ROSE'S HEAVENLY CAKES
By Rose Levy Beranbaum
(Wiley $39.95)

Looking back, baker and author Rose Levy Beranbaum is one of the reasons that I got into baking. I was still an assistant at a New York talent agency, not yet in culinary school, when my boss told me about a newly published cookbook called "The Cake Bible." It was 1988, and my collection of favorite recipes consisted of things I'd cut from magazines and a few passed-down family treasures. So one day on my lunch hour I bought a copy.

It changed everything. It changed my approach to baking, my style of baking -- but most of all it taught me the discipline of baking. "The Cake Bible" was the first cookbook I'd read that gave measurements not only in volume but in ounces and grams too. Beranbaum encouraged owning a scale and weighing ingredients. She promised it would it make things so much easier. She was so right.

So with her trademark highlighted chart of ingredients and measurements, and her very firm, strict voice in my head, I baked my way through "The Cake Bible." I even made a wedding cake just to see if I could, and I have to say it turned out exactly like the picture in the book. A proud moment indeed. But that was then. Beranbaum went on to write "The Pie and Pastry Bible," "The Bread Bible" and many other wonderful award winning cookbooks. But I guess you never forget your first love.

When I heard she was coming out with the new book, "Rose's Heavenly Cakes," I thought, "Why? She's already done that book. How could she top the original?" Then I realized how much has changed in baking in 20 years. Just look at ingredients now. Back then you basically had milk, semi-sweet or unsweetened chocolate. There are so many new fantastic artisan varieties available to the home baker now each with a different percentage of cacao, all with a different use. Look at all the new equipment available to us. Have you tried the new silicone baking pans? Sure they take some getting used to, but they make unmolding a cake so much easier and they don't dent.

"Rose's Heavenly Cakes" also has given Beranbaum a chance to rework some of her classics. She's taken her famous Chocolate Oblivion Torte and changed it up with some new chocolate and made it into individual cakes. She also has a recipe for Palets d'or (golden chocolate coins), which are essentially flattened truffles taken from her out-of-print book "A Passion for Chocolate" and reinvented beautifully as a cake.

But the real finds in this book are her new recipes. Woody's Lemon Luxury Layer Cake has such a depth of flavor: white chocolate cake with a hint of lemon, and a rich lemon curd filling, all topped with a creamy white chocolate and lemon curd buttercream. This is a wonderful finale for any special celebration meal. Try the Apple - Cinnamon Crumb Coffee Cake. It's easy to make, no frosting to fuss with, and great for an afternoon tea. She even has several seasonal variations, such as peach-cinnamon or blueberry-cinnamon. There is a wonderful chapter, Baby Cakes, that include simple yellow, chocolate or white cupcakes as well as the impossibly smooth and shiny chocolate-lacquered Designer Chocolate Baby Grands, made from her incredible German chocolate cake base.

Beranbaum has given us a beautiful book with a familiar and friendly layout full of color photos of stunning cakes.

As always, don't skip the chapters on ingredients and equipment. These are very important chapters in any cookbook. So many times we get a book home and want to make the first recipe we see. Take the time to read the introductory chapters. It can make such a big difference in your final product.

As I did with "The Cake Bible," I can't wait to finish baking my way through this book too.

More stories by Tim Fischer

Comment

smaller | bigger

Write the displayed characters

Post Now Preview