The Neighborhood Bake Shop: Recipes and Reminiscences of America's Favorite Bakery Treats (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you have ineffable memories of eating Onion Pletzl, Chocolate Blackout Cake, warm Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts, or tangy Corn Rye Bread, a recipe for the bliss of your childhood may very well be in Jill Van Cleve's gem of a book, The Neighborhood Bake Shop. She's managed to include legendary places, from Anderson, South Carolina, and Palestine, Texas, to Ebinger's in Brooklyn, New York, and The Downtown Bakery in Healdsburg, California, with a total of 125 stops along the way. New Yorkers, Chicagoans, and Californians will find the unadulterated nostalgia of their favorite Charlotte Russe, an ethereal, individual whipped cream cake that is the stuff of memories, along with other breads, pies, and sweets. Even if your favorite recipes aren't included, you'll enjoy the pleasures of many new ones.

Product Description

Who doesn't have bakeshop memories - black-and-white cookies the size of flying saucers, napoleons constructed of flaky pastry filled with custard that oozed out the sides when you tried to put a fork to it, or farfrom-ordinary chocolate cake filled and frosted with dark chocolate pudding and topped with cake crumbs?

The Neighborhood Bakeshop captures those memories and offers 125 recipes for America's favorite desserts from around the country. From Brooklyn Chocolate Decadence to Tennessee Jam Cake, from New York-Style Charlotte Russe to Moravian Sugar Bread, no childhood treat or grown-up indulgence is ignored.There are recipes for all kinds of bakery delights -Pecan Sticky Buns to Lemon Wafers, Sweet Potato Pie to German Chocolate Cake, Morning Glory Muffins to Hazelnut Biscotti. You'll also find recipes for all-time favorite breads and rolls -classics such as Corn Rye, Raisin Pumpernickel, and Wheat Walnut Bread and more unique treats such as Potato Bread, Onion Pletzel (a type of flatbread), and Pepperoni Rolls. Whether you crave Chocolate Globs, Maple Bars, or Oatmeal Raisin Scones, whether you want to make Boston Cream Pie, Mardi Gras King Cake, Chocolate Babka, or Irish Soda Bread, you'll find the recipe here.

With decadent recipes and nostalgic photographs and stories of the bakery around the corner, The Neighborhood Bakeshop allows you to re-create your favorite treats right in your own kitchen.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow and Company; 1st edition (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068814893X
• ISBN-13: 978-0688148935
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #925,442 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Neighborood Bakeshop, January 22, 1998

By A Customer

Very well written. As a collector of cook books I must say I have enjoyed reading this book both times. I have tried three of the recipes,Pecan Kringle..... The results were not quite right. I have tried this three times now and it seems the dough was not as I remembered from O & H Danish Bakery. This was more bread like. I have tried the Wheat Walnut Bread and found it to be most delightful. What wonderful Chicken Salad Sandwiches it made. I have been looking for the Kringle recipe for over ten years. I have spent hours and hours in book stores and library's across the country. This has become one of my favorite cook books in a very short time. Many thanks to Jill Van Cleave for her hard work in putting this book together.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars old fashioned baking at its best, April 23, 2000

By A Customer

This is one of my favorite baking books. I'm an avid baker and love baking "old-fashioned" goodies. This book is my "bible" for old-fashioned baking. I have made a host of recipes, including the babka, donuts, pies and cakes and must say that all have turned out exceptionally well. I must confess, however, that I am not familiar with the bakery items these recipes are trying to emulate, so they may, in fact, fall short of the mark. Nevertheless, they are tasty and my family adores the babka! Be aware, though, that these recipes are not quick and easy, but do take time and patience to prepare. The time and patience are well rewarded!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great baking!, August 5, 2002

By A Customer

I have had this cookbook for several years and have used it many times. The "7 layer lemon cake" is just like Miss Hullings in St. Louis. The apricot-white chocolate cookies and the ginger saucers are heavenly. The cinnamon roll recipe is by far the best I, or any of those I have baked them for, have eaten.
The only difficulty is finding some of the special ingredients i.e. - barley malt syrup, potato flour, etc.