Cakes from Scratch in Half the Time: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Bake Cakes Forever (Paperback)

by Linda West Eckhardt (Author), James Baigrie (Photographer) "It happened, as I said, in a bakery..." (more)
Key Phrases: round aluminum cake pans, perfect whipped cream, little plain cake, Mail-Order Sources, Bacardi Ocho, Nordic Ware (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Pressed for time, many of us have whipped out a box and doctored a cake. But no matter what we do, it never tastes quite like homemade. Enter Cakes from Scratch in Half the Time. This revolutionary cookbook teaches the time-saving methods of baking homemade cakes in a fraction of the usual time. When a last-minute birthday or bake sale comes around, it's easy to impress with one of these fabulous layered confections, sheet cakes, or jelly rolls. No one will guess how easy it was to make (and who's going to tell them?). Borrowing tried and true techniques from professional bakers, award-winning author Linda West Eckhardt has developed simple shortcuts to shave precious minutes off preparation and baking time. Need a little convincing? Just try the luscious Praline Pound Fudge Cake, sweet and tangy Tangerine Jelly Roll, or the deliciously decadent Lemon Curd Layer Cake topped with lemony cream cheese frosting. So, kiss those cake mixes goodbye and forget frantic trips to the bakery. Now anyone can have their cake from scratch—and you know they'll eat it too!

About the Author
Linda West Eckhardt is a cooking teacher and the author of numerous cookbooks. She won a James Beard award for her radio show "Don't Talk with your Mouth Full." Originally from Texas, she currently resides in New Jersey. James Baigrie photographs food, interiors, lifestyle, and travel. Originally from South Africa, he now lives in Brooklyn, New York. His clients include Garnet Hill, Crate & Barrel, and Martha Stewart Living.

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (July 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811842401
• ISBN-13: 978-0811842402
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #623,853 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So far... so great!, December 27, 2005

By	Mom in CA (The Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews

I love to bake cookies, pies, tarts, cheesecakes etc. but have always had lousy luck with cakes. I have tried a few from the famous Cake Bible (Rose Levy Beranbaum) and from Gourmet and Bon Appetit, but while I know my way around a kitchen, I had concluded that cakes must not be my forte.

I read through Cakes From Scratch in Half the Time yesterday and baked my first cake last night (chocolate orange passion cake!). I was very impressed . Great texture and flavor. The whole thing was very easy - her methods are simple. She teaches you to assemble all the ingredients, bring the eggs to room temp by placing in hot tap water, soften the butter by placing on top of the preheating stove (or microwaving for a few seconds), and spray the pans with Baker's Joy (which Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen just confirmed works better than hand greasing and flouring of pans).

This is definitely not fussy cake-making. Most cakes are made in a single mixing bowl, so not a lot to wash. The keys are:
1. Good ingredients (cake flour, whole milk, unsalted butter, good whipping cream, bittersweet chocolate, etc.)
2. Good equipment (inexpensive aluminum light-colored cake pans)
3. Right process (add the ingredients in a particular order, don't overmix, and bake at 400).

I couldn't make the frosting because both Safeway and Whole Foods were completely out of powdered sugar. GO figure. But the cake was wonderful. I made an easy chocolate ganache from another cake in the book to frost it with. I am going to try it later this week for a birthday party with the intended frosting.

One minor nitpick so far - I think she oversimplifies the directions for melting chocolate. She says to put in the microwave on full power for 1 minute, but in my experience (in my microwave) that makes the chocolate sieze up. I have to do 50% power for a minute, then stirring after 30 second intervals until it melts. Trust your own experience there.

I am eager to try more of her cakes, but am hopeful I can get away from cake mixes forever now!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic results!, August 15, 2006

By	Liz E. (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

I have to agree with the "half the time" issue another reviewer raised - I don't think there was anything much about shortcuts or time-savers in this book, really. But, the recipes are fantastic! The cakes I've made from here have all been perfectly moist and airy - definitely the best cakes I've ever made.

One thing I really liked about this book, too, is the amount of variation in cake bases themselves. This isn't a book with a couple recipes for layer cakes, a couple jelly rolls, some ideas for putting together sponge cakes... it's just a bunch of variations on the standard, familiar butter cake. This means Eckhardt isn't repeating recipes that I already have on my shelves anyway, and that was really nice.

All in all, highly recommended!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Cakes - A Dessert Lover's Dream!!!!, March 17, 2006

By	KS (Texas USA) - See all my reviews

Althought I promised myself I had plenty cookbooks - I HAD to buy this one, after flipping through the pages briefly. Spending time in Africa, box mixes are not an option. But, after baking the 'chocolate sweetheart cakes with soft centers' and the 'uber-chocolate cake' for guests - I'll have no trouble passing the packaged mixes from this point forward. I highly recomment this book for all cake lovers!