Cake Magic!

The recipes look so incredible! I wanted to pretty much eat every single cake that was featured. It seems like Caroline thought of everything, with addition/subtraction of time for different baking dishes, how to coat the pans, what happened if your cake isn't perfect, etc. I really love how simple the recipes are two. Just three things: batter, syrup, and frosting and you're done! I've never even heard of using syrups on cakes, but it's a great idea! I'll definitely be checking this book out when it's published. I only wish I had access to a copy that wasn't going to expire in 54 days so I could bake a ton, because I want to try all the recipes!!!

I love the innovative concept of this book. Here's a way to start with a simple cake formula and run with it. The title says it all, you can mix and match cakes. The inclusion of substitutes and recipes for those who may have food allergies or are vegan is also very helpful. To top it off the pictures are wonderful and really sets in that sweet tooth craving. Overall this would be a great addition for those who love baking, experienced or not.

Mix + Match Cakes by Caroline Wright is an imaginative and creative cookbook that uses a basic formula with variations to create different cake recipes. The recipes were created to allow vegans and people eating a gluten-free diet can use the recipes as the author created a gluten-free cake mix you can use in her recipes.

Some of the recipes I plan to try include:

Creamy Caramel Cake Spicy Cinnamon Cake with Apples Best Blackout Cake Warm Chocolate Gingerbread Cake Hostess Cake Spicy Hot Chocolate Cake Summer Lemon Cake Lemon Pucker Cake Southern Diner Cake S'Mores Cake

There are plenty of other recipes I would like to list here, as I can't wait to try them, but the list would go on and on. There are that many recipes I would like try and look forward to doing so.

Recommend.

Love cake? Cake Magic!: Mix & Match Your Way to 100 Amazing Combinations is a perfect book to make dozens of cakes. The layout of the book is quite innovative and clever. There are dozens of basic cakes, sauces, fillings, and frostings in the book, and to make a cake, simply find the cake that looks good, and go to the basic recipes to find the combination that is listed for your cake of choice. The pictures are mouthwatering, and although there are dozens of cakes photographed and listed, your imagination is the limit to what you can do with the basic recipes.

Cakes are always popular, since they can be easily transported, they keep well, and they taste good. It’s really fun to make one that is new and different, and this book makes it possible to make almost any flavor imaginable. The recipes are concise and easy to follow. Most importantly, they turn out like they are supposed to. Even if you are a beginner when it comes to baking, it is still possible to make showstopper cakes by following the recipes in this book. There are also hints and explanations that will make your cake baking experience pleasant, and may just make you the famous cake baker in your circle of family and friends.

Like all good cookbooks, there are beautiful pictures, a comprehensive index, a good introduction and a table of contents that will make finding what you want quick and easy.

This is a book that you’ll want to peruse and read for enjoyment, even if you’re not planning to bake. But after seeing the cakes, you will make time to bake because the cakes are truly irresistible.

This book is highly recommended for anyone who wants to make beautiful cakes that are beautiful, innovative, and yummy.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I loved this book, it is absolutely gorgeous, and every cake sounds delicious. I am not even a "cake person," generally, but I definitely want to try more than a few recipes in this book. I love the accessible approach that Wright has to mixing and matching batter, frosting, syrup, and topping recipes to make so many unique cakes. I'm admittedly having trouble deciding which recipe to start with! I can't say enough good things about this book!

Confession time: I LOVE baking but have never been a fan of eating cake. However, it’s so pretty and there are so many fun ways to make amazing cake creations that I tend to bake cakes and cupcakes frequently for friends and family members.

This book is the perfect companion for any busy bakers, novice bakers, seasoned baking veterans, and everyone in between. Caroline sets readers up with a variety of cake batters, syrups, fillings, and frostings and then sets you free to mix and match (see what she did with the title there?) to make your own cake masterpiece. There are endless possibilities, some of which are suggested in the book and others that can be dreamed up in your wildest cake dreams.

An added bonus for those with special dietary needs (shoutout to my fellow gluten-free readers!) are tweaks to the basic batters to make them gluten-free, vegan, etc. so you truly can make these recipes work for any situation.

As I said before, this book is useful for anyone who plans to bake a cake at any point in time. It would be particularly useful for busy parents who need to be ready for bake sales, birthday parties, and holidays because everything is so simple and quick and can be tweaked to include a chocolate overload for one child and bacon frosting for everyone on the bacon-craze. I would also highly recommend this book for anyone new to baking or who is hesitant to try to bake a cake because they think they aren’t a “good baker.” Caroline breaks every recipe down and makes it so easy to follow along and create your own dessert dream that you will feel like the king or queen of the kitchen in no time!

*Disclaimer* I received this book from NetGalley for this review.

I LOVE baking!! This book has a very innovative approach to a book focused on cake baking.The layout was easy to use and colorful, and the recipe format was really fun! The idea is to find a picture of the cake that you want to make, then find the recipes that cake requires follow through with those recipes and finally assemble the cake. The pictures are gorgeous, and the flavor combinations are just amazing!

This book is absolutely AWESOME!

There are a total of 100 cakes in it, all with gorgeous full page pictures and sometimes even a two-page spread.

The cakes are separated into categories depending on the main flavor or ingredient: vanilla cakes, chocolate cakes, citrus cakes, brown sugar cakes, fruit + veggie cakes, nutty cakes, coconut cakes and mocha cakes.

The idea behind it is that you get a batter recipe for each category and some variations of each. For example with the b Brown Sugar Cake batter you get variations for Brown Sugar Cinnamon Cake , or Brown Sugar Nut Cake , or Browned Butter Cake .

Then, you mix the cake base with syrup and a frosting and voila! And there are SO many possibilities that you’re guaranteed to find something for everyone and every occasion.

So far I have my eyes set on the Butterscotch cake. Brown sugar cake + Buttered scotch syrup + Salted caramel frosting = OM NOM NOM.

At the end you have all the recipes for the batters, syrups and frosting, as well as recipes for the decorations or little extras she suggests. There are notes to change most of the recipes into gluten free or vegan as needed.

I wouldn’t have minded some step-by-step pictures of the assembly and the frosting. And also a not-so-dark chocolate cake recipe. However the beauty of this is that you don’t have to actually use the recipes she gives you, if you have a vanilla cake recipe you love (or chocolate cake, or cream cheese frosting... you get my meaning,) then use that and just combine it in the ways she recommends.

This book is beautifully done. The pictures of the cakes are gorgeous and the recipes are pretty easy to follow and the combinations are absolutely endless that you can come up with to make beautiful and delicious cakes. A must have book for anyone who loves cakes and loves to mix and match to make their own.

What a wonderful book, makes my tummy rumble just thinking about all the wonderful combination I can make. And that is what the book is about - that a generic mix recipe in your favourite flavour (recipes provided for Vanilla, Dk Chocolate, Coconut, Peanut Butter, Apple, Mocha and Lemon) there is also a gluten-free and vegetarian option. All very simple. Then you add the syrup and or frosting and or flavoured sugars, again there are recipes to choose from. These recipes can be made into cakes, cupcakes and slices, and as the book says mix and match to change the appearance and flavours - be creative with pretty much a handful of basic recipes. There are many combinations suggested and photographed to start you off, but really the sky is the limit. I really love the fact that you can just go for it.

This is by far one of the coolest cookbooks I have ever read in my entire life! I have never read a cookbook that broke down the recipes in such a way as this book did. I absolutely adored how you could mix and match everything. All you have to do is mix and match a cake with a syrup and frosting. There are so many combinations to choose from and the combination recipes they provided look and sound absolutely to die for. I already have so many combination ideas brewing in my head and I also am just dying to try one of the recipes. Another thing I loved about this book were the gorgeous pictures of all the great cakes. I highly recommend that everyone get their hands on this great cookbook!

I love baking and this year, I am making it a goal to make a cake once a month. This book gives you easy base recipes and how you can make several different bakes by mix & matching the frosting or simple syrup.

The basic premise of this book is that you are se one simple cake recipe then change it up using different flavourings and frostings. It's an ingenious idea and gives so many options that this book will be in constant use in my kitchen for years! Having gluten free and vegan options is very useful as my mother is gluten intolerant- think I'll be doing a lot of baking! The Mocha Cake is delicious and more than up to the standard of any coffee shop.

I am a competent cook, but an incompetent baker. All that sifting and fussing and exactitude is just too much for me to handle. This book is so NOT fussy. According to the Introduction, the idea is to find a picture of the cake that you want to make, then find the recipes that cake requires follow through with those recipes and finally assemble the cake. I love that the first 113 pages of this book are predominantly pictures of gorgeous cakes, organized by flavor. The flavor combinations are just amazing. And imagine my delight when I reached the basic mix and match cake mix recipe in back, and the directions literally read “Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together well to combine.” I can do that!!! To make a gluten free cake was pretty much just a matter of using the gluten free mix and match cake mix, and coating the baking pans with rice flour instead of wheat flour - which makes this book an excellent gift for the favorite bakers in my life, who happen to lead a gluten free life style. The actual flavored cake recipes were just as simple, reading as if they were the directions on the box of a Duncan Hines mix (which I can also handle). The variations on the flavored cake mixes were very straightforward and easy to understand. I really appreciated that the directions for each flavored cake pretty much read the same, with more or less the same basic and easily obtainable ingredients. The syrup and frosting recipes were also very straightforward, and read fairly similarly. I especially appreciated the translation of four cups of confectioners sugar into one sixteen ounce box in the frosting recipes, because that always perplexes me. The only odd ingredient in the whole book (aside from the flours for the gluten free cake mix) was light agave nectar, for bittersweet chocolate glaze and walnuts in syrup, and I’m fairly sure I can find that in the organic section of my Super Stop & Shop. I appreciated the section about frosting a crumb free cake, as that has also always seemed to escape me. I am hosting a chocolate themed dinner party in ten days, and may use one of these recipes to make a gluten free dessert. If I do, I will update my review with the results.

This book is really cool.
The idea behind it is that you get a batter for each category and some variations of each, so you get to mix and match your flavour combinations.
There are a ton of recipes in it, all with gorgeous pictures, separated into categories such as main flavour or ingredient: i.e: vanilla, chocolate, citrus, brown sugar, coconut cakes and mocha cakes, etc. There are SO many possibilities that you’re guaranteed to find something for everyone and every occasion.

Mix and Match Cakes, by Caroline Wright, is full of beautiful illustrations and easy to follow, detailed instructions.

I can’t wait to try out the recipes. Miss Wright takes a basic cake recipe and with the addition of flavorings and syrups added to the batter, along with delightful frostings, creates a most delicious looking cake! She even includes gluten-free, vegan and vegetable variations!

Mix and Match Cakes is teeming with tips, substitutions, illustrations and variations and will surely be a go-to book for anyone who enjoys making cakes.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

While there are only 8 cake recipes in the book, there are enough creative variations and exquisite flavor combinations to keep you in cake for weeks and years to come. This book had me drooling over almost every photo and description. There are cakes, syrups and frostings galore! If you can't find several amazing ideas for cake in this book, you are crazy.

I absolutely love the idea of using a syrup to kick up the flavors in a cake. It is an added surprise that goes a long way to make the cake atypical. Not only does it add flavor, but it adds moisture, which is so important to me when I'm eating a piece of cake. Who wants a dry, uninteresting dessert? When compared to a boring store-bought cake, these easy recipes will floor friends and loved ones when they taste one of your creations.

My daughter is a baker for a casino, and I can't wait to wow her with the cakes I'm going to be making.

This will be on my to buy list when it comes out for a simple reason: what a great cheat book to own for myself. There is no 100 cakes in the book, consisting of different recipes and ingredients.

No, it is just a very smart, versatile mix & match book for busy (some say lazy) people like you and I. Combinations of different syrups and frosting can create a new cake, plus the tips in the book are useful and have proven to work by the author herself. Yup, that's right, this book actually is written for people who love to bake but can't be bothered putting too much effort in it.

So thank you author, Caroline, for this awesome edition, and since I have the ARC I couldn't enjoy the book the way it will be printed out. But I like it already, especially when those pictures are pretty and inspiring. However the biggest draw of Cake Magic for me is the fact that Caroline has thought of everyone.

If you have a vegan friend, swap the ingredients for a vegan friendly cake, syrup or frosting, or you have a friend who really hates certain things, you can swap it for something else while keeping the basics. I admit it, I am loving the idea of creating multiple without actually doing too much.

And if you read the book in detail, you would realize that you won't even need a mixer, just do it by hand, although I will be using my hand mixer because it is quicker. Definitely a good book for young bakers who are looking for inspiration, or a tired old cook who just wants to take short cuts and still look like she did a lot of work.

Definitely put it on your to look list.

This book is simply stunning! I absolutely love baking and trying out new recipes and this creative book definitely inspired me to experiment with some new variations. It was love at first sight as I turned through the pages; the photography is mouth-wateringly exquisite and most definitely a key selling point. The layout of the book is great, very neat and organised and the format of the recipes are easy to follow. I loved the little useful hints and tips such as softening butter when working with frostings, something I’ve always somewhat struggled with. The book simplifies baking, yet at the same time it would appeal to experts as well as novices. There are many cake books out there but it’s quite rare to find a book that really stands out from the rest. The idea of mixing and matching different combinations of frostings and flavourings is simply amazing, adding an element of creativity on the part of the baker. Caroline makes baking incredibly fun and exciting and this book is sure to impress you.

I LOVE to bake. That ain't no lie, and this was a nifty and original little cake book that will keep me in my baking "happy place" for a long time to come. Luscious photographs of all kinds of cake yummyness, and a virtual plethora of cake making combinations. Vanilla cakes, Chocolate cakes, Lemon cakes....you name it. Add to that we get a ton of great ideas for different syrups and frostings. Easy to use, and a delight to drool over. What more can you ask for. I can't wait to get stuck in.

What a great cake book! So many ideas in here which will make your mouth water. Definitely one for your baking shelf!

I love baking and especially cakes. I love to try different ones from scratch and have tried so many different ones. This book has so many different ways to make cakes. I love it!

What a fantastic and very creative cake book! You won't need any other cake recipe book if you own a copy of this! A few basic recipes with different variations added will lead the way to some wonderful cakes. Beautiful pictures with easy to follow recipes and the gluten free conversion was an added bonus. I have made quite a few cakes from this book and all have been met with very favourable comments. I can't wait to make more just to see the pleasure on peoples' faces when they have their first mouthful!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

Beautifully done cookbook that is perfect for beginners and experts alike.
8 simple recipes that can be varied in numerous ingenious ways.
Highly recommended.

This book is magic! There are so many possibilities it's crazy!