There are cookbooks that endure, and cookbooks that fade
with the latest fad (how many quiche cookbooks do you have?)
The Cake Bible
is in for the long run. The hefty tome, in its 50th printing and
celebrating its 25th anniversary, deserves its own cake.
And what a cake it could be. Author Rose Levy Beranbaum
divides the first half of the book into “simply delicious foolproof cakes” and
“showcase cakes,” in case you want to make your own wedding cake, or outshine
everyone at a casual potluck.
Then there is a whole section on decorating, with piping
techniques, cutout molds and flowers, borders and more. This is where the
neophyte baker might throw her hands up and head back to the beginning.
I love the secondary way the book is categorized: there are
recipes for using up egg yolks, and others with just egg whites; low or no
cholesterol cakes and cakes without flour, for Passover or the newly gluten
free member of the family.
Most importantly, it is a book to savor and pass down, to
your son or daughter, recently married cousin or next-door neighbor. It is a
book that couples can tackle together, and triumphantly replicate the color
photos stacked at the beginning.
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