The Perfect Recipe Baking Book: 50 Foolproof Recipes for America's Classic Cakes, Pies, Cookies, and More [Mass Market Paperback]

Murray Jaffe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1997

Fifty well-tested, classic recipes for delicious baked goods include such all-time favorites as coffee cake, peanut butter cookies, zucchini bread, blueberry muffins, and apple pie. 30,000 first printing. Tour.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Have you ever compared chocolate cake recipes from several cookbooks? Some call for buttermilk, others use no liquid at all. Some call for plain cocoa, others ask for sweet baking chocolate, still others specify nonalkalized cocoa. It's mind-boggling. How can a home cook, especially one in a hurry, decide which recipe is the one that will produce a perfect cake suitable for a special occasion?

Murray Jaffe wondered the same thing, which led him to write The Perfect Recipe Baking Book. Subtitled 50 Foolproof Recipes for America's Classic Cakes, Pies, Cookies, and More, it contains one reliable version of many popular items such as the aforementioned chocolate cake (water, no milk, and unsweetened cocoa), as well as pies, fruit crisps, quick breads, cookies, brownies, and muffins.

The compact book is perfect for two kinds of cooks: beginners who need the reassurance of no-fail recipes and old hands who have too many cookbooks and too little patience to page through them all. Jaffe, who wrote the book at age 79 after retiring as chief executive officer of a multimillion-dollar wholesale bakery business, has provided ample, clear instructions on the proper equipment, ingredients, and procedures that help guarantee success. The Perfect Recipe Baking Book is welcome because sometimes you just want to bake a banana cream pie or a blueberry coffee cake without conducting a research project first. --Brenda Pittsley --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Directions for cakes, pies, cobblers, cookies, muffins and other sweet confections are simplified by a 79-year-old former CEO of a large California-based wholesale bakery. Jaffe attempts to banish all mystery from the baking process in order to encourage the timid to tackle what might heretofore have been a dauntingtask. His utter dedication to clarity and basic fare, however, doesn't leave much room for imagination and results in a methodical, occasionally plodding slate of baked goods that are long on ease and short on excitement. Still, tyro bakers looking for straightforward techniques to serve up a trusty Devil's Food Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Blueberry Crisp, Strawberry Shortcake, Hermits or Brownies will find Jaffe a calming voice. A far more convincing selection of "best" dessert recipes is found in The Cook's Bible (Forecasts, July 15).
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Plume (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452277493
• ISBN-13: 978-0452277496
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 7.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,109,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Come home to good old-fashioned desserts, October 24, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Perfect Recipe Baking Book: 50 Foolproof Recipes for America's Classic Cakes, Pies, Cookies, and More (Mass Market Paperback)

How many cooks make lavish chocolate terrines, but would be stumped by lemon meringue pie? How many different gourmet shops do you go to when you want to make something special? It's time to put away your pastry bags and your ramekins -- you need look no further than Murray Jaffe's new book for simple, scrumptious desserts.

The array of recipes in "The Perfect Recipe Baking Book" is wonderfully refreshing in its simplicity. The classics are all here: coconut macaroons, devil's food cake, blueberry pie. Jaffe, a self-described obsessive baker, provides foolproof directions for perfect desserts. His apple pie can beat the pants off of any hazelnut praline cheesecake. And best of all, the ingredients are guaranteed to be available in your local grocery store. No more scouring the city for Poire Williams or dried golden cherries! This really is the only dessert cookbook you will ever need.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Recipes ever!!, February 1, 2001

By 

Jacqueline (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Perfect Recipe Baking Book: 50 Foolproof Recipes for America's Classic Cakes, Pies, Cookies, and More (Mass Market Paperback)

I don't believe in trying dozens of recipes to the same item to the the best one. This collection is truly a collection of the best and FOOLPROOF recipes, and the only recipes I use over and over again

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic reference for worry-free baking, October 26, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Perfect Recipe Baking Book: 50 Foolproof Recipes for America's Classic Cakes, Pies, Cookies and More (Hardcover)

Many of us are short on time when it comes to cooking and baking. When I want or need to bake - whether it be for a special occassion or no reason at all, I want my recipe to turn out great. The confidence I have in the recipes in this book assure me every time, that whatever I choose to make - it will be fabulous!