Beautiful pictures of finished baked goods complement the thorough recipes in this book. I appreciated the complete step by step guides. I didn’t care for the high sugar content of most recipes though (specifically the use of corn syrup often).

This cookbook is from the editors of Fine Cooking Magazine. People who are familiar with that publication will find similarities in this helpful book. Baking from scratch need not be difficult. Thanks to this book, it isn’t. This book features the best recipes from their publication that includes all sorts of beautiful layer cakes, snacking cakes, frosting, fillings, as well as my favorite, the crumb cake. Recipes are clear and concise, the pictures are very helpful, allowing you to see what the finished product is supposed to look like and work toward that endeavor. Unusual for this type of publication, this book includes nutritional information that some will appreciate, others, not. Overall, I like to this one, and found it very informative.

Great compilation of baking recipes covering a wide variety of sweet delights. I especially liked the fact that recipes where all triple tested – this is something of a bench mark for me when it comes to “foodie books”. The recipes were all clearly written, with some great hints and tips included which is always useful, even for the most experienced baker. Well presented, with delicious looking photographs of each recipe. This would make a great addition to your kitchen book shelf with something for everyone. I was given a free copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I found that this was a good cook book and really was getting us the reader away from using box cake mix’s etc… and making it from scratch. I thought everything was good with easy follow instructions and measurements. This is not for the person who is looking for no flour, no sugar. These are some old fashion recipes with some using corn syrup. When reading this book some of the ingredients looked familiar and I went searching for my grandmother’s recipe box in my garage and lo and behold I had some of my actual grandmother’s homemade cake recipes. Now I like about this book is that the author will give you tips on why something came out wrong and how to fix it very good. Overall a good book.

If you like baking cakes & cupcakes, this book is for you! Great little book chuck full of recipes and helpful tips & hints along the way. Pretty pictures accompany most of the recipes in the book, which is a big plus in my book. Drives me crazy when you can't see what the food is supposed to look like when done. Well put together.

I so loved this book! I liked how the beginning did not have a chapter of just talking. I started with pound cakes and yummy breads. Then the cakes. Then onto more specific types of cakes. I loved most of them. The recipes were pretty straight forward. All the steps were labeled and ever part of the cake, you were told how it was made and how to make it. There were tips on how to make your baking better, how to ice and layer cakes and so on.
My only complaint is that I hate that alot of things used corn syrup.
Besides that I will probably use this book again!