Show, I have no ambition to produce those elaborate, ornamental bakes. I just wanted to be able to make a slew of basic, delicious cakes reliably for friends and family. So when I heard Odette Williams on The Splendid Table a while ago promoting Simple Cake and her easygoing baking philosophy, I knew I’d found my cake guru.
I love how the book is structured, with cake recipes and topping recipes that you can mix and match. I’ve made several cakes now for loved ones – vanilla, chocolate, lemon, milk and honey, and cinnamon-spice, with various frostings, glazes, and toppings. They’ve all turned out great and been well-received. And now I have a “cake sense,” an intuition about what feels right and what feels wrong so I can better analyze new recipes and troubleshoot as I go. This will be my go-to cake cookbook forevermore.
I love how the book is structured, with cake recipes and topping recipes that you can mix and match. I’ve made several cakes now for loved ones – vanilla, chocolate, lemon, milk and honey, and cinnamon-spice, with various frostings, glazes, and toppings. They’ve all turned out great and been well-received. And now I have a “cake sense,” an intuition about what feels right and what feels wrong so I can better analyze new recipes and troubleshoot as I go. This will be my go-to cake cookbook forevermore.
September 20, 2020
It's 2020, the year of baking, and this is my secret weapon. Stuck indoors amidst a pandemic and wildfires raging nearby, nothing soothes quite like cake. I've made several of the recipes so far - the Milk & Honey Cake, the Very Vanilla with a funfetti variation, and the Simple Chocolate Cake, as well as the Beautiful Buttercream, White & Whipped Cream, and Caramel Sauce. They're all winners, all like a warm hug from the oven or mixing bowl, a dependable gift for my family as we weather this year together. Buy this book. The recipes are simple and lovingly crafted and will bring you joy in these times when we all need it so, so badly.
August 19, 2024
This book is exactly what the title suggest. Simple. It is so beautiful in it's simplicity and accomplishes exactly what Williams has intended. Simple recipes, with simple ingredients, for the simple joys of life.
Having baked a few of the recipes, Williams laid out clear instructions for uncomplicated recipes that were exceptionally delicious. I enjoyed the lil tips that she gave. The thing I most appreciated was the flexibility of the recipes. She lays out alternatives for the batter and how to adjust for different sized pans and unforcefully suggested how to top the cakes. I loved every combination I've tried so far and look forward to cooking through the rest of this book!
Having baked a few of the recipes, Williams laid out clear instructions for uncomplicated recipes that were exceptionally delicious. I enjoyed the lil tips that she gave. The thing I most appreciated was the flexibility of the recipes. She lays out alternatives for the batter and how to adjust for different sized pans and unforcefully suggested how to top the cakes. I loved every combination I've tried so far and look forward to cooking through the rest of this book!
September 24, 2019
I have a few go-to cake recipes, but this book has taken that idea to the next level! I have made two cakes from this book so far (and I've admired the other recipes). Not only where the cakes easy to make with ingredients I had on hand, but the cakes have been delicious! This is the cake recipe book everyone needs and no one knew we were waiting for! I love the mix-and-match style of the book as well as the "adaptations" built right in to the end of the recipe. For everyday or special occasion cakes, I know where I'll be baking from.
November 22, 2019
This is a great cake book. I think what I like best is that there are only 10 recipes and many variations, and the cakes are small. You could make 2 to have a layer cake, but usually this is good size. Their recipe for chocolate coconut cake is fabulous. It takes like those little chocolate coconut squares you can buy in the bakery. Those are difficult to make, and this is easy and tastes so similar. This is also a beautiful book. I reached my renewal limit at the library so I just bought it. I like having it on my cookbook shelf.
January 18, 2020
This cookbook is like coming in from the cold with a heavy heart and being welcomed into a warm kitchen by a favorite aunt who sits you down, hands you cake, and then listens as you tell her your day.
I’m afraid I may need to buy my own copy as I’ve already gotten bits of flour stuck between the pages of the one I checked out. The author promises cake that you can make on a work night and she delivers.
These aren’t fancy cakes.
These aren’t over the top cakes.
These are simple cakes that slowly become comfort food and part of your childhood memory.
I’m afraid I may need to buy my own copy as I’ve already gotten bits of flour stuck between the pages of the one I checked out. The author promises cake that you can make on a work night and she delivers.
These aren’t fancy cakes.
These aren’t over the top cakes.
These are simple cakes that slowly become comfort food and part of your childhood memory.
April 29, 2019
A loving paean to that most emotionally satisfying of desserts: cake. Odette Williams has written a charming, easy to follow guidebook for those who like to mark occasions with gleefully made baking sessions. Attractive photos and personal stories accompany the recipes -- a set of basic cakes and a series of fun toppings to mix and match. Be sure to check the yield of the recipes; once or twice I doubted which pan (size) I was supposed to use.
July 26, 2024
Other people seem to be okay with this, but an entire book with 10 cake recipes and 15 toppings in the first few pages, then the rest of the book mixing and matching? What nonsense is this! I was expecting some new ideas, easy to make, lots of choices, but not what was here. I’ve had a lot of success with Yossi Arefi’s snacking series, which is full of interesting small cakes and plentiful adaptations. Skip this one, get those instead.
October 17, 2019
Pictures of recipes? Not all have photos of the finished result.
Commentary on recipes? Yes.
Nutrition facts? No.
Recipe Style? Simple
Any keepers? A couple.
I like how simple the recipes are. I don't get why tte recipes are listed again in the second part of the book. What makes Beach Bake Sale Madelines different from regular Madeleines? Yeah, there's no difference.
Commentary on recipes? Yes.
Nutrition facts? No.
Recipe Style? Simple
Any keepers? A couple.
I like how simple the recipes are. I don't get why tte recipes are listed again in the second part of the book. What makes Beach Bake Sale Madelines different from regular Madeleines? Yeah, there's no difference.
January 3, 2020
This book makes baking cakes feel very approachable - fun and celebratory. The basic cakes are mostly simple, baked in a single layer or loaf form. There are ten base cakes and 15 toppings, with many suggestions about mixing and matching, as well as instructions that allow you to bake in various pan sizes and cupcake form.
April 14, 2020
It's a lovely cookbook. Well written, looks like it will be one I use, I have many that were great reads, not so great to use. My one complaint is the first recipe I wanted to try I needed a pan I didn't have. It was for the chocolate cake that needed a 10" x 3" round cake pan. Not one of the collection I had, but now that I do I'll be trying the recipe.
October 26, 2020
Well this just went on my Christmas list. I try to check out cookbooks from the library, and only buy those that I’ll actually use. Ummm guys, I might start baking tonight. Recipes are easy to follow, she gives clear instructions, multiple baking times based on different pans, and provides variations on the basic base. Get in mah belly. 🍰 🤤
September 17, 2021
This is a beautiful book and would make a great coffee table addition. The cake recipes didn’t blow me away (as someone who loves cake for the taste and not the design) but they are straightforward and written clearly. The simple icing recipe is solid: three ingredients for a glaze that hardens like fondant.
March 27, 2023
I'm glad this book includes some NON-Butter based cakes and icings. I'm not saying that butter is bad - but for some folks it just doesn't agree with us. I made the Lovely Lemon Yogurt Cake with Goat Yogurt instead of Cow Dairy. The goat flavor was covered by the lemony flavor. The texture was light and fluffy. And the Berry Crumble variation was delightful.
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