Small-Batch Baking: When Just Enough for 1 or 2. . . Is Just Enough! [Paperback]

Debby Maugans Nakos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2004

Small-Batch Baking is how to have your cake, and eat it all too. It's baking a plate of cookies (not 4 dozen) to greet the kids when they come home from school, or a few muffins (not 12) when that's all you need for Sunday brunch. It's for the perfect tart to end a small, romantic dinner--or the indulgence of a one-bowl dessert just for you (Honey Apple Oatmeal Crisp, anyone?). Most of all, it's to bring home the joy of baking, when home is just the two of you--small batches whip up quickly, clean up quickly, and don't require hours at the oven.

Written by Debby Maugans Nakos, who clearly possesses the Southern baking gene, Small-Batch Baking offers 200 irresistible recipes from across the baking spectrum: triple layer cakes, bundt cakes, angel food cakes; pies and tarts; cobblers, crisps, crumbles, and short cakes; cookies, bars, squares; biscuits, muffins, scones, breakfast breads; and a whole section just on Valentine Specials--Double Hot Chocolate Soufflés, Chèvre Cheesecakes with Honey Anise Ginger Syrup, Vanilla Banana Caramel Flan.

A batch of Cream-Filled Chocolate Cookies--that yields a half-dozen. A Coconut Layer Cake, just for two. Individual servings of Cinnamon French Toast Pudding or Southern Peach Cobbler with Bourbon Cream. It's all the bewitching pleasure of home-baked, but--finally--for just one or two.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Even the most enthusiastic home bakers may admit there are times when they really only need a few muffins for breakfast or a couple of cream puffs for a dinner party—not a dozen or more of each. When standard recipes won't reduce neatly (how do you halve an egg, for example?), frustration ensues. Nakos, a Shape, Southern Living and Cooking Light contributor, takes more than 250 classic cakes, pies, cookies, cobblers, puddings and breads and downsizes their proportions to yield just the right number of goodies for small families, singles, newlyweds, empty-nesters or the leftovers-averse (do such people exist?). Nakos certainly is creative: she uses tin cans to bake two-layer coconut cakes and chocolate cakes, jumbo muffin tins for Peach Pie and Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, and small loaf pans for Moist Fudgy Brownies. Meanwhile, a full-size loaf pan turns out Mississippi Mud Cake or Gingerbread Roulade, and one regular baking sheet does the job for Cinnamon Hazelnut Biscotti. Small-batch baking as formulated by Nakos is liberating: with quick mixing, baking and clean-up times, the whole process of producing, say, eight Pecan Snowball Cookies for tea time, or two Honey Apple Oatmeal Crisps for a sweet breakfast, is less overwhelming.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"An excellent, crackerjack new book. Bring on the baby cakes."
—Marcel Desaulniers, author of Death by Chocolate

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company; First Printing edition (November 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761130357
• ISBN-13: 978-0761130352
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 6.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (82 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #75 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Meals
  • #86 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Baking > Desserts

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

161 of 161 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The cookbook I never knew I always wanted!, December 14, 2004

By 

J. White (Seattle) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Small-Batch Baking: When Just Enough for 1 or 2. . . Is Just Enough! (Paperback)

Okay, so I love to bake. Unfortunately, there are only two people in my household and both of us have, um, "portion control problems".

Since most of my favorite cookie recipes yield several dozen and making just PART of a cake is nearly impossible, my boyfriend and I often end up eating way more than we actually want. Sometimes I'll try to pass off my baked goods to co-workers, but (and I'm being painfully honest here) I usually polish off the batch myself in less than 3 days.

I know all that sugar is no good for me, but I can't imagine not having cakes and cookies once in a while. Life's too short to cut out something I enjoy so much!

When I came across this book, it was like I stumbled across a puzzle piece I hadn't noticed was missing. The cake recipes make single or double servings! The cookie recipies make less than a dozen! I've tried cutting regular recipes in half, but the results are never quite right. With this book, you're measuring ingredients in tablespoons instead cups, and the two recipes I've tried have turned out beautifully.

The peanut butter cookie recipe made 8 perfect cookies and tonight I tried a recipe for two giant oatmeal cookies. Perfect again. I can't wait to try to make the small cakes, little breads and even a baby Baklava!

I expect that this book will change the way I bake forever. It's nice to make a dessert that I can enjoy without feeling like a jerk for enjoying way too much of it.

79 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How did I live without this book?, April 17, 2005

By 

M. Smith "cenmad" (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Small-Batch Baking: When Just Enough for 1 or 2. . . Is Just Enough! (Paperback)

Like many people in one- or two-person households, I simply don't need 48 chocolate chip cookies, an entire lemon meringue pie, or even 8 creme brulees. If you prefer not to make large batches and freeze them, or you haven't had good results making fractions of a traditional recipe, you will love this book.

All recipes make 2-3 servings, are very easy to follow, and (so far) turn out superb results. The instructions are clear and precise, and she introduces most recipes with a description of the results or a note about the recipe's history. There are call-out boxes for filling suggestions, sauces, or recipe tips.

The chapters are logical and well-organized. After the initial introduction where the author lays or ingredient/equipment lists, the chapters are: Beautiful Small Cakes; Pies and Tarts; Cookies and Bars; Cobblers, Crisps, Crumbles, and Shortcakes; Baked Puddings; and Muffins and Breads. After these groupings, the author has given us two bonus (in my opinion) chapters: Valentine Specials and Holiday Goodies.

So far, I've made mini loaf-bread, a small pie, and incredible chocolate ganache cakes. The latter actually could serve 4 instead of 2, it was so rich -- but I was very happy to eat my "one" serving (and the recipe looked easy to halve -- just make one cake instead of two). If I HAD to come up with things to "fix" in this cookbook, I'd ask for photos of the finished recipes. I'd also prefer that recipes not be split across two pages -- it makes reading ahead with sticky fingers a little difficult. But all in all, this will continue to be one of my best-loved cookbooks.

Update October 2008: This is still one of my most-used cookbooks, and I've referred several friends to it. Friends have actually started seeking out single-serving baking pans as soon as they see the results. I've tried several breads, cakes, and cookies without a single disappointing recipe, and now make the pound cake and banana bread at least once a month each. Love it!

63 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book!, January 24, 2005

By 

Jody L. Stancliff "Cincy Reviewer" (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Small-Batch Baking: When Just Enough for 1 or 2. . . Is Just Enough! (Paperback)

I received this book as a Christmas gift. I didn't know such a book existed! I love to bake, but since it's just me at home, making a large 12 serving cake is just not an option. I miss baking, and this book fits the bill.

So far, I've tried two recipes from the book. The first was the Fudgy Cupcakes. It was a disaster, but not necessarily from the recipe. I accidentally added too much sugar, and I reversed two of the steps in the recipe. So my batter did not turn out right and I ended up throwing the whole thing away.

The second recipe I tried was the first recipe in the book, Chocolate Birthday Cake. I did not use the 14 oz cans as the author suggested. I found a child's baking set at Sur La Table and used the cake pans from those. They are slightly bigger in diameter than the tin cans and worked perfectly. They even have the same "look" of a larger cake (height/diameter proportionate). The cake came out moist. I iced the cake with the Molasses Caramel Frosting. It was delicious. I would say that the portion size is probably not that accurate. It says 2 cakes, 2 servings. I think it is more like "2 cakes, 2 servings EACH." There is no way I could have eaten the entire cake at one sitting.

As a side note, I would highly recommend looking for a child's bake set to use with this cookbook. Mine came with two small cake pans, a small loaf pan and small cookie sheet. I think they will work perfectly for the recipes in this book.