292693 Thu May 01 21:38:18 -0700 2003 19 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1598400 I've been perusing through Rose Beranbaum's Cake Bible. Just wondering if anybody has tried any of the simple cake recipes and which ones are your favorites. Thu May 01 21:38:18 -0700 2003 0 em 1 1598404 I've made the pound cake, the almond golden cake (many times), the chocolate chiffon cake, the chocolate angel food cake, and the banana cake. None disappointed. Golden almond and banana are excellent. Thu May 01 22:40:21 -0700 2003 1598400 0 Timowitz 2 1598407 The cheesecake, which everyone whose tasted it says is the best they've ever eaten. Also, the upside down cake, which I made with frozen peaches, was divine. I added some cardamom and a dash of mace to the cake batter, which was my own variation. Got major raves about it at a dinner party. Thu May 01 23:08:57 -0700 2003 1598404 0 zora 3 1598444 Adding the spices to the upside-down cake is a great idea! I was once out of sour cream and substituted yogurt in its place and loved the slightly more tangy result. Been doing it that way ever since. Fri May 02 12:50:12 -0700 2003 1598407 0 David 3 1598450 Yes! Yes! Yes, on her cheesecake. I got the recipe from Shirley Corriher's Cookwise. It has spoiled me forever. Fri May 02 13:15:09 -0700 2003 1598407 0 Hellkatte 1 1598411 I don't own it, but her lemon poppyseed cake is best in it's class. I made many before finding this. They can tend to the dry side, but she uses a soaking syrup that keeps it moist and it improves with a day or two of age. See link to Epi Link: http://www.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?addid=true&id=105981 Fri May 02 00:35:57 -0700 2003 1598400 0 Thea 1 1598413 I've cooked over half of her book and can heartily recommend anything. Her Chocolate Decadence (flourless cake) is a consistent winner. I'm now working my way through her Pie & Pastry Bible and am doubly impressed. I may never bake a cake again, having found the joy of homemade pies and tarts. Fri May 02 01:18:40 -0700 2003 1598400 0 Gordon 2 1598490 My father, who loves to bake, swears by both these books. He says her pie crust is absolutely foolproof. Fri May 02 20:02:39 -0700 2003 1598413 0 Chorus Girl 1 1598414 The All-Occasion Downy Yellow Butter Cake (now simply know as AODYBC here at my house). Perfect yellow cake, the best I've every had. Fri May 02 02:13:17 -0700 2003 1598400 0 dml 2 1598416 I have to say, I agree: this particular yellow cake is simply the best. It's the only yellow-cake recipe I use. Very moist, with melt-in-your mouth texture and the best butter flavor. In fact, I am a big fan of Rose Levy Beranbaum, and her Cake Bible and Pie and Pastry Bible really are my baking bibles! Her long-awaited Bread Bible was due to be published in January 2003, but there seems to have been a delay in publication. Rose Levy Beranbaum has said that bread-baking is her favorite baking, so I am eager to see what's in store. Fri May 02 09:09:09 -0700 2003 1598414 0 Browniebaker 3 1598805 Beranbaum has said that The Bread Bible will be in the stores this October. I'm really looking forward to it. Tue May 06 12:38:01 -0700 2003 1598416 0 Madeline 1 1598425 I'll put it to you like this: I've been cooking through the Cake Bible since it came out, and have yet to try a recipe that wasn't spot-on and thoroughly delicious. That said, if you've never tried her Sour Cream Coffee Cake, you haven't lived. Rose's Christmas Cookie Book is a must-have, too. Fri May 02 10:40:12 -0700 2003 1598400 0 GG Mora 2 1598873 I too love the Sour Cream Coffee Cake. She suggests making it with apples or peaches. I have also done it with blueberries, plums and rhubarb (not all together), and it got raves every time. Her chocolate cakes are also great. I forget the name, but the one with all the variations, such as "chocolate flame" is fabulous. The neo classic buttercream changed my life. No more fiddling with a candy thermometer and getting my face burnt trying to read it. Tue May 06 21:27:02 -0700 2003 1598425 0 ruth arcone 1 1598431 I make the Buche de Noel every year with my kids. It is amazingly simple, and it looks fabulous when it's done, with little meringue mushrooms for garnish, etc. I've never had any problems with any of the recipes. I like the way the book is set up with mix-and-match ideas for fillings, frostings, etc. Fri May 02 11:38:53 -0700 2003 1598400 0 Pat Darnell 2 1598471 Wow. I'm convinced. I just ordered the book from Amazon. Can't wait! Fri May 02 16:23:36 -0700 2003 1598431 0 kristen 1 1598492 Like the others on this thread - I can't say enough about this book. Haven't used it in a while, but I used to make the Chocolate Domingo cake often and it got raves. One layer, over which I would pour a simple semi-sweet chocolate ganache. I also like the Cordon Rose Banana cake. I much rather bake by weight and every recipe gives you that option. Enjoy. Fri May 02 20:13:17 -0700 2003 1598400 0 shortstop 2 1598842 Yes, that's one of my favorite things about the Cake Bible, too -- the option to bake by weight. I find it so more accurate, and always fool proof. Surprisingly enough the recipes I most use from this book are not cakes (though I love her cakes). They are her hot fudge recipe -- which involves carmelizing the sugar oh baby! -- and her brandied preserved cherries. Talk about a good sundae! Tue May 06 15:34:11 -0700 2003 1598492 0 Mrs. Smith 1 1598499 My belated two cents worth, the Cake Bible is one of the best cook books I've ever read. Her neo classic buttercream recipe is a joy to make, and with the egg whites I don't use in that recipe I make her mouseline (sp?), then freeze both for later use. I've made her pound cake, her art deco cake, but I love making mayonaisse cake she properly credits to its creator. Also her simple combination of butter and melted milk and bittersweet chocolate to make a supreme chocolate buttercream is amazing. Her cookie book contains the best brownie recipe I've ever used. My wife, who rarely bakes swears by Biranbaum's butter cookie recipe. Glad you bought the book. Spend a year using it. Pete Fri May 02 21:55:13 -0700 2003 1598400 0 Pete Feliz 2 1598505 I also love the brownies in Rose's Christmas Cookies. If you can find a copy of Rose's Melting Pot, that book has an enhanced brownie recipe that's sensational! Based on the recipe you mentioned, this one uses unrefined sugar, and has additions of cream cheese (blended into the batter, not marbled in)and melted bittersweet chocolate. Fantastic! Fri May 02 22:45:06 -0700 2003 1598499 0 David 1 1598533 The first cake I made out of this book was White Spice Cake, and it remains my favorite. It's so good that my husband, who is not a huge cake fan, would eat multiple pieces at a sitting. Cheers, Xochitl10 Sat May 03 12:28:49 -0700 2003 1598400 0 Xochitl10