Rating: 
Summary: dissapointment
Review: I have owned Heatter's 'chocolate deserts' book for years, and it is a great book for the most part, so I have been VERY dissapointed in her 'cakes' book. Cakes of all kinds are my speciality, and this is just a poor, poor cookbook. Nearly all of the recipies contain odd errors-especially in baking times-if you try to use this book, be very careful, cuz her overly specific baking times are usually too long. Neither of my kitchens have been able to make her times work as printed.
The recipies themselves are very odd as well-frankly, most of the times that I have gotten them to be succesful, people dont really like them that much. It seems like her goal was to collect as many recipies as she could that involved at least thirty dollars worth of nuts and dried fruit. "Fruitackes" would have been a more accurate title for this book. For God's sake even the chocolate cakes are packed full of fruit etc. Yuck.
The cheesecake section of the book speaks for itself in the overwrought fussiness department...almost all of the recipies just sound gross-reading the ingredients is enough to ruin your appetite...way, way overdone.
I would definetly recomend her chocolate desert book, but this one goes in the trash. I gave it the benefit of the doubt for a while, but that only goes so far!
Rating: 
Summary: My first and favorite cookbook
Review: A friend got this for me as a gift after I baked my first batch of cookies. I went wild with it and haven't stopped yet. Nearly all recipes have been tremendous successes. It's hard to wrong with Maida. They key is her precise, detailed instructions. They leave nothing to chance. You can trust her. God Bless Maida!
Rating:
Summary: Just Perfect!!!
Review: I am a mother,wife,and cooking school student. Before cooking school,I started my baking with books and read so many books -actually, too many books. Maida hatter's every cook books are so satisfying . Definitely, I fell in love with her books.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous -- easy to follow, with stunning results every time
Review: I bought this on a whim, with no idea who the author was, or if the recipes were any good. But much to my surprise, the promises made on the cover and in the blurbs actually panned out into fantastic results. Maida has perfected every one of the recipes, so much so that even the slightest tweaking of them on my part usually ends up in less than perfect results. (A word of caution though; I find most of the cakes a touch on the sweet side, so bakers with a less-than-sweet tooth may want to reduce the sugar.)Nonetheless, it is a fabulous selection, a mind-boggling array of delicious cakes (more than 175!) whose recipes are so carefully crafted and lovingly detailed that they will work beautifully even in the hands of the most inexperienced novice. Instructions are crystal clear, and Maida never leaves room for any ambiguity to creep in and spoil a recipe. She doesn't always tell you WHY a particular step is performed (unlike Rose Levy Beranbaum's "The Cake Bible"), but it always works. (If she did explain, I imagine the book would be twice as long, given how detailed her instructions already are!) As a book for learning the art of baking, I think it needs to be paired with something else as well to make up for the lack of explanation (Why a tube pan? Why the bottom third of the oven? Why 350 degrees here but not there?), but it is a rich resource indeed. The book has a number of typos, surprisingly, but they do not affect understanding of the recipes (thank goodness). There are, however, few concessions to health and diet -- the main thrust is delicious cake, but the enthusiatic reader can still find some healthy choices (like the marvellous Zucchini Loaf, butterless and low in cholestrol, yet marvellously moist and delicious). I haven't been able to make all the cakes yet, but I definitely intend to. A million thanks to Maida Heatter for this gem of a book -- you now have a fan for life in me!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent recipes, no picures
Review: I found this book to have a variety of excellent recipes especially the Bullseye cheesecake which is dense and delicious. The author writes in an informal style and describes what should be happening during the cooking process very well. Pictures would be the perfect accompaniment especially for new cooks or those trying a particular recipe for the first time. All in all an excellent buy if you need to make cakes, the recipes are traditional but do have some creativity to make them different.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent recipes, no picures
Review: I found this book to have a variety of excellent recipes especially the Bullseye cheesecake which is dense and delicious. The author writes in an informal style and describes what should be happening during the cooking process very well. Pictures would be the perfect accompaniment especially for new cooks or those trying a particular recipe for the first time. All in all an excellent buy if you need to make cakes, the recipes are traditional but do have some creativity to make them different.
Rating:
Summary: She's the best!
Review: I have all of Maida Heatter's cook books. This one, in essence, is a collection of some of her best recipes. You can't go wrong when you follow her easy, fool-proof instructions. The techniques she has taught me over the years helps me with other, less informative, cook book authors. Her precise instructions give you total confidence in the results. My favorites, which I have made many times are the East 62nd Street Lemon Cake, the Queen Mother's Cake, and the Sour Cream Cake (which is unbelievably delicious). She is always the one that I return to.
Rating:
Summary: great recipes
Review: I just had my first succes from this book, and it is called the old fashioned coconut cake. A delicious cake, sophisticated in it's simplicity. The book is written in a very friendly and encouraging matter, the description of the techniques and what to expect during the proces of creating your master pieces give you all the confidence you need to bake an excellent treat for any occasion. The recipes vary from pound cakes to layer cakes with frostings and from cheesecakes to sweet breads and yeasted sweet treats. Had there been some pictures, I would have given it 5 stars (I like the visual aspect as an extra inspiration). But the recipes definately deserve 5 stars in itsself.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Introduction to Heatter
Review: I owned an older edition of this book and eagerly bought this newer one when it became available. Maida Heatter is one of those cookbook writers who is as enjoyable to read as to cook from. I consider this book the diametric opposite in style to Bevelyn Blair's cake book, which is also a great book. Whereas Blair's book is sleek and substantial with virtually no 'fat' in the writing, Mrs. Heatter has a story to write about each of her recipes. For those who only want the recipe, no brag, just fact, buy Blair's book. However, if like me, you enjoy learning some background on a recipe, this book is up your alley. Mrs. Heatter freely admits mistakes and trials leading to the recipes, and I suggest the buyer take those to heart. Like another reviewer, I've tried tweaking some of her recipes, to my regret. She has obviously worked long and hard on these recipes and has perfected these through trial and error. Many of the cake recipes in this book involve several steps, and can get quite complicated, especially for a novice cake baker. This is where Mrs. Heatter really shines. Her instructions are explicit and detailed. Few things are more frustrating than receiving a new recipe where the instructions leave the baker guessing steps. Not a problem with Mrs. Heatter! Though some of the instructions will be redundant to the experienced baker, I think it's much better to get too many instructions than too few! The English Madeira cake is a jewel, possibly the best all-around pound cake I've ever baked. Her 'best damn lemon cake' is awesome in its overwhelming lemon-y flavor, a golden jewel that's certain to fly off your serving plate. Mrs. Heatter also recommends having a stand mixer with two bowls and sets of beaters (she's a Sunbeam user). I'd recommend the same for these recipes--two bowls will cut down on the rather long preparation times. Also--use bread crumbs like she recommends rather than flour for pan prep. It really does work, and work well. In summary, this can be a great book for the novice cake baker wanting to learn technique, as well as the more experienced baker wanting to try new flavors. Her accessible and reader-friendly writing style completes a delightful book
Rating:
Summary: A Great Introduction to Heatter
Review: I owned an older edition of this book and eagerly bought this newer one when it became available. Maida Heatter is one of those cookbook writers who is as enjoyable to read as to cook from. I consider this book the diametric opposite in style to Bevelyn Blair's cake book, which is also a great book. Whereas Blair's book is sleek and substantial with virtually no 'fat' in the writing, Mrs. Heatter has a story to write about each of her recipes. For those who only want the recipe, no brag, just fact, buy Blair's book. However, if like me, you enjoy learning some background on a recipe, this book is up your alley. Mrs. Heatter freely admits mistakes and trials leading to the recipes, and I suggest the buyer take those to heart. Like another reviewer, I've tried tweaking some of her recipes, to my regret. She has obviously worked long and hard on these recipes and has perfected these through trial and error. Many of the cake recipes in this book involve several steps, and can get quite complicated, especially for a novice cake baker. This is where Mrs. Heatter really shines. Her instructions are explicit and detailed. Few things are more frustrating than receiving a new recipe where the instructions leave the baker guessing steps. Not a problem with Mrs. Heatter! Though some of the instructions will be redundant to the experienced baker, I think it's much better to get too many instructions than too few! The English Madeira cake is a jewel, possibly the best all-around pound cake I've ever baked. Her 'best damn lemon cake' is awesome in its overwhelming lemon-y flavor, a golden jewel that's certain to fly off your serving plate. Mrs. Heatter also recommends having a stand mixer with two bowls and sets of beaters (she's a Sunbeam user). I'd recommend the same for these recipes--two bowls will cut down on the rather long preparation times. Also--use bread crumbs like she recommends rather than flour for pan prep. It really does work, and work well. In summary, this can be a great book for the novice cake baker wanting to learn technique, as well as the more experienced baker wanting to try new flavors. Her accessible and reader-friendly writing style completes a delightful book
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