Customer Reviews

The Cake Mix Doctor

5 star:		(266)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

As an avid baker as well as cookbook collector, I am always on the lookout for new cookbooks on baking. I was, however, somewhat skeptical about a cake baking cookbook that relies primarily on boxed mixes. What a surprise! I love this book so much I can't stop trying new recipes and have been giving the finished goods away just so I can try a new recipe! The introductory comments are extremely helpful, especially in explaining why one would choose to use a cake mix, rather than bake from scratch. Each recipe's ingredient list is typically short and the prep time is next to nothing, so you can really turn out baked goods on a moment's notice. I have now tried a number of the recipes all of which have turned out fabulous. The only drawback is that this cookbook focuses on basic cakes and doesn't include any fancy type ingredients or frostings that one might find in other baking cookbooks.

I used to pride myself on my baked goods and for years made all my cakes and cookies from scratch - in fact, I turned up my nose at cake mixes. But now, with an 11-month old baby, cake mix cakes are all that I make! You'll find many delicious recipes in this book, and most can be whipped up and in the oven in under 30 minutes. I find it easiest and quickest to bake the cakes in a tube pan, and make a simple glaze to drizzle on top. Most also freeze well, so sometimes I'll bake a cake in two loaf pans and store one in the freezer to have available later. I probably bake several cakes a month - to give as thank-you's, to welcome new neighbors, to bring to dinners at friends', for my husband to take to work.

You'll also find that once you get the hang of making these cakes, you'll come up with your own combinations. Don't be afraid to deviate from the cake mix and pudding flavors suggested in the recipes. My favorite combination, one that I use in many of the recipes, involves Duncan Hines Golden Butter Recipe and Butterscotch pudding mix.

One recipe that took me by surprise was the biscotti - so easy, and so delicious!

My only complaint about the book is that Anne offers helpful hints (e.g., substituting pan sizes, add-ins for cakes, loaf pan ideas) that are sprinkled rather haphazardly throughout the book. I find myself marking these pages with little stickies so that I can find them easily.

These are the top ten recipes that I've had the greatest success with, received many compliments on, and that I make over and over again:
1 Kathy's Cinnamon Breakfast Cake (try the DH Golden Butter / Butterscotch pudding combo here - it's fantastic!)
2 Orange Dreamsicle Cake
3 Chocolate Praline Cake
4 Biscotti (try DH Golden Butter with mini chocolate chips)
5 Orange-Cinnamon Poppyseed Cake
6 Lemon Buttermilk Poppyseed Cake
7 Banana Cake
8 Favorite Apricot Nectar Cake (try coming up with your own flavor combinations, such as Pineapple cake mix, Orange Jello, and Guava nectar)
9 Pineapple Inside-Out Cake
10 Amaretto Cake

And some recipes I didn't like so much:
Triple-Decker Strawberry Cake (tasted like Crunchberry cereal)
Toasted Coconut Sour Cream Cake (just okay, not impressed)
Incredible Melted Ice-Cream Cake (haven't had great success finding an ice-cream flavor that works well in this recipe)
Chocolate Better Than ? Cake (dry, not that good)
Chocolate Pistachio Cake (flavor was strange)
Double-Chocolate Chewies (didn't taste that great)
Penuche Frosting (too difficult to work with, sets up too quickly)

Have fun!

As cook with a major cookbook collection and a "foodie," I must say that I avoid ANYTHING processed and am one who avoided the chemical like taste of cake mixes. However, this book made me change my mind about using cake mixes! When you're a working mom with a 3-year-old, cake mix birthday cakes are a massive time saver! And last year after making a gourmet from scratch cake that the adults loved, my then 2-year-old took one bite and delcared, "I don't like it!" This year I made two cakes from Anne's book to feed 30 at my 3-year old's birthday. One of the the other moms said, "I never eat boxed cakes, but since this is homemade, I'll eat it." And declared it was delicious. She never knew... Thank you Anne for this wonderful resource--especially for busy moms of young kids! The recipes of note for me are the ones with buttermilk (I confess that the chocolate ones don't taste as good as my from-scratch cake from Richard Sax's Classic Home Desserts, but nevertheless much better than just plain old cake mix). This does not inspire me to use any other processed products to cook with, but this is big discovery. And let's get real...do toddlers really care and know the difference if their birthday cake is some major gourmet creation? I also agree with Anne--use her homemade frosting. It's easy to make the frosting, and I also used it to pipe on the cake decorations as well. I really like the cream cheese based frostings. Every mom out there should get this book. The cakes are quick, easy, and taste homemade. You need to add this book to your cookbook collection. It is one you'll go back to time and time again. Bravo Anne! You deserve an award for this book!

I detested cake mixes from the time I was a kid. At birthday parties, I would refuse to eat the cake if it tasted like it came from a mix. The idea of this book was intriguing. Could the ease and consistently light-texture of a box ever taste like scratch? Based on these recipes, the answer is a resounding yes. I am amazed at the results I have achieved and I consider myself an accomplished cake baker. After devouring the Banana Cake with Caramel Icing, I would never even consider baking a banana cake from scratch. This book is a gem. Anyone interested in cake baking MUST have this important work in their collection. Baking cakes will never be the same for me.

I had no idea that cake mixes could be doctored until I picked up Anne Byrn's amazing cookbook. The recipes are very easy to follow and I am able to whip up an impressive doctored up cake mix in 5 to 10 minutes! Anne Byrn has included wonderful baking tips and tricks, as well as the history of cake mixes. She incorporated a terrific index in the back. For instance, if you have a box of white pudding cake in the pantry, you can look under white pudding cake and find a list of recipes to make with that mix. Or, you can look up a specific recipe name. She's got color photos of the luscious cakes in the front of the book! I plan to buy several copies to give away as gifts. The price is right, too! Thank you Anne!

As a former professional baker, I've made a lot of cakes. Without a doubt, the recipes in this cookbook produce some of the most delicious results you'll ever come across. A few ingredients added to a basic cake mix and you have something your family and company will truly. My only concern is with the frosting/glaze recipes. Without exception, and I've tried the Caramel and Cream Cheese Frostings and Chocolate Glaze, the ratio of fat to confectioners' sugar is off. The recipes produce frosting/glaze that is too thin to stay on a cake. My suggestion would be to keep extra confectioners' sugar on hand to make whatever adjustments you deem necessary. Perhaps humidity or weather conditions have some bearing on this. In any case, try the book, you won't be disappointed.

This is the best thing since sliced bread! I made the carrot cake for a St Patrick's party. It was gone before I even tasted it! I've also tried the buttermilk chocolate and the pistachio. Tomorrow I'll try the hummingbird cake! It looks much easier than the "scratch" recipe! My sister is so jealous of my book that I am online now to buy her one! I hope there is a sequel.

You must ignore the pictures which to me are awful looking. I baked two of the cheese cakes, New York, and Italian, however I ignored the suggested pan to use and replaced with a 11 inch spring form pan..The results were not only beautiful, but the BEST cheese cakes I have ever eaten. Why on earth she would use 13 by 9 pans and show such poor looking results when one can achieve such splendor is beyond me. I baked a coconut cake in a bundt pan that was so beautiful and delicious it makes me want to tear out the ridiculous pictures and poor pan suggestions. This book is a real find for any gourmet chef with imagination. Some of the names for these cakes are ridiculous but if all these are ignored this book is a great find. Every cake tried was exceptional.

As a newspaper food editor, I must say this is one of the most user-friendly cookbooks I've seen in years. The recipes are easy yet result in beautiful cakes. The book is clearly written and instructions are impeccable.

I know there are 43 or so reviews for this book already, but I just had to add to the bunch! Yes, I admit, I'm a baking snob. It's homemade or nothing for me. BUT, when I saw this book at the library I just had to take a look at it. "Surely' I thought, 'a cake mix can't rival a homemade one.' So, I checked it out and proceded to make "Mom's Layer Cake with Fluffy Chocolate Frosting". Positively yummy! I couldn't believe it! And it was easy too. So, on to "Darn Good Chocolate Cake"--another success! (We almost ate the whole cake in one evening). I'm sold and am ordering my book now! Thank you Ann! I may never go back to homemade cakes again. You've made my life much simpler. I can't wait to try more of these delicious cakes. By the way, for cookbook afficianado's, this book is a great read, very entertaining and I learned some fun facts about baking along the way!