Cake Keeper Cakes: 100 Simple Recipes for Extraordinary Bundt Cakes, Pound Cakes, Snacking Cakes, and Other Good-To-The-Last-Crumb Treats - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Lauren Chattman is a former pastry chef who has written 10 different cookbooks. Her recipes have also featured in many magazines, including Fine Cooking.

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There is a beautiful gourmet shop around the corner from my house where little cakes as well as breads, cheeses, and other enticing items are displayed under an array of antique glass domes. As soon as I saw those domes, I began to covet them. Last Mother's Day, my husband and children presented me with a beauty, and since then, it's been my mission to keep a simple but delicious cake on top of my counter at all times, displayed under this spectacular dome. My kitchen has never looked prettier or more inviting, and the family sweet tooth has never been more satisfied. I've also noticed a marked increase in the number of friends "just happening to be passing by," none of whom turn down a piece of the day's cake.

I used to keep a cookie jar stocked for these purposes, but the idea of always having a cake on display in my pretty cake keeper inspired me to change my routine. It also inspired this book, a collection of old-fashioned recipes, many with a modern twist, for cakes you can bake quickly and easily. As I worked my way through recipes for Citrus and Black Pepper Pound Cake, Neoclassic Gingerbread, and Dulce de Leche Coffee Cake, I realized that it was often quicker and easier to bake a cake than to bake a batch of cookies. These unfrosted, unfilled cakes had short ingredient lists and could often be mixed in just one bowl. Unlike cookies, which are baked in many carefully watched batches, a simple cake requires little attention once it is popped into the oven. I thought back to the good old days, before cake was relegated to special occasions, when recipes for plain cake were in every home baker's repertoire. Offering updated versions of old favorites (Peach-Buttermilk Upside-Down Cake, Blueberry Buckle) and innovative recipes developed to excite today's sophisticated but busy bakers (Apricot and Olive Oil Cake, Pistachio-Polenta Pound Cake), a collection of this kind would restore cake to its rightful place as too simple and delicious to reserve for birthdays and anniversaries.

After baking and eating cake every day for almost a year, I'm excited to share the results in Cake Keeper Cakes, a collection of 100 recipes for unadorned cakes, moist and luscious, but simple to make and keep on hand for everyday eating. I've tried hard to develop recipes in line with the way people cook today. Like many home cooks, I like to make everyday dinners interesting by including foods and flavors from around the world. I've included cakes I made to end a meal of pasta (Espresso-Hazelnut Bundt Cake), to match Thai chicken with basil (Pineapple and Toasted Coconut Cake), and to follow Moroccan lamb kebabs (Honey and Walnut Cake). Although the recipes in this book were designed to be simple enough to bake in the space between homework and dinnertime, many are interesting enough to present with a flourish at the end of a dinner party. Throughout, I offer suggestions for transforming plain cakes into impressive desserts. There is a quick recipe for blueberries in basil syrup that is wonderful with Sour Cream and Lemon Cake. Slices of homey Apple and Cheddar Cheese Cake can be garnished with dollops of maple-flavored whipped cream. Slices of Anise Pound Cake can be served with a dried fruit and brandy compote and small scoops of vanilla ice cream.