A Piece of Cake [Hardcover]

Susan Gold Purdy (Author), Susan Martin (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1989

More than the ultimate collection of cake recipes, A Piece of Cake is a book that demystifies the baking process, explaining the techniques, methodologies, and chemical reactions that cause a cake to rise or fall. 200 line drawings.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Many cakes rise in this superb collection--"Marvelous Mud Cake," "Crazy Mixed-up Chocolate Cake," "Jo's Blitz Torte," even "Parsnip Cake"; sponges, charlottes, ladyfingers, scones. From the simplest to the many-tiered, Purdy ( As Easy As Pie ) enlists over 200 of her "personal favorites," combining lucid advice on basic equipment, ingredients and techniques ("What Happens When a Cake Is Baked") with detailed directions and playful asides on cake history. We learn that the modern custom (or folly) of "girls jumping out of cakes" at stag parties originated in medieval banquets made merry with "live rabbits, frogs, other small animals, and occasionally dwarves . . . encased in pastry crusts," while American frontier corn dodgers were so called "because they were so hard you had to dodge or risk injury if one was thrown at you." Glamorous French (hazelnut white-chocolate marquise) and Viennese (Sachertorte) pastries serve as divas, yet the most appealing may well be the old-fashioned jam cake, buttermilk spice cake, devil's food cake, caramel cake with penuche icing and their cousins. Illustrations not seen by PW. BOMC Cooking and Crafts Club main selection.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The inevitable comparison will be between Purdy's new book and Rose Levy Beranbaum's acclaimed Cake Bible ( LJ 8/88), but this should have no trouble holding its own. Purdy's detailed text provides invaluable information on equipment, ingredients, and technique, and her recipes are delicious. She includes more cake recipes than Beranbaum, who focuses more on adornments and showcase cakes; Purdy does include fancy cakes, too, but she has more cheesecakes, coffeecakes, upside-down cakes, and the like. In short, a worthy companion to The Cake Bible ; for all pastry collections.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 498 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum (August 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689117663
• ISBN-13: 978-0689117664
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Perfect Cake" is a perfect book., June 8, 2003

By 

Lawrence W. Meegan (Jackson, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Perfect Cake: 150 cakes for Every taste and Occasion (Paperback)

Unlike many cook books that are simply collections of recipes and a few photos of what the finished product should look like, Purdy's "The Perfect Cake" goes further. It is a "why" book, explaining how the different ingredients interact as you mix them then bake them. It also discusses the different qualities those ingredients have and offers advice on what you should choose and why. And perhaps more importantly, why not.

The book also gave me the confidence to experiment with some of the basic recipes. And I didn't mind eating the results, thank you very much.

I borrowed a copy of the book from my local library, learned a lot, and enjoyed it so much that as soon as I submit this review I will buy my own copy.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Special effects, flavorings, and decorative techniques, June 6, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Perfect Cake: 150 cakes for Every taste and Occasion (Paperback)

The Perfect Cake: 150 Cakes For Every Taste & Occasion by baking expert Susan G. Purdy is quite simply a definitive, single volume compendium designed to enable the family cook to have a wealth of delicious, imaginative, desert choices for any occasion from daily family dining to special celebratory events. Enhanced with a wealth of "tips, tricks and techniques" for everything from measuring ingredients to preparing pans for baking, the profusion of cake recipes are grouped into Butter and Shortening Cakes; Cheesecakes; Sponge and Foam Cakes; Elegant and Special Cakes; as well as Filings, Frostings, Icings and Glazes, Sauces and Syrups. Of special interest is the section on Decorating Cakes covering special effects, flavorings, and decorative techniques. Before you bake your next cake, browse through Susan Purdy's The Perfect Cake!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Really Is a Piece of Cake!, April 22, 2005

By 

Maureen L. Smith "love to read" (North Manchester, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Piece of Cake (Hardcover)

I borrowed this from the library and have renewed it twice. I'm ready to buy! My son and husband fought over the last slice of the 1-2-3-4 Cake and want me to make it again. I prefer to bake cakes from scratch; they prefer that "light, airy" texture of boxed cakes. This cookbook convinced me to sift the flour - and it made the difference. I like the detail given; it's not just do this, do that. I got an understanding of why the steps were included. A really terrific cake-recipe book!