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| The Cake Bible | 
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| Author: Rose Levy Beranbaum Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks Category: Book
List Price: $35.00 Buy Used: $13.99 You Save: $21.01 (60%)
New (39) Used (56) Collectible (6) from $13.99
Avg. Customer Rating: 163 reviews Sales Rank: 5538
Media: Hardcover Edition: 8th Number Of Items: 1 Pages: 560 Shipping Weight (lbs): 3 Dimensions (in): 10 x 7.3 x 2
ISBN: 0688044026 Dewey Decimal Number: 641.8653 EAN: 9780688044022 ASIN: 0688044026
Publication Date: September 20, 1988 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Condition: H B CKBK...HONEST GRADING...SATISFACTION GUARANTEED !!! SAME DAY SHIPPING WHEN POSSIBLE !!! ASK ABOUT SHIPPING DISCOUNT WHEN 2 OR MORE SHIPPED TOGETHER!!
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| Customer Reviews:
Dry Dry Dry October 12, 2008 I have used this book since it came out. Every time the result has been a very, very dry cake. At first I thought it was me. But after all these years I doubt it. Particularly when I ignore the book and go back to the old fashioned "cream butter, suger and eggs" as opposed to their aerated flour method.
The ultimate authority on cakes August 29, 2008 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Rose Levy Berenbaum has written the last word on baking beautiful and delicious cakes at home. Period. End of Story. Her approach is precise and scientific, as all good baking must be. Her instructions are detailed and, if followed precisely--and with the requisite skills--are absolutely foolproof.
So why the negative reviews? Well, folks, the truth is that most home cooks who think they know about how to bake actually don't have a clue. Either they rely on a handful of tried-and-true recipes or they take refuge in boxed mixes and prefab frostings. Berenbaum's book is not directed to these folks. They need to go on making their pineapple upside down cakes and Gramma's Famous Pound Cake, and sticky-sweet peach cobbler and Minty Easter Surprise Cupcakes.
Baking is NOT an easy skill to learn at the Rose Berenbaum/Paula Peck level. In the first place, beginners reared on box cakes must learn what real cake looks like, feels like, and tastes like. Then they need to realize that part of the reason that box cakes taste so foul is because the manufacturers have poured them full of conditioners and assorted chemicals to make them as foolproof as possible. Becoming a serious baker means learning a new set of skills. Consider your typical yellow cake from a mix. You can slam the door, drop the pan, or probably detonate a small nuclear device right beside the oven and the cake won't fall. Try that with a "real" cake and you'll end up with a nasty, dense pancake in the bottom of the pan. So if you're going to use Berenbaum's book to greatest advantage, you're going to have to devote some time to climbing the learning curve. As a starting point (for the benefit of some of the negative reviewers) genoise IS dry, that's why you moisten it. And buttercream DOES taste like butter...
For the experienced home baker, this book cannot be recommended too highly. And for the beginner who is willing to learn, it can be a great adventure. The first time you fly up from Duncan Hines to a wonderful, syrup-laden genoise with a ganache filling and buttercream on the top and sides, you'll never look back. Enjoy!!!
Understanding Baking August 28, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is an excellent book that helps you understand why you need to use specific items and what results to expect when you do or don't. I changed many of my pans and added utensils & gadgets and received better baking results.
Excellent recepies August 1, 2008 I bought this book a few months ago. My first cake was the Golden Almond cake. I have tried other recipes from other books, and never comes out the way is suppose to, but with this book, I have not made a recipe that I do not like yet. I made the Perfect Pound Cake, and I have gotten great reviews on it. Also made the all American Chocolate cake and the Devils Food cake, plus others. I have follow the recipes to the T and better yet weight my ingredients as described. For the first time I have found a book that will give what it says. Rose Levy Beranbaum has a golden book. My aunt fell in love with the book too, and I have to give her my book, because I could not get it to ship to Puerto Rico. Of course, I end up getting me another book. It is definitely the Cake Bible. I love this book, and I would be lost without it. I recommend it to anyone.
the worst recipes July 12, 2008 1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I bought this book (quite expensive) and was so excited about trying the recipes. I read from beginning to end, and decided these cakes must be awsome. Boy OH BOY! I have been baking for awhile with great results, but these recipes were a disaster. Horribly dry, buttercreams tasted like whipped butter. No matter what liquers you added they still tasted horribly bland. The PERFECT ALL AMERICAN CHOCOLATE CAKE was any but perfect. All I did was waste my time, money, and great ingredients. The cakes were dry dry dry and did I mention BLAND. Even when you added the syrup it was still awfull. I am really suprised to see how many people thought this book was any worth anyone time.
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