Customer Reviews

BabyCakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York's Most Talked-About Bakery

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(32)
2 star:		(34)
1 star:		(65)

 

 

I was *so* excited when I learned that a Babycakes cookbook was in the works. When it arrived, I sat down and excitedly read it cover to cover with a pen and paper in hand to make my baking grocery list. It was then that I came across upon several issues:

1) As mentioned by many others, the book is only about 2/3 gluten-free. I know that Babycakes bakery bakes spelt items, so this was not a surprise to me. However, the book sub-title calling it Gluten-Free is misleading.

2) A large amount of the recipes call for Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour. There are two problems with this. First and most important to me, this flour is N A S T Y. It has garbanzo and fava bean flour in it, and those have a very strong and bitter taste. Many bakers, including myself, hate this stuff. Second, I was dissapointed to see that the book even suggests using a mix at all. On the Martha Stewart show when Erin and Martha make the Allergen-Free Cinnamon Toasties, Martha asks as she is stirring the flours together, 'Do you use mixes at your bakery?' Erin answers no. If this is the case, then why on earth is the cookbook directing me to do so? If the recipes had the true list of flours and starches used at the bakery, I would have an easier time making substitutions, like swapping garfava flour for, say, a combo of sorghum or rice flour, or subbing potato starch for arrowroot or cornstarch.

3) Coconut oil and agave nectar. These fabulous, spendy, and sometimes elusive ingredients are frequently used in hefty quantities in the book, and unfortunately we are left a somewhat in the dark about the details. Yes, the resources give us brand recommendations (aside: Did you look into the coconut oil source? small jar and big $$), but does not specify if it matters if we use virgin coconut or regular coco oil or light or dark agave. Since I don't want to go broke buying coconut oil, I googled and found an extra-virgin organic coconut oil by Nutiva that comes in 54 oz. containers and is reasonably priced. The same goes for the agave nectar. Madhava has a raw organic agave nectar that you can find right here on Amazon in bulk for a decent price. Hopefully these will so the trick.

4) Frosting. I do not believe these are the frostings used at the bakery. For example, a red flag to me is that the cookbook recipe for vanilla frosting is called 'Vanilla Frosting/Vanilla Sauce" but the Babycakes bakery frosting is called "Creamy Vanilla Frosting". While on Martha Stewart (the episode where they made the Allergen-Free Cinnamon Toastie loaf), Erin casually mentions some of the ingredients of her famous frosting. Among the ingredients is coconut milk. Unfortunately, there is zero coco milk in the book recipe, but there is liquid and dry soy milk. Babycakes NYC is a soy-free bakery. This is so disappointing to me, as I was really looking forward to making the real deal.

While I enjoy the aesthetic and the creativity of the book, I think it fell short in a number of critical areas.

I feel slightly torn about this book. I had pre-ordered it because I have Celiac and have loved every gluten-free thing I have tried at the Babycakes NYC Bakery. Most recipes for gluten free baked goods contain high amounts of sugar, or require mixing your own flours or are all kind of generic and blah. This book promised to be free of those things without compromising taste. However, I've found there's good and bad to being a different cook book.

The Good:
It's beautiful; the photography is stunning, the products look amazing, it gets you in the mood to bake and have fun with it. I love the personality in it, I love the colour and food shots. It's so nice to have it feel part photo-book and part-recipe instead of the standard recipe books. And the size is nice whether you're cooking or curled up the couch reading up on it.

The recipes are laid out really well; most are just a page which is nice for those of us who don't like long directions and 17 steps. The write-ups about the items and little stories are fun. The celebrity-endorsements are kind of weird (except the "fat pants" - that's pretty awesome).

There are lots of different kinds of baked goods to make from cakes to cookies. Recipes I hadn't seen before that look incredibly delicious. No more boring cupcakes and cookies for me! The Myer Lemon and Cherry Cupcakes is on my baking list for sure.

The not so good:

As a few people have already said, none of Chapter 2 (scones) are gluten free and there's a couple more elsewhere that call for spelt flour. Although Erin makes a comment about spelt in the beginning of the book and how it's not gluten free, it seems odd to have as a tag line on the FRONT of the book "gluten free" - especially since it says "mostly sugar free." I found this to be very misleading and I felt kind of left out. Maybe that sounds silly but when you're anticipating a gluten free cookbook and you can't use a whole chapter, it's disappointing.

The ingredients are costly. I shop exclusively organic and at Whole Foods so high prices for ingredients aren't a new thing for me. But I found a lot of the ingredients in here either hard to find (even at Whole Foods) or very expensive. The soy milk powder she recommends for so many things is about $20 on average I've found (you can find it on Amazon). Coconut oil, which I already use, is about $10 a jar but her recipes can go through about half of it (a whole thing if you're making cupcakes + icing). A few of the supplies she mentions having on hand can also add up. I can understand using the best ingredients but it's something to consider when ordering this book. If you bake regularly or for a large family, your baked goods can add up quickly. GF baking isn't cheap by any standards but these recipes are definitely a little bit more.

I followed the instructions perfectly for the cupcake (of course this would be first!) and, like another reviewer, I was really disappointed by the vanilla frosting. Looking at the photographs in the book and recalling what I ate at the bakery, I was so excited to make this but really disappointed in eating it (and it takes at least 6 hours to chill and then come to room temperature so there's no instant satisfaction). The cupcakes were OK.

I haven't made any other recipes yet so I'm hoping the book redeems itself. I am very interested to try out the gingerbread and chocolate chip cookies (I just have to find some of the ingredients I haven't been able to find yet).

In any event, I would re-purchase this book as it has inspired me to get back into baking, to have fun with it, and more importantly, to share what I bake with my friends. It really is a beautiful, inspirational little book but it does come with a few flaws that I can live with but wish I would have known about ahead of time so that I wouldn't have been disappointed and more prepared for what I was getting into (IE can't bake right after getting it if you don't generally have all the things on hand).

(Update: Babycakes NYC has answered a lot of questions about the book on their site at [...]. I found this really helpful and hope it helps with the baking).

Update 01/03/10: I purchased a Kitchen Aid stand mixer a couple of months ago and I have to say, that (along with some of the edits in the link above) have made a HUGE difference in baking and in the icing. I really think when using the coconut oil, you really need to mix it really well in order for great results. I tried some recipes using a regular hand mixer afterwards and just could not get the same results. I have since had success with the cupcakes, the icing, cakes and banana bread. Yes, a stand mixer is a huge investment as is baking using this cookbook. But, for me, it's been well worth it since I can eat sweets in a healthy way instead of a process (gluten free) mix way.

I commented on an earlier review below, which pointed out that all the recipes in this cookbook are actually NOT gluten free, as the title implies, because they use spelt flour. I knew spelt products were offered at the bakery, but assumed the cookbook would contain both gluten free and spelt versions of each.

I have celiac disease and wanted to be able to quickly identify which recipes I can't use, so I highlighted them (both the flour ingredients on the recipe pages, and the page numbers on the chapter header pages) - spelt recipes pink, gluten free recipes yellow.

Some sort of notation like this in the second edition would be helpful. As well as some information on how to substitute for the spelt flour in any of these recipes, if that's even possible (personally, I don't think I'll bother trying). And if it isn't possible, at least a sentence saying so. And of course adding a "Mostly" in front of "Gluten Free" in the book title, or some sort of subtitle/disclaimer indicating that all the recipes are NOT gluten free.

In any case, I decided to buy the book despite the spelt recipes and all the Bob's mix and garbanzo fava flour, which I've never been a big fan of. I know it will be a good resource for special occasions when I have the time and money to make some of these baked goods. This is also just a really lovely cookbook, I so appreciate that it contains photos of most of the recipes! And I can't help but like this girl for opening the bakery in the first place, and then sharing her gluten free recipes.

I thought I'd make a list of the specific gluten and not gluten free recipes in the book, for those who aren't able to look through the cookbook at a bookstore before buying it. Because had I ordered it not knowing that 1/3 of the recipes were not gluten free, I'd have been pretty bummed upon receiving it. Cupcake frosting and drink recipes are all gluten free. Hope this info helps at least someone out!

*Gluten Free Recipes (23):

Apple-Cinnamon Muffins, Ginger-Peach Muffins, Pumpkin-Spice Muffins, Cornbread, Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread, Banana Bread / Banana Chocolate Chip Bread, Apple-Cinnamon Toastie, Lemon-Poppy Teacake, Gingerbread, Gingersnaps, Chocolate Chip Cookies / Cookie Sandwiches, Double Chocolate Chip Cookies, Sugarplum Cookies, Macaroons, Brownies, Agave-Sweetened Brownie Gems, Blondies, Vanilla Cupcakes, Chocolate Cupcakes, Healthy Hostess, Carrot Cupcakes, Meyer Lemon and Bing Cherry Cupcakes, Ice Cream Pie

*Not Gluten Free Recipes (13):

Zucchini Muffins, Blueberry Muffins, Spelt Biscuits, Strawberry Shortcake, Raspberry Scones, Chocolate Shortbread Scones with Caramelized Bananas, Johnnycakes, Volcanoes (though you could make these with Vanilla or Chocolate Cupcake Crumb Base), Red Velvet Cupcakes, Cherry Cobbler, Apple Pie, Blackberry Peach and Oat Cobbler, Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

I am a professional chef who cooks for gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan diets. I looked forward to the release of this book with great anticipation. I realize that the author spent a great deal of time perfecting recipes for her bakery but these recipes don't translate well to home cooking. The textures are rubbery, flavors are bland, and errors exist in the instructions. The concept and photography are lovely; if the recipes themselves can be edited and/or improved, I'd be delighted to own a copy. As for this edition, mine is going up for sale.

As others have mentioned, these are NOT the recipes for the baked goods offered in the shop. While these recipes are indeed badly proportioned, full of errors and you will waste a lot of time and $ in making them, the real annoyance is that throughout the book Erin mentions how people "love" this icing, how they "go crazy" for their cupcakes, etc - as though these recipes will make those items. I find it deceptive and greedy that she has led us to believe we can get the same results from these half-baked recipes. The icing contains soy milk powder and Babycakes is a soy-free bakery! Come on, who are you kidding, Erin? She is famously secretive about her ingredients - she doesn't even let the majority of her staff know how to make her stuff - of course she would put out a cookbook with the wrong recipes just to make people have to keep going to her store. Conveniently they now have several shops in the States and offer shipping anywhere. So far I have spent and wasted over $100 in exotic ingredients - and I am a professional cook who knows how to bake. Erin, you should be ashamed of yourself. Not cool!

the GOOD:

* the book looks nice. i like the girls and their uniforms. pretty. i have been to the store in NY, and, well, it's a really small store next to chinatown. the book makes the store look much bigger and nicer, but i guess it makes the book look nicer so i marked that as good

* i like the celebrity quotes. although, yes, this is a form of marketing and the fact that i like that thin natalie portman and pamela anderson love the place makes me one big sucker (yes, i feel ashamed that i fall for this marketing stuff!)

* i like the page where erin tells you how to naturally color frosting. neato! have not tried this yet though because...

the BAD:

* like everyone else who has tried to make their fabulous frosting (sooo good in the store), mine flopped big time! i'm not a full-time vegan (guilty! i know!) because i do not have really big food allergies, so i do bake regular food as well and i was VERY excited to see that erin's frosting does not require me to heat egg whites, or use my kitchen aid standing mixer (hated washing the thing twice, once for cupcakes, once for frosting usage). unfortunately, after buying tons of ingredients, my frosting was not thick the next morning. i had to junk the whole thing. it also was not sweet enough.

the UGLY:

* i don't like extra work. i do not like extra clean-up. i do not like extra reading from other sources when it should all be in the same book. after my frosting disaster, i had to go to Babycakes website and read their entire FAQ section on the cookbook on how to fix the dang frosting. then i had to go to martha stewart's website to find the right recipe. then i also read the blog on Babycakes site to see what this one woman did to fix it (added coconut milk, changed the measurement of ingredients). THEN i had to skim read the beginning of the babycakes book to find out that erin does not even use soy milk at all even though her recipe states soy milk (she uses rice milk). sorry, i do not read cookbooks cover to cover, i read recipes and read what i want when i have time. THEN i find out in the FAQ Babycakes section that she uses a special proprietary blend of rice milk powder and it's not on the freakin market!!! it's like a milk powder monopoly only available for the elite with a patent on it that won't allow us common folk to purchase it. what the heck?!

* so bottom line is when i went to Babycakes NYC, i remember the cupcake tasting OK because well, it is a healthier vegan cupcake but the frosting was amazing. when i made the cupcakes, i ended up with a tasty healthy cupcake better than the ones in the store, but a really screwed up frosting. btw, i used, for the first time, king arthur black cocoa powder to give the color a darker hue and king arthur dutch processed cocoa to give it that great chocolate taste. my first time being a pretentious cocoa baker but i had to try and i think it did make a difference. but, the black cocoa does not specify how much to put in. i used 1/4 c black cocoa and 3/4 c dutch processed in the healthy hostess recipe and it turned out fine.

(NEW!!! Updated Sept 2010)
TIPS:

1. Frosting: Have not tried this yet, but I found this information on Martha Stewart and on Erin's Babycakes site although it seems to have been deleted now)
Use 3/4 cup rice milk INSTEAD of soy milk
If you can find it, use rice milk powder INSTEAD of soy milk powder (which I cannot find)
maybe use 1 cup of coconut oil instead of 1.5 cups. If you turn to the chocolate frosting recipe, it's 1 cup over there so I'm not sure which one is right. I still need to try it myself). Either way, if you do the exact recipe as printed you will end up with a liquid slop that will not thicken enough to sit on a cupcake.

2. Just made the apple-cinnamon toastie:
Do NOT POUR the entire batter in the loaf pan. She made a vimeo video stating not to do this. This recipe can be either for TWO loaf pans or use the leftovers to make muffins or whatever. The batter rises A LOT so don't fill it more than half-way before adding the darker sugar added batter that makes the dark swirl.
Notice it calls for 1 cup of roasted apples. When you roast 2 lbs of apples, you get like 4 cups! I made the mistake of not reading and added all 4 cups to my loaf batter. Makes it more watery. So, yea, also notice on the actual apple cinnamon muffin recipe, that she still only says to add 1 cup of apples. So WHY BOTHER making 4 cups? I HAVE NO IDEA!!! Also when you make the sugar dark brown swirl mixture, don't fold the apples in before doing it like she says to. I have no idea why she said to fold them in beforehand, but it just screws up the mixture and the apples kind of get in the way. Anyways, my family still loved it and ate it. I loved it and ate 6 slices in one day. But, I want to make a better loaf next time so that is my advice.

Let's just say, I'm determined to make her stuff even though the book is an illogical mess. I keep a sharpie next to the book and write all over it so I remember what to actually do next time to make it right.

Also, evaporated cane juice is a screwed up marketing word for fine cane sugar or Florida Crystals. Don't get lost asking everyone that works at the grocery store for evaporated cane juice because you will think you can't get it when it's actually there and NOT CALLED evaporated cane juice. Found info on this when I looked online. GOOD LUCK!

FROSTING UPDATE 4/2011:

After three tries (including the Martha Stewart version which wasn't perfect)... I have perfected the vanilla frosting. Enjoy! Changes are denoted with a (*). Obviously, she has denied the recipe being wrong...but it is. If you look at the choco frosting recipe, you have to balance the ratio of dry ingredients to wet and have them match the vanilla frosting...duh. and they don't match. her dry match, but her liquids don't...obviously something is wrong. For perfect consistency try my version:

1 1/2 c rice milk
1 1/4 c dry soy milk powder (*)
2 Tbs coconut flour (*)
1/2 c agave nectar (*)
1 Tbs vanilla
1 1/2 c coconut oil
2 Tbs Lemon Juice

Note: still can taste soy too much, so if you have rice milk powder it's best to use that. i still can't find it on the shelves over here and hate S&H charges so i haven't tried... but again consistency with my version is great. ergo, my ratio of dry to wet is awesome.

I have tried the banana bread which had to bake 30 additional minutes. I also tried the lemon poppyseed tea cake. It was a total disaster. It to had to bake 20 extra minutes to pass the toothpick test. After cooling it fell in the middle and after being cut it is a glob of oily heavy mess. Had to go in the trash. I feel I'm experienced in the kitchen, baking for 40 years!. I won't waste anymore supplies to this book.

This has to be the worst cookbook ever and I have a lot of cookbooks. I really wanted to like this, but every recipe was lacking in something. The cooking times are inaccurate (plan to bake everything for much longer than suggested). The ingredients are numerous and expensive. I tried several recipes and they were all bad. The only halfway decent one was the blueberry crumb cake, but that called for way too much lemon extract. It was very overpowering. I used the vanilla cupcakes from "The Joy of Vegan Baking" as the crumb topping instead of the cupcake recipe from this cookbook. Those cupcakes are the only thing that saved the dessert. I am very annoyed that I wasted my money on this cookbook and urge you to not buy it.

I own over 50 cookbooks and have never felt the need to type a review. Until now.

I'm a decent baker. I shop frequently at the local health foods grocery, so I'm familiar with tasty vegan pumpkin bread, vegan gluten free brownies, etc. I thought I'd try out the signature vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting. What did I get?

Misshapen bean pucks, denser than grout, bland as neutered Tofurky, topped with a slurry of fat shards suspended in a soy flood runoff.

When they say New York's finest, they must be referring to the cops, because it sure ain't these cupcakes.

Blech.

The good points: The photos are lovely and the desserts look luscious.

The bad points: If you have a gluten-intolerance, you're not going to be able to eat a distressing amount of the luscious-looking goodies at all.

I bought this book because I wanted to branch out from your basic gluten-free baking. However, fully a third of these recipes are *not* gluten-free; they're made from spelt flour. Chapter two, which is the scone and biscuit chapter, has no gluten-free recipes at all. The pie crusts aren't gluten-free, the cobbler recipes aren't gluten-free, which just leaves me with recipes for desserts that I already had access to.

If I had known how many recipes were completely inaccessible to my family, there is no way I would have wasted the money pre-ordering this book. I'll donate it to my library. With a subtitle reading: Vegan, Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free, I was fooled. Buyer beware.