Birthday Cakes: Recipes and Memories from Celebrated Bakers

by Kathryn Kleinman, Carolyn Miller

Exquisitely illustrated with more than 55 color photographs, Birthday Cakes features memorable, celebratory cakes and birthday stories by renowned chefs, cookbook writers, and passionate bakers -- including the likes of Julia Child, Alice Waters, James Beard, Alice Medrich, and Jim Fobel. This elegant yet easy-to-use cake-making book invites us to celebrate everything the making and presentation of the cake, the warm glow of the candles, the whispering of a wish, and the heartwarming ritual of cutting and sharing the cake. Everyone will enjoy oohs and aahs when a Meyer Lemon Pound Cake is served, a beautiful, sophisticated cake that can be decorated with glazed flowers and long French birthday candles. A fabulous three-day cake-making extravaganza for the truly dedicated is Gayle Ortiz's Princess Cake, a Swedish sweet-sixteen tradition. For happy smiles all around, there's a simple, delicious chocolate cake dressed in luscious frosting, just like grandmother used to make. Sprinkled with fun ideas and tips for decorating, this collection of cake recipes and personal birthday memories will inspire cakes so special friends and family will wish they had more than one birthday.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Nonfiction, Cooking

144 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2004

Reviews

[Lisa Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good gravy, I do so LOVE Chronicle Books. Love them. Would marry them if they were single and turn the other cheek to their pile of dirty socks. Another winner, brimming with gorgeous photos and retro illustrations and accessories. I can't wait to delve deeper into this one, and bake every delectable variety. Up first is that amazing chocolate cake on the cover!

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

one unusual nameless Amazon review

Birthday Cakes doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. Is it merely a collection of pretty pictures with explanatory text? An instructional text? Is it for the advanced baker or the home cook? Is is culinary literature?

It's a bit of each of these, but not enough of any.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a few more years of birthdays, we may make every cake in this book. We have made Old-Fashioned Banana Spice Cake, Comforts Coconut Cake with Cream Cheese and Coconut Frosting, and Birthday Cupcakes so far, and they have all turned out spectacularly delicious. We plan to make Becky's Birthday Cake and Baby Cakes for the next two birthdays, and my daughter, at age 13, has already selected the Princess Cake for her 16th birthday. I never liked cakes until I started baking them, but now love is not a strong enough word. This book is a masterpiece.

[Cathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I made the angel food cake recipe and the frosting. Both sucked. This is a great book to fantasize about the perfect cake baking experience. I have found nobody beats the pros when it comes to celebrating with cake... Betty Crocker is good for the kids -but I've found a bakery to be my best friend.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The best part about this book is the pictures, and even some of those weren't very appetizing. I wonder which reader will bake plain old cupcakes out of 17--really--different ingredients, and not scoff at the mention of box mix in several other recipes. Besides, I don't really like cake.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of yummy cakes. I love the stories about the cakes.

[Dray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read, the memories are noteworthy.

[melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could eat a cake every day of my life, I suppose, but there is something about a birthday cake that is extra magical. Although the cakes here would be fantastic for any occasion I was absolutely sold on the presentation of each cake as well as the kitschy party-like decor. This book is spot-on cake porn.

[N.L. Riviezzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book off of the bargain rack at my local bookstore for $2.99. I cannot imagine spending more than that on this book but for $3, it was decent. There are a few cake recipes that I don't have in other cooking/baking books which are nice and I look forward to trying them out at some point.

[Jamie Felton · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I've made so far:
1. Elvis Cake = Best. Cake. Ever. Peanut butter and banana.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked some of the stories, but I was not very impressed by most of the cakes.