Southern Cakes: Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebrations [Paperback]

Nancie McDermott (Author), Becky Luigart-Stayner (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 7, 2007

Taste the chocolatey goodness of Mississippi Mud or marvel at the extravagant elegance of the Lady Baltimore and there will be no doubt that Southerners know how to bake a cake. Here are 65 recipes for some of the most delicious ever. Jam cakes and jelly rolls; humble pear bread and peanut cake; whole chapters on both chocolate and coconut cakeseach moist and delicious forkful represents the spirit of the South. A Baking 101 section offers the cake basics, some finishing touches (that means frosting and lots of it!), and the how-to's of storing each lovely concoction so that the last slice tastes as fresh and delightful as the first.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Food writer Nancie McDermott has compiled 65 of the most sinfully delicious cakes south of the Mason-Dixon line, and the result could make even Scarlet O'Hara weak in the knees...The recipes all have a down-home feel, but many of the cakes also have a touch of elegance." Choclatier Magazine, December 2007

"Every recipe has a charming headnote, often showing a bit of historical research, and about a third are illustrated with color photos. McDermott's handy introductory chapter on cake baking includes the very Southern advice to buy butter on sale and keep it in the freezer 'so you are baking-ready 24/7.'" Los Angeles Times, August 22, 2007

"For my money, the grandest-looking cakes in this book are the brown sugar pound cakes baked in a tube pan with a lush mass of caramel glaze drooling down its sides, and the classic coconut cake, with its feathery, dazzling white frosting. When I brought the coconut cake to the office, people in the street were literally lunging at it." Los Angeles Times, August 22, 2007

"It's little wonder that Southerners are proud of their baking history. Southern Cakes is filled with the kinds of recipes that make you want to take time to relax and enjoy something delectable." —The Arlington Advocate, March 2008

About the Author

Nancie McDermott, cooking teacher and author, lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Becky Luigart-Stayner is a photographer for numerous magazines and lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (June 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811853705
• ISBN-13: 978-0811853705
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 0.6 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,129 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #48 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Baking > Cakes

More About the Author

Nancie McDermott is a North Carolina native, born in Burlington, raised in High Point, and educated at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand gave her a lifelong love for the cuisines, history and cultures of Asia, and she has spent the last twenty years cooking, reading, traveling, writing, and teaching about Asian food. Her ten cookbooks focus on Asian kitchens, but since moving back home to North Carolina in 1999, she has taken time to look at the foods of the American South, the place she fell in love with cooking in her grandmother's dairy farm kitchen. Now living with her family in Chapel Hill, NC, she writes, researches, and teaches about both her beats, while serving as a contributing editor for Edible Piedmont magazine. Visit her blog at: nanciemcdermott.wordpress.com, to keep track of it pie by pie.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 76 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Awesome June 23, 2007

By Denise Floyd

Format:Paperback

The receipes in this book are the cakes that my grandmother made when I was a child. I can remember her in the kitchen baking all day and then placing a towel on the counter and displaying all her baked cakes for our family. The photography in this book is awesome. From the coconut cake on the cover to the buttermilk cake is a replicate of the real thing. The receipes are easy to follow and well written. If you love the southern heritage of cakes made by your grandmother or your mom, you'll find them all in this wonderful book. I found the ingredients to be readily available in my pantry and the stories about each recipe add to the interesting reading. A nice addition to my collection.

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing cookbook! January 5, 2008

By C. Young

Format:Paperback

This is the first southern cookbook that has cake recipes that taste like the cakes I grew up with. Those cakes were made by the amazing cooks in the Black Baptist church I grew up in. I haven't tasted cakes like those for years. The White Chocolate cake and the Caramel cake are amazing! The recipes are easy to follow and produce a wonderful taste and texture.I HIGHLY recommend this book if you want authentic southern cake recipes because this is the real deal!

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Southern Cakes hits the Sweet Spot! September 19, 2007

By J. D. O'Connor

Format:Paperback

Wow! Nancie McDermott has done it again with her new book, Southern Cakes. My great grandmother is originally from Louisiana, and many long visits to her house were enlivened by a special coconut cake, glazed chocolate cake or other old-fashioned Southern treat. The recipes in this new book remind me very much of those anticipated childhood desserts. As much as I love the recipes in Nancie's new book--like every single coconut cake (rightly given their very own chapter!)her Ocrakoke Fig Cake and the quirky Tomato Soup Cake, it's Nancie's delicious writing and her unique ability to illustrate the intense love affair Southerners have with their cooking--and their place in the world--that I truly love. I can't wait to see what Nancie will pull out of her (very talented) hat next!