Cooksbakesbooks' Reviews
13 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 13Sort by: Title 
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The Cake Bible
By Rose Levy Beranbaum
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1988
All-Occasion Downy Yellow Butter Cake : page 39
This cake is exquisitely versatile. It will take any flavoring of frosting or filling, and is even excellent all on its own. It is easy to make, because of the very conscientious instructions and, if you are a baker, you will always have the ingredients on hand (eggs, milk, vanilla extract, cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and unsalted butter). It makes wonderful cupcakes, or any shape of cake that you desire.
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Buttermilk Country Cake : page 41
This is one of three cakes that I make over and over from this book, and that's saying a lot, because I make very many of the cakes from this book. When this cake is freshly made, is has the most swoon-making tang to it, and it is not overly sweet. The texture is the epitome of perfection, with a light, but still tight, crumb.
It is probably best plain, though you could embellish pretty much however you like, though I would tend to want to enhance the tanginess and not mute it with chocolate or something. A lemon or orange filling could be outstanding, or a berry topping. As Ms. Beranbaum suggests, crème fraîche and fresh, ripe peaches are excellent with it.
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Chocolate Bread : page 28
This was the first cake that I tried out of the book, many years ago. The flavor and texture are unbelievably good. It has a denser, chewy texture than some of the other cakes in the book, which is in its favor, even though the other cakes are stellar, also. It's just that this offers a little bit of a texture departure from the others. The flavor is deep without being bitter or too intense. This is great cake to have plain, or perhaps with the merest dusting of powdered sugar on it, and it is excellent paired with a cup of black tea (an Assam, maybe, or a Keemun) with milk (no sugar).
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Chocolate Domingo Cake : page 58
The sour cream in this recipe takes it just a fraction of a notch higher than the Perfect All-American Chocolate Torte, in my opinion. The tang of the sour cream pitches it upward, and it tenderizes it just slightly, making the crumb seem a bit tighter, but still extremely light, compared to the PAAC Torte. This and the Perfect All-American Chocolate Butter Cake from The Cake Bible are my favorite chocolate cakes.
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Chocolate Domingo Cake : page 58
The sour cream in this recipe takes it just a fraction of a notch higher than the Perfect All-American Chocolate Torte, in my opinion. The tang of the sour cream pitches it upward, and it tenderizes it just slightly, making the crumb seem a bit tighter, but still extremely light, compared to the PAAC Torte. This and the Perfect All-American Chocolate Butter Cake from The Cake Bible are my favorite chocolate cakes.
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Cordon Rose Banana Cake : page 69
This is one my three favorite cakes in this book, and I find myself making it when I want to impress people. I cover it with a dark chocolate ganache, and it stands up to that assertive flavor well. I put a vanilla-flavored or lemon-flavored cream cheese-butter-powdered sugar frosting on it, and it holds up to that dense concoction well. I put chocolate whipped cream on top of it, and it has almost too much personality for that, but people always rave.
Now I always use the full amount of sour cream, 1/2 cup, but I have tried it with less, and it's still outstanding even then.
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Cordon Rose Cream Cheesecake : page 81
Light, tangy, moist, moist, moist, tall, gorgeous. This is amazing. Whenever I make it, I eat more than I know I should. People I serve it to are always impressed.
I do not add the optional flour, and I do not use a crust of any kind, and it retains its composure very well. I have made it with a graham cracker crust and it was fantastic, but it's better without it.
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Golden Almond Cake : page 37
This is a moist cake with a slight hint of welcome mealiness in the texture, from the almonds. It makes a single large cake, or two 9-inch layers, and will be enhanced by almost any buttercream frosting. This makes excellent cupcakes, too.
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lemon poppy seed cake : page 27
My stepdaughter has requested this for her birthday a few times. She says that it is not only her favorite cake, but her favorite FOOD. Of anything she could eat. Lovely instructions, delicious cake.
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This is a wonderfully delicious and tender chocolate cake. It is deeply chocolatey and tender, and is as good as the Chocolate Domingo cake, also from The Cake Bible. I have made it many times, as my cocoa-splattered pages attest.
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Perfect All-American Chocolate Torte : page 56
The flavor of this chocolate cake is very deep, but not bitter or off in any way. It is called a torte, but contains a high proportion of flour. It makes a single layer, and tastes great all on its own, or will take frosting or ganache very well. I sometimes use just a cream cheese-butter-powdered sugar frosting on this, and it can stand up to a dense, unrefined frosting like that, as well as the silkiest ganache or buttercream.
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Sour Cream Coffee Cake : page 90
If you want a sweet, streusel-covered, non-yeast coffee cake, this is a really excellent one. It's cinnamony, moist, tender and rich. There are lots of nuts in the streusel topping, which gives it a crave-making flavor. So, if you are after a yeast-based coffee cake, you may find this one too rich and lacking in a toothsome quality. There is no chewiness or breadiness to this cake, and it is very sweet.
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White Spice Pound Cake : page 30
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