The Cake Mix Doctor Returns!: With 160 All-New Recipes [Hardcover]

Anne Byrn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 24, 2009

What could be better than a phenomenon? The return of a phenomenon. Ten years ago Anne Byrn's The Cake Mix Doctor began its extraordinary run as one of the most popular baking books of all time. Now Anne Byrn is back with the all-new Cake Mix Doctor Returns! From the beloved author who showed home bakers how adding a touch of sweet butter or a dusting of cocoa powder, a dollop of vanilla yogurt or flurry of grated lemon zest could transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. Here are 160 brand-new recipes—that’s right, 160 amazing cake mix recipes—for luscious layer cakes, sheet cakes, brownies, bars, cookies, and more.

And the book is needed more than ever. Today 90 percent of home cooks use prepackaged mixes, while the economy is creating a perfect excuse to let them eat cake—cake equals happiness. And what cakes! 40 layer cakes, from Tiramisu Cake to The Best Red Velvet Cake, Strawberry Refrigerator Cake to Chocolate Swirled Cannoli Cake. 35 sheet cakes. 38 bundt and pound cakes. 16 cupcakes and muffins, plus the cult classic Whoopie Pie. And brownies, bars, and cookies, including Spice Drop Cookies, Angel Food Macaroons, and Chocolate Espresso Biscotti. There's even a wedding cake, a frequent request from the author's passionate online community.

The Cake Mix Doctor is back—just say ahhhhh!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This volume isn't about artisanal baking nor does it pretend to be. And that won't bother the legions of devoted Cake Mix Doctor fans. Byrn's sixth book goes back to what made her famous: a whole lot of recipes for comforting cakes (plus some cookies and brownies) made easy thanks to the use of purchased cake mix and other supermarket ingredients. Readers are welcomed with thumbnail color photographs of all cakes in the book, with page numbers to enable quick flipping when a confection catches the eye. A hint-filled introduction, written in Byrn's friendly, collaborational prose, offers confidence even to kitchen neophytes. And then there are the recipes, 160 of them, many contributed by fans. They include lemonade chiffon layer cake with raspberry filling, made with yellow cake mix, frozen lemonade concentrate and raspberry pie filling; double coconut macadamia cake, featuring yellow or butter cake mix and vanilla instant pudding mix; chocolate-covered cherry cake, utilizing chocolate cake mix with pudding and cherry pie filling; and plenty more appealingly straightforward sweet treats. For those who want to have their mostly homemade cake and eat it, too, this book will become a go-to guide. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Back Cover

It’s pure magic—you’ll never believe these cakes come out of a box!

Transform ordinary cake mix into extraordinary cakes through just the right additions: Use buttermilk and sour cream for greater moisture and richness. Boost flavor with cocoa powder, peppermint extract, lemon zest—even lemon yogurt. Instead of water, try orange juice, canned pumpkin, a leftover cup of coffee (it makes for a devilishly delicious brownie). Celebrating ten years since she reinvented home baking, Anne Byrn takes bakers boldly forward with 160 all-new, fast, foolproof recipes, plus dozens of fresh ideas on frosting (including how to make only what you need), garnishing, and baking lighter cakes for lighter appetites.


--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (September 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761156941
• ISBN-13: 978-0761156949
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 7.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,002,564 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anne Byrn is known to millions of fans through her Cake Mix Doctor and Dinner Doctor cookbooks, which she's promoted in more than 200 television appearances on Good Morning America, Roker on the Road, QVC, and local stations. She is also a favorite subject for lifestyle editors in newspapers across the country. Anne lives in Nashville with her husband and three children. You can visit her online at www.cakemixdoctor.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A great book for someone who doesn't have the others, November 6, 2009

By 

A. Caudle (Little Rock, AR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cake Mix Doctor Returns!: With 160 All-New Recipes (Paperback)

Not much to say, except -- if you have the other Cake Mix Doctor books, you do not need this one (unless you simply want to complete the library). It it mostly a rehash of the first two cake books...and the "low-fat" changes do NOT improve the recipes. Here's an example of a repeat: "Key Lime Cheesecake". The recipe is a repeat of the same one featured in "The Cake Mix Doctor Does Chocolate"...except it does not have a chocolate crust and pecans are added. The "lighter" version of "Darn Good Chocolate Cake" is NOT as good -- just stick with the original recipe. The change in the "Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars" is NOT for the better. For those of you who have made them (featured in the second Cake Mix Doctor book), the coconut is in the original recipe for a reason...it holds the chocolate filling together. Taking it out in the "revised" recipe is NOT an improvement. Apparently, the publisher wanted to squeeze another book out of the series, and did what Southern Living/Oxmoor House is infamous for -- printed a "new" book filled with recipes from other books in the same series. For those of you who have none of the Cake Mix Doctor books -- bypass this one and purchase the original "Cake Mix Doctor". It's the best and comes highly recommended.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not all "New" recipes--still looks delicious, October 1, 2009

By 

T. Primis "Gavin and Ryan's Mom" (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Cake Mix Doctor Returns!: With 160 All-New Recipes (Paperback)

I just received this book so I have not yet attempted any of the cakes contained in it. Still, I wanted to post a quick review to say that, while each of the recipes may be "New", many are just revised or reformulated versions of recipes in her earlier books. There are pictures of each recipe up front (which is nice) and the introduction section is excellent, as in all prior books.

Still, it was disappointing a bit to see so many familiar recipes with just a minor variation (one is even the same cake, but as a sheet cake instead of a layer cake). The book definitely acknowledges the repeats--but still.

That being said, I was THRILLED to see a new version of the Coconut Icebox Cake that did NOT require the ever-elusive frozen, unsweetened coconut which was a requirement in earlier versions.

So, I'm excited by the book, but was hoping for more totally new recipes.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nothing new under the sun, February 17, 2010

By 

Diane C. Kulik (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cake Mix Doctor Returns!: With 160 All-New Recipes (Paperback)

Luckily I picked this up at the library as there really is very little new in the book. I own Ms. Byrn's cupcake cookbook and many of these recipes are in that book. Taking them from cupcake to layer cake doesn't really make it a new recipe. I would have been very disappointed had I purchased the book.

I also would have liked larger photos. The cakes are displayed in the front few pages of the book approximately 16 photos to a page.

But on the plus side the recipes really are very good and most are very easy so if you don't already have one of her books, go ahead and purchase this one.