I would have made more of the cakes in this book, but my partner told me I had to take a baking break. Such a spoil-sport. But I suppose he has a point. After a weekly cake for over a month, it is maybe time to slow up. But moderation is tough when so many of the recipes in this beautiful book are begging for a turn in the oven.

One thing I particularly like about the book is Chesnakova's relaxed attitude towards substitutions. Even though there are several intriguing rhubarb recipes, if its not rhubarb season, she encourages swapping out for stone fruits. Many of the frostings are noted as optional, making the entries more friendly as mid-day snacks.

And now that a cake-less week has gone by, don't you think it must be overdue time to bake with the pears, figs, or zucchini that are abundant in the market right now? I see a double chocolate zucchini cake in my future that I might just call a vegetable course.

Cakes are traditionally how we celebrate big events, like birthdays and weddings and retirements. But there are also small moments every day that deserve a bite of something moist and delicious. At least, cookbook author and recipe developer Polina Chesnakova thinks so. So she has put together dozens of cake recipes that can elevate an every day moment to a celebration, and a celebration to a delicious memory.

She’s divided her recipes into shapes, so all the loaf pan recipes are together, all the round cakes are together, all the Bundts are together. So no matter what kind of pan you have, she’s got you. And each section has a combination of casual treats and show stopping desserts. But even the cakes that are clearly for the big celebrations are broken down into simple directions, so beginners can be stretched but not overwhelmed. There are lots of tips throughout about ingredients and options, but let’s talk about what’s really important here—the recipes.

For the Bundt and tube cakes, there are recipes for for a Rhubarb Buttermilk Bundt Cake, Mama’s Run Raisin Bundt Cake, Double-Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake, and Raspberry-Rose Angel Food Cake. The Sugared Jelly Doughnut Cake would be perfect to take to a brunch, and the Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Lemon Mascarpone Icing would be perfect for the holidays. But that Grapefruit Poppy Seed Cake with Hibiscus Glaze looks so beautiful with that pink glaze that it would be lovely for a shower, a birthday, or just to feel good from that floral and citrus scent. (I’m hungry just thinking about it. Can you tell?)

The round cakes include classics like the Olive Oil Cake, Flourless Chocolate Cake with Port Cherries, Strawberries-and-Cream Cake, and Carrot Cake with Browned Butter-Cream Cheese Frosting. But there are also twists on what you might expect, like the Barely Baked Dulce de Leche Cheesecake, Turkish Coffee Crumb Cake, and Coconut-Lime Cream Cake with Fluffy Marshmallow Frosting. For something simple but special, there is the Apple Sharlotka, a Russian tea cake with slices of apples baked in. Or there is the perfect-for-any-occasion Yellow Birthday Cake with Whipped Malt Chocolate Buttercream.

For square and rectangular cakes, there are the classics that are perfect to take to a big gathering, like Fudgy Devil’s Food Sheet Cake, Golden-Milk Tres Leches Cake, Confetti Cake with Strawberry Frosting, and Santina’s Tiramisu. Or if you want something a little different, there is a French Custard Cake, Salted Butterscotch Fudge Sheet Cake, or the Russian Napoleon Cake.

And for your loaf cakes, there are lovely tea cakes like the Lemon-Lavender Yogurt Cake, Earl Grey Tea Cake, or Chocolate Sour Cream Cake. Or if you’re looking for something more creative, there is the Cannoli Ricotta Cake with Candied Pistachios, Marbled Matcha Pound Cake with Berry Compote, Parsnip and Cranberry Maple Cake, or Sticky Date and Ginger Cake with Coconut-Rum Sauce.

Chesnakova includes recipes that are adapted from classics and favorites of legendary bakers and cookbooks along with her own creations, and there are flavors to please everyone. There are lots of beautiful photos to tempt readers into wanting to get out the mixer, and the instructions are clear, even for new bakers.

I love the idea of cake as an everyday treat, so I was drawn to this cookbook as soon as I saw the cover. And I do love it. But I wish there were photos of all the cakes (there are for most, but there are a few missing). And with the wide variety of recipes, there are only a handful of chocolate cakes, and they’re all fairly straightforward. But this still has a lot of intriguing recipes that I would love to try. This is a good starter cookbook for newer bakers or as a wealth of ideas for a busy baker wanting some inspiration.

Egalleys for Everyday Cake were provided by Sasquatch Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.

A must have for every baker's shelf.

Hands down, this is one of the best baking books this year.
Stunning photos, easy to make cakes with probably one of the best layouts in a long while with measurements in both American cups and European grams. I would make and eat every cake in this book. I can recommend the Grated Jam Cake and the Strawberries and Cream Cake. Delicious and simple to make.
Highly recomend for every baker's shelf.

If you want to try a bunch of new recipes, then this book will likely appeal to you. However, if you want recipes that don't try to reinvent the wheel for no apparent reason, then you will not like this book. I personally did not find any recipes in this book that were appealing to me. Everything seemed overly complicated for no reason yet it also didn't feel like I was looking at anything new. I think this book is worth checking out to see if any of the recipes interest you, however, I've seen much better baking books with more intriguing recipes.

Yummy!! Some of these recipes are amazing and most of the recipes are simple and great for beginners IMHO. I would say a few are on the more technical side but if you're patient there's nothing you can't do. If you're looking for some new cake ideas, this is a book to try.

Alot of gorgeous cake recipes. When I first read through the book, I missed the Rhubarb upside down cake, I'm definitely looking forward to baking that when the weather gets cooler. The Bundt cakes in particular look really good, I just need to invest in a bundt tin.
There's recipes for all sorts of tins though, from your loaf tins to your bundt tins. There's even some classic cakes in there which I remember from school.

Everyday Cake by Polina Chesnakova is an excellent choice if you are looking for a cookbook to help everyday desserts. The author clearly explains the tools and techniques needed to create delicious desserts. Some of the recipes you'll find include:

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Five-Spice Streusel
Sugared Jelly Donut Bundt Cake
Barely Baked Dulce De Leche Cheesecake
Raspberry-Rose Angel Food Cake
Carrot Cake with Browned Buttercream Cheese Frosting

Recommend.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.

Thank you to Sasquatch Books and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this book. This is a cookbook solely devoted to cakes and is divided based on the forms/shapes the cakes are baked in. It’s a good collection of recipes, all having a different kind of a dairy product (butter, sour cream, heavy cream, buttermilk, yogurt, etc.) I, however, would have liked to see some suggestions for non-dairy adaptations for people with allergies or lactose intolerance. Overall, it’s a nice book of simple, everyday cakes that are easy enough for anyone to make.

Oh my word, this book is heavenly! The cakes are not the fancy, highly decorated kind that I stink at, but rather easy to follow recipes that will have your friends and family stopping over more often, hoping for the offer of coffee or milk and a slice of cake. The pictures alone will leave you drooling. Everyone in the family picked at least two they want to try and the ingredients are on this week’s shopping list.

I highly recommend you give this book a read…you’ll be drooling right along with me as you make your own grocery list.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Sasquatch Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

And now on to the review:

I LOVE this book!

As someone who grew up with a mom who often baked simple, rustic cakes for our weeknight desserts, I really appreciated this cookbook! The recipes were familiar, yet with a modern twist on many of them. This cookbook just felt like home to me and I can't wait to try all of these recipes.

The photographs are beautiful as well and this book is truly a feast for the eyes as well as the sweet tooth.

I highly recommend this book!

This is full of helpful hints to elevate your baking.
Beautiful pictures to use as a guide.
There are heaps of interesting recipes written so they’re easy to follow.
I received a copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of “Everyday Cake.” Do I even need a reason to request a book with this title? Who wouldn’t want to eat cake every day! I love breakfast cakes and coffee cakes of every kind and couldn’t wait to dive into this cookbook. The photography is beautiful and will make you very hungry! This would make a great housewarming gift for someone.

Everyday Cake: 45 Simple Recipes for Layer, Bundt, Loaf, and Sheet Cakes by Polina Chesnakova is currently scheduled for release on August 16 2022. Using ingredients that are readily available, these cakes are unfussy yet sweetly indulgent. Recipes are arranged using pans most of us already have in our kitchens: round, square, loaf, rectangle, sheet, and bundt. Flavors include warm spices, herbs and flowers, and sweet essences, plus chocolate, fruit, nuts, and seeds. An wide range of cakes will tickle every fancy. For instance a Vanilla Malted Milk with Milk Chocolate Frosting would be perfect for a birthday celebration, Lemon and Lavender Yogurt cake would be quick to make and satisfying with cup of tea, and Roasted Strawberry with Whipped Crème Fraiche Shortcake would be the perfect way to end a summer supper.

Everyday Cake is the perfect cookbook for cake lovers.I love a simple and delicious recipe, and this book offers both. I like that for the most part ingredients and kitchen tools are things most of us have handy already, and the recipes are well organized and easy to follow. I liked that the recipes included metric and imperial measurements- so that everyone can use the ingredients lists without conversions and calculations. I do need to argue with the idea that these recipes are not fussy, and that everything is simple and available. Some of these recipes fall firmly on the side of fussy for me, which is fine because sometimes that is what you are looking for. Some oft he recipes call for florals, semolina flour, tahini, and things that are clearly not universal pantry staples. Again, sometimes you are looking for something to do with an abundance or rhubarb, extra candied citrus peels, or persimmons I guess. While all of these thongs can be found in a good grocery store or supplier- not everyone has the funds, time, and access needed to track some of these things down. While I enjoyed the cookbook for what it was, a good collection of cakes, I think pushing it as simple cakes for everyone is a little off and kind of frustrated me. I did find some flavor combinations that I might be trying out, but nothing struck me as terribly new or exciting that would lead me to adding this to me cookbook collection.

Everyday Cake is a delight of a book! I think this is possibly the best cake baking book I've ever seen. The recipes are detailed but simply explained. The recipes themselves are also straightforward but tweaked enough to make them interesing. Beautiful photos: check! Everyday ingredients: check! What have I tried so far: the Banana Cake with Peanut Butter frosting (delicious), Olive Oil Cake (yum, easy), Upside Down Rhubarb Cardamon cake (double-yum) and Earl Grey Tea Cake (a new favourite, perfect when a good friend stops by for a cup of tea). I am looking forward to trying out more recipes. What I particularly liked is the type of cakes featured are varied - there are sheet pan cakes, loaf cakes and of course, round layered cakes.

I am gushing yes but truly this baking book is unique in its quality. How many of us have been suckered in by pretty pictures and then never ever try even one recipe in a book? This is not that sort of baking book. You will use these recipes! I highly recommend snatching up this book.

Thank you for allowing me to read this cookbook. First off the photographs of the cakes are fantastic I thought there were some good recipes in there. There was also recipes that I probably wouldn’t try like a cake with parsnips or Matcha. I liked this book overall. The recipes seemed easy enough.

Thank you Netgalley.
A cake for every occasion!! I am becoming a fan baking these days. I really enjoyed this book.
My recipe is Barely Baked Dulce de Leche Cheesecake.
The pictures were very helpful.
I cannot wait to make some of these cakes!!

(received early through netgalley)

This books is a guide on everything you need to know about cake. It doesn't claim to be any sort of baking bible, but it has got your covered with tips and tricks. The thing that stuck out tp me about this book was the bundt cake section. I really do love bundt cakes (and all my lovely pans), but I usually end up modifying a recipe to fit one. This book has several that taste great, and come out without too much effort. I can't speak to the other types of cakes, but based on how the instructions are written out, I think every cake in this will end up fantastic.

If you are looking for simple, easy-to-follow yummy cake recipes, this is a great book for you!! The recipes include regular ingredients you will most likely have on hand. It's a great book when you want to have a delicious dessert after dinner or for your family or company, but don't want to go to a bunch of fuss!! Keep it simple!

This format was difficult to read. The cakes were simple but I could not understand the recipes the way they were formatted.

This book intrigued me the second I saw it and exceeded my expectation as soon as I started reading it. As someone who loves cakes more than cookies or bars, of course, it has to be one of my new favorite cake cookbooks!

It contains 45 recipes of bundt, loaf, sheet, and layer cakes and none of them are complicated or overwhelming. Ingredients are easy to find, recipes are easy to follow, almost all of the recipes have a picture, so if you're a visual person, it should help. Some of the recipes are classic, some of them are jazzed up with fun twists, but none that's difficult, and all of the recipes come with cup and gram measurements which I really appreciate! I have dog-eared so many of recipes already and have baked a few from the book which all turned out great.

I wouldn't call it a weeknight baking cookbook, however, definitely a whip-it-up-on-Saturday-afternoon kind of a cake cookbook for sure! As any sort of cake lover, this is a must-read! Highly recommend!