Bevelyn Blair's Everyday Cakes

Rating:
Summary: A very welcome addition to any kitchen cookbook collection!
Review: Bevelyn Blair draws upon her archive of tested family and heirloom cake and frosting recipes she has collected and perfected over many years of successful baking. From Butter Pecan Cake, Strawberry White Chocolate Cheesecake, and Old Fashioned Coconut Icing, to Limon Coffee Cake, Angel Food Delight, and Mocha Charlotte, Bevelyn Blair's Everyday Cakes is a very welcome addition to any kitchen cookbook collection.

Rating:
Summary: Some things I wish I'd known . . .
Review: I felt that I had to write this review because there wasn't much content to the earlier reviews. For me, a cookbook is valuable insofar as it is practical, usable, clear, and enticing. Bevelyn Blair might very well be able to serve these cakes to me, and they might be delicious, but I'm not sure that this book is going to be useful for me. I should say first that I love baking cakes more than anything, and usually make about two a week. So far my only all-cake cookbook is The Cake Bible, and I've made many of the plain cakes in that book with happy results. I felt that I wanted to get more ideas for new flavors and combinations of cakes, so I decided to try this book. I just received the book in the mail, and these are some things that concern me, that I wish I'd known before I ordered:
--The book is concise almost to the point of being abrupt. Sometimes there are two or three recipes per page. At times it seems that the brevity could be confusing, like when she says "Melt 4 oz white chocolate in 1/2 c boiling water." I know how I would do this (chop the chocolate, put in sturdy bowl, pour hot water over, cover with foil for 5 minutes to let it melt, then whisk to smooth) but I'm not *certain* that this is what she intends, and a less experienced cook might just put the chocolate in a saucepan of boiling water (I'm not sure what that might do, but I think it could be disastrous).
--She often bakes with shortening, margarine, or vegetable oil. I'm used to baking with butter, and whether it's right or wrong, I'm reluctant to try a recipe that uses something else.
--She is sometimes vague about the cake pan, saying "bake in a loaf pan" or "a tube pan" or--worse--"a layer cake pan." While I don't require precise directions in all aspects of cooking, in baking it seems to me pretty essential, and what is the point of having to guess which cake pan would be best?
--Then again, she sometimes specifies strange pan sizes. She often says to use a 10 x 5 inch loaf pan, or a 12 x 9 inch sheet pan. Well, I have a good basic assortment of baking pans. I have a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, and a 13 x 9 inch sheet pan. Would these work? She doesn't say. Where do you get these special-sized pans? She doesn't say. Again, small though it might seem, this is enough to put me off making a recipe.
--She sometimes uses cake mixes. Enough said.
--Her cakes are huge! I find it funny that although she insists that cakes are great for baking "everyday," most of her recipes are huge. There are only two people in my household and I like a cake that is a reasonable size. She often bakes in a big (13 x 9) sheet pan or in 3 (or even 4) 9-inch round layers. If I were looking to make a nice cake some Tuesday afternoon for no good reason (my definition of an "everday" cake), I'm not going to go in for a 4-layer cake.
--The icing is mandatory! I should say that I'm not crazy about icing. The cake is what I like most, and I love a wonderful pound cake or almond cake for slicing and eating plain with tea. But her cakes are designed around icing, and the names of the cakes often refer to the icing, which can lead to disappointment once you read the recipes. For example, there's a "Chocolate Strawberry Cake," which seems so interesting. I'm imagining strawberries or jam *in* the cake, to give an interesting berry-chocolate flavor. Instead, this is simply a plain chocolate cake with strawberry cream frosting. Probably delicious, but not what I envisioned. Same with the Coconut Cream Cake. No coconut flavor in the cake, just in the frosting.
--There are no pictures. I don't require pictures, but some people might want to know.

Having said all that, there are a *lot* of recipes here, some of which sound very delicious, and if I can find any that actually seem reasonable, I'll probably make some of them. In the meantime, though, I'm going to try Maida Heatter's Cakes, which I've browsed through. It looks wonderful and clear and thorough. You might want to do the same, or at least buy them both to compare.

Rating:
Summary: Clear and concise
Review: I know my way around the kitchen to a certain degree but I need a little help. Blair gives me exactly what I need--clear and concise recipes, easy-to-follow instructions. I have made about five or six of these cakes for potluck dinners and birthdays and there was not a clunker among them. The Red Velvet Pound Cake, a twist on THE definitive Southern cake, was unbelievably good. Gotta go--I think I need to make another one of those Mississippi Mud Cakes!

Rating:
Summary: simple cake maker
Review: I will echo the enthusiasm of the other purchasers of this book. Don't be fooled by the small size of the book; it is chock-full of recipes. The price per recipe must be lower than any other cake book I own! In general, the recipes are very well written, all business and no fluff.

My only reservation would be giving this book to the cook without cake experience. I've got 25 years' experience in cake baking, so explicit techniques that are taken for granted here needn't be elucidated. For a beginner, though, the techniques of stirring vs. beating vs. whipping vs. folding, etc., might be unfamiliar. For those cooks, I'd still recommend Marion Cunningham's Fanny Farmer Baking Book.

However, for someone who already knows how to bake cakes, this could be a most valuable reference, possibly the only all-cake book they'd need. It'll also make a fine gift! The beautiful retro-graphic design of the book is an added pleasure.

Rating:
Summary: A True Cake Reference Book. . .
Review: I will echo the enthusiasm of the other purchasers of this book. Don't be fooled by the small size of the book; it is chock-full of recipes. The price per recipe must be lower than any other cake book I own! In general, the recipes are very well written, all business and no fluff.

My only reservation would be giving this book to the cook without cake experience. I've got 25 years' experience in cake baking, so explicit techniques that are taken for granted here needn't be elucidated. For a beginner, though, the techniques of stirring vs. beating vs. whipping vs. folding, etc., might be unfamiliar. For those cooks, I'd still recommend Marion Cunningham's Fanny Farmer Baking Book.

However, for someone who already knows how to bake cakes, this could be a most valuable reference, possibly the only all-cake book they'd need. It'll also make a fine gift! The beautiful retro-graphic design of the book is an added pleasure.

Rating:
Summary: simple cake maker
Review: I've owned this book for over a year and I've made several of her recipes. I love the book because it is simple to read and understand, and most of the items I already have in my pantry. No weird stuff, and I can whip something up last minute. You don't have to be a chef to get great results. The book also has helpful hints. No matter what your level of expertise, you will enjoy this book!

Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Collection
Review: This cookbook contains a collection of recipes accumulated over 30 years of baking. Mrs. Blair is considered the queen of cakes and once you try these recipes, you'll know why. Each is delicious and unforgettable. Traditional recipes are included as well as some new surprises. One of the very best cookbooks available!