Williams-Sonoma Collection: Cake [Hardcover]

Fran Gage (Author)

Book Description

Series: Williams-Sonoma Collection | Publication Date: November 4, 2003

A slice of rich, moist cake is irresistible. From a tart, sweet lemon sponge or airy angel food cake to a decadent chocolate torte, there is a cake to satisfy every craving. Whether you are searching for a special cake to establish a birthday tradition or are simply looking for a sweet ending to an everyday meal, there are cakes to fit any occasion.

Williams-Sonoma Collection Cake offers more than 35 tantalizing recipes, including updated classics as well as fresh new ideas. For elegant entertaining, make an impressive Rolled Chestnut Cream Cake before your guests arrive, then relax and enjoy the party. When time is short, keep it simple with easy Chocolate-Orange Cupcakes or Espresso Pound Cake. The many delicious recipes inside these pages will inspire you to tempt and dazzle friends and family alike. A chapter devoted to deorating ideas will help you transform any cake into a work of art.

Full-color photographs of each recipe help you easily decide which cake you want to preapare, and photographic side notes throughout the book highlight key techniques and ingredients. In addition, an informative basics section, with tips for both beginning and experienced bakers, makes this book the ideal source to have on hand for creating the perfect cake.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Fran Gage owned Fran Gage Pâtisserie Française, a bakery in San Francisco, for 10 years. The bakery, which closed in 1995 following a fire, consistently won acclaim for its pasteries, breads, and chocolates. She is the author of Bread and Chocolate: My Food Life In and Around San Francisco and A Sweet Quartet: Sugar, Almonds, Eggs, and Butter, and is a coauthor of The Baker's Dozen Cookbook. Ms. Gage also writes for Saveur and Fine Cooking magazines.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 120 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (November 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743250206
• ISBN-13: 978-0743250207
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,441 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Recipes and Good Reference, October 22, 2005

By 

NuJoi "Create with me" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Williams-Sonoma Collection: Cake (Hardcover)

I have a few of the books in this series. The Cake and Ice Cream books are my favorites. The recipes are outstanding -- well-written and produce great results. The sidebars provide invaluable tips. If you enjoy the science behind cooking -- ala America's Test Kitchen/Cooks Illustrated and Alton Brown, you will enjoy the books in this series. WS, unlike Cooks Illustrated, presents just the winning method.

There is a good range of recipes -- simple birthday and carrot cakes to a very elegant rolled chestnut cream cake. There's enough variety within the recipes so that the user can find a cake for any occassion. The cake basics section is a nice, but short reference section.

This book represents a nice collection of recipies and good reference information -- it's a nice addition to the kitchen library. I know WS just introduced its Mastering series of books, including one on cakes. Those books are intended to be "a cooking class in a book" and break down the basics of cake making for true novices or those who have ploblems getting their cakes to turn out right. For more advanced techniques and/or all the science behind cakes, try The Cake Bible.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delicious cakes, October 26, 2007

By 

A. Matos (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Williams-Sonoma Collection: Cake (Hardcover)

I've made several recipes from this book.

The yoghurt cake, the gateaux bisque, the spice cake, the chocolate hazelnut cake, the almond flour cake... they've all turned out delicious!

The recipes are definitely go-tos. Nothing is "healthy". Everything uses sugar, butter and white flour. But I've played around replacing whole wheat flour and cutting the sugar in half and I've never really gotten something inedible out of the experience. All in all this is the first book I go to when I need a delicious, simple cake I know will turn out great.

There are pictures of every single recipe. The book, like all of Williams-Sonoma's books, is well laid out, well explained, straight to the point. I love it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Cakes, June 14, 2009

By 

Esther H. Whitby "E Whitby" (Bloomington, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Williams-Sonoma Collection: Cake (Hardcover)

I've made three cakes from this book; chocolate, birthday cake, and the orange chiffon cake. All three were wonderful, moist, and tender cakes. I was surprised that the author said to cut parchment to fit the bottom but there was no butter-and-flour the pan. I was suspicious but she was right. The Williams-Sonoma are such dependable cookbooks and I am looking forward to making more of Fran Gage's recipes.