Customer Reviews

Perfect Cakes

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If Maida Heatter is the queen of cakes, as Mr. Malgieri calls her in his dedication of this beautiful cook to her, then he must be king. This is the third dessert cookbook of this author I own, and-- forgive the pun-- he just gets batter and batter.

Mr. Malgieri tells you practically everything you ever needed to know about baking a cake. There is information on ingredients, equipment, sources, a bibliography, all kinds of different cake recipes, as well as information on frosting and decorating. (For example, now I know that one cup minus two tablespoons of all-purpose flour equals one cup cake flour.) I marvel that at this late date there are still new cake recipes to be had. This book is full of them. And in keeping with my theory that each book should have at least one dynamite recipe, the green tea pound on page 42 makes the cut. I'm pleased to say that a slice tastes great straight from the oven with a glass of cold milk. In addition to this great recipe, there are certainly many others I want to try.

If you are on a diet or do not bake, however, just looking at these great photographs makes the book worth having. Printed on slick acid-free paper with great color photographs, this book is too pretty to get cake flour on. It is worthy of a coffee table.

As for recipes, the ones I have tried turned out absolutely fantastic! I made the 'Orange Sponge Cake' last week and it was extremely light and fluffy, and the flavor was outstanding. I made the 'Lemon Meringue Cake' today and my co-workers are raving about it. I'm going to make it for an upcoming bridal shower - it turned out beautfully.
However, I have to agree with the first reviewer 'oktober31' on the lack of some details in the instructions. I had to rely on my past experiences for things like 'how much to whip the meringue?', and 'should the eggs be at room temp or cold?', etc.
These seem like small details, but when it comes to baking, we all know how important these small details become!
But if you're a somewhat experienced baker, I highly recommend the book as the recipes are out of this world! - thanks

Perfect Cakes has come to be my favorite book on cake baking. It's not just a book filled with endless untried recipes that give no hint of what to expect. All of the recipes in this book are preceded by some type of history or information about the cake that leaves one with the impression that the author is familiar with the recipe and has probably made it a time or two!

The introduction includes information about common ingredients and equipment used for cake baking which is a plus for those new to cake baking or for those looking to expand their baking skills. The book is well designed with beautiful photos and a layout for the recipes that is easy to follow. The ingredients are in a shaded box (yellow) and the instructions are enumerated in red. This makes it easier to find your place in the recipe when you are ready for the next step.

I am currently working through the pound cake section and have become fascinated with the high ratio mixing method. This is a method developed by Procter & Gamble during the 40's. Mr. Malgieri provides an explanation of the method, shows how to convert a recipe to use it, and provides a few recipes. I have made the High-Ratio Lemon-Buttermilk Pound Cake several times, and it has become a requested item among friends. As indicated, the cakes made using this method are moist, fine textured, and delicious. Other cakes that I have made with excellent results include the Orange Poppy Seed Cake, Cinnamon Coffee Cake, Town Hall Cake, and the Buttermilk Cake Layers.

Some of the recipes may require a bit of skill and will be a nice challenge for the experienced baker but the book has plenty of recipes for a beginner to start with. If you like to bake cakes, this is definitely a book to add to your library.

Well, first of all, this is a beautiful cookbook. It's got lots of glossy pictures of delicious-looking cakes and an extensive guide on cooking implements. Yup, beautiful.

Now, I did expect, coming from a very famous, skilled chef, to get a book that wasn't exactly what you'd call simple. Of course, his experience was going to show somewhere so no, I didn't expect easy stuff. But I'm something of an avid baker so even if I don't have any professional training, I do pretty well in the kitchen. Imagine my surprise when several of his recipes did flop on me. This is ridiculous! I'm one to follow instructions to the best of my abilities but I think he takes for granted that you know so much more on so many levels than any non-chef does. I never did try the failed recipes again but did try others and fared a little better. They really are delicious. Still, I don't like thinking when I start baking that there's a 50% chance that the recipe may not come out well.

Never had any trouble at all baking extensively from other books. This one, I'm getting a little bit better but by trial and error, not through useful insight gained from the book. But the best part, this book does inspire me to keep trying.

I'll get your cakes yet, Nick Malgieri!

While I'm not a beginning baker, I am relatively new to world of cake baking. I borrowed this book because of the cover picture honestly, and was immediately intrigued by all the recipes in this book.

So here's what's good about this book
-the layout of the book, with the pictures
-the variety of cakes is great. many are unusual and i've not seen them in other cake books (i work at a book store, i would know!)
-the introduction chapter which talks about the importance of various ingredients, baking skills, utensils, etc.

What's not so hot about this book
-the lack of detailed instructions at times
-the lack of descriptions of the mixtures you are making.

I had trouble with a few recipes... Other recipes have the "as you go" descriptions I find very useful. An experienced cake baker may know what to look for, but I do not! I made the cover cake tonight (strawberry meringue layer cake) and the author's recipe for meringue fell flat for me. I had to resort to a Pillsbury recipe for a lemon meringue pie I had previously made. However, the cake and strawberry filling was easy to follow and tasted great.
If you are an experienced cake baker, then I would suggest buying this book. You will probably be able to figure out alot that I can't at this point! I do intend to make more from this book, but maybe after making cakes from other books.
If you are not so experienced, as I am, hunt around for other dessert cookbooks. Le Cordon Bleu makes an excellent dessert book for amateur and experienced cooks alike!

Mr. Malgeiri has done it again! This very well-written baking book illustrates quite clearly each and every recipe by the notes and reminders of the author. I have done the Perfect Chocolate Cake twice already, including one of the ganache frostings and they came out really perfect each time. This book will be appreciated by home bakers like me, because the instructions are very clear and precise. It is surely a welcome addition to one's collection of excellent cookbooks.

I love this book. Every recipe I have tried from this book has come out fantastic and delicious. The chocolate cake is the best I've had and every time I make it everyone says it's delicious. I have given this book as a gift to friends since it's the only cookbook I've ever found in which every single recipe is a good one.

The cakes come out picture perfect and taste fabulous. I agree with the other reviewers that a certain level of baking experience is needed in order to understand his directions. Beginners could find this book intimidating. Some of the cakes are time consuming and expensive. I would not use those recipes for commercial baking but they make great party desserts. The kind of desserts that build a baker's reputation

I tried his chocolate souffle roll. I know that folding melted chocolate in egg whites is no childs play but I expected a chef of his level of expertise to give better tips. The cake went poof on me. I couldn't roll the souffle !! but it tasted so good that i served it anyway. Thats the good thing about chocolate.
i tried his blueberry cake...yum.

Some of the recipes are amazing, some are downright... awful!

You need to know your techniques. Some of the recipes are correct, some or not. You may run out of buttercream on one, or have too much on another.

Rathaus torte, AMAZING, everyone's favorite.

Zuger Kirschtorte, made with loads of Kirschwasser, tastes like medicine!!! Probably one of the most disgusting things that has ever come out of my kitchen. And with company coming, I am going to have to make a back-up cake, since this is VILE.

Buy the book, if you know what you are doing in the kitchen, and TEST before you serve to guests.