Williams-Sonoma Collection: Cake

by Fran Gage

A slice of rich, moist cake is irresistible. From a tart, sweet lemon sponge or airy angel food cake to a decadent chocolate torte, there is a cake to satisfy every craving. Whether you are searching... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743250206
• ISBN13: 9780743250207
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: Free Press
• Length: 120 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.6" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Fabulous Cakes

I've made three cakes from this book; chocolate, birthday cake, and the orange chiffon cake. All three were wonderful, moist, and tender cakes. I was surprised that the author said to cut parchment to fit the bottom but there was no butter-and-flour the pan. I was suspicious but she was right. The Williams-Sonoma are such dependable cookbooks and I am looking forward to making more of Fran Gage's recipes.

Good

There are pictures of all the recipes, so you can tell if it came out right.

Delicious cakes

I've made several recipes from this book. The yoghurt cake, the gateaux bisque, the spice cake, the chocolate hazelnut cake, the almond flour cake... they've all turned out delicious! The recipes are definitely go-tos. Nothing is "healthy". Everything uses sugar, butter and white flour. But I've played around replacing whole wheat flour and cutting the sugar in half and I've never really gotten something inedible out of the experience. All in all this is the first book I go to when I need a delicious, simple cake I know will turn out great. There are pictures of every single recipe. The book, like all of Williams-Sonoma's books, is well laid out, well explained, straight to the point. I love it.

Excellent Recipes and Good Reference

I have a few of the books in this series. The Cake and Ice Cream books are my favorites. The recipes are outstanding -- well-written and produce great results. The sidebars provide invaluable tips. If you enjoy the science behind cooking -- ala America's Test Kitchen/Cooks Illustrated and Alton Brown, you will enjoy the books in this series. WS, unlike Cooks Illustrated, presents just the winning method. There is a good range of recipes -- simple birthday and carrot cakes to a very elegant rolled chestnut cream cake. There's enough variety within the recipes so that the user can find a cake for any occassion. The cake basics section is a nice, but short reference section. This book represents a nice collection of recipies and good reference information -- it's a nice addition to the kitchen library. I know WS just introduced its Mastering series of books, including one on cakes. Those books are intended to be "a cooking class in a book" and break down the basics of cake making for true novices or those who have ploblems getting their cakes to turn out right. For more advanced techniques and/or all the science behind cakes, try The Cake Bible.