Customer Reviews

Booze Cakes: Confections Spiked with Spirits, Wine, and Beer

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was so excited when my sister sent me this book as a gift. I love baking and cakes are a specialty of mine. I was feeling very brave when I decided to make 2 of the recipes for a friend's Wedding Reception.
The first was the Mudslide Cake. It looks so chocolaty in the picture, but I followed the recipe EXACTLY and ended up with a walnut colored cake. It tasted all right, but I would not call it chocolate at all, and did not feel right bringing it to the reception to serve to guests. I ended up making a very tasty mudslide cake using my tried and true Fudge Cake recipe which I just modified a little. I used the book's recipe for the icing and drizzle and that was delicious! My modified Mudslide Cake was a big hit with the women at the reception.
Then I made the Honey Spice Beer Cake. When it came out of the oven, this was the UGLY duckling of cakes. Part of the cake looked like it was venting steam out during the baking process. When the timer went off, that area of the cake was still completely raw. The surface of the cake was wavy and bumpy looking. I left the cake in for an additional 12 minutes to try to get that area to cook a little. When it finally came out of the oven, the edges were crispy, the top was wavy and that problem area was still a little mushy. I was going to scrap the whole cake, but when I took it out of the pan, I tasted a little piece and it was actually very tasty! I had to carve the cake into a rectangular shape on a 1/4 sheet board. But once I iced it, no one even knew the difference. The honey and lemon go so well with the spices. And the Honey Beer Frosting added a little more richness. The mixed nuts on top added a salty crunch. Despite it's rough beginnings, this was one of the tastiest cakes I've ever made.
The book is really cute, clever and original. But so far the recipes I've tried could use some improvement.

My fiancee got me this cookbook for my birthday. She knows how much I love to bake and what a sweet tooth I am and when she saw a review for it in the Metro paper, she knew I would love it. :) Of course, she knows me so well. haha The book is awesome! There are a bunch of traditional dessert recipes with an alcoholic twist to them as well as some newly concocted ones modeled after popular cocktails. So far, I've only tried one recipe which is the Fuzzy Naval cupcakes. They were delicious! I can't wait to try another recipe! If you love baking and being adventurous in the kitchen (and you like a good drink, too), what better way to get the best of both worlds and combine cakes with booze? I would definitely recommend this book! It not only has easy to follow recipe instructions, but it has great pictures, and recommendations for each recipe as to what occasions they'd be good for. They even go over brief explanations of each type of alcohol as well as a lil history tidbits and facts. Oh and they rate each one on a booze meter as to how much alcohol each recipe will contain. Definitely happy with this book. :)

When I saw Booze Cakes I knew that I had to have it, which is a compliment since I have about 4oo cookbooks and I am a chef. I am delighted with this book. Castella and Stone have outdone themselves with coming up with cute and delicious recipes. There are many wonderful things about this book that will make you want to buy it for yourself.

* The recipes are broken into 4 easy to use chapters, including Classic Booze Cakes, Cocktail Cakes, Cake Shots, and Cakes with a Twist. Classic Booze Cakes are traditional recipes that would normally contain alcohol. Cocktail Cakes are based on traditional mixed drink flavors, Cake Shots are quick and cute party munchies, and Cakes with a Twist are traditional recipes that have alcohol added.

* The recipes comes with legends that tell you how much booze will be left in the recipe (from Lightweight, Feeling it, and Totally Tipsy), what kind of event the recipe would be good for, what type of cake it is, and how quickly it bakes.

* Almost every recipe has at least one variation, many have 3 or 4 variations.

* There is a wonderful chart that describes which booze goes with which flavors best.

There are so many wonderful recipes in here that blew my mind, from the Jelly Cake Shots (too cute!), to the Blue Hawaii Upside Down Pineapple Cake, to the Golden Rum cake, there are many delightful recipes in here. Plus, the knowledge on how to bake with alcohol is invaluable because it can be a tricky ingredient.

All around, this book is a wonderful addition to anyone's cooking library!

Highest Recommendations.

I had high (no pun intended) hopes for this cookbook. I have a cupcake-baking company and am well-versed in baking. I spent $41 on liquor and promised my friends the Harvey Wallbanger cake featured in this book. I made it exactly to the specifications listed; all my ingredients were as ordered, and they were fresh. The batter was much thicker than any I have seen, but I went ahead and baked it. It rose up and when it settled, it resembled a mushroom cloud explosion. It tasted AWFUL -- inedible. Gross, actually - I threw it down the drain. They have left some ingredient(s)? out of the recipe, evidently. So I have no faith in the other recipes. I wish someone had warned *me* of this beforehand, so I am warning other unsuspecting bakers. Good luck if you try this book; I'm only glad I got my copy from a library and didn't waste more money on buying it.

I love the book. It contains beautiful photography of very creative cakes. But I did not have luck with Lane Cake. The crumb came out very dense (although I did not sift), the caramel fruit sauce was fantastic--but the amount of bourbon made it impossibly runny which led to fundamental structural and icing problems. The buttercream was good, but did not make enough to cover the cake well.

The recipes may need some work, but good things are worth doing more than once. I didn't give up, and I don't think you should either.

OK, kids... no beating around the bush. We all love to drink. Don't lie to me. I can see you through your computer. We also all love eating cake. All the time. How did Booze Cakes not exist before? I spent all this time drinking WHILE eating cake and had no idea that I could do both in one fell swoop! But seriously... this cookbook is spectacular. In particular, I recommend the Mocha Rum Brownie Bites (or gigantic brownies, if you make them my way) and the Tipsy Tiramisu. Now you can finally use the rest of that bottle of Frangelico you've had since college! I highly, highly recommend you pick up this book and never look back. It's a staple at brunchtime get-togethers with my friends.

I made two of the recipes in this book- pina colada cake and blue hawaiian cupcakes- for a luau party. The pina colada cake came out tasting like vanilla cake, and I had to add tons of extra coconut extract and rum to the frosting to get it tasting like something other than cream cheese. I've been baking for a long time. The pictures and recipe names are inspiring, but the recipes are totally unreliable and amateurish. I will not be spending any more of my money on ingredients to make these recipes.

Got this for a Christmas present for my mom. She loved it! We made the harvey wallbanget cake for new years eve and EVERYONE loved it.

Just delicious. There are a lot of neat ideas in this book. Perfect for the booze lover

This book is filled with wonderful cake recipes. Great for special occasions and for a treat for yourself. If you love a moist cake, this book is for you.

i've made a couple of receipes out of this cookbook and all of them have turned out perfectly and not one person has complained about texture, taste or appearance... they only want more booze. no complaints here about the product, seller, payment or shipping... can't go wrong with Booze Cakes.