I understand why a book of this type would appeal to some people, but I find it sad.

It is so easy to make a cake the REAL way (you know… flour, sugar, butter, eggs, milk, cocoa, etc….) that I find it sad that anyone who wants to use her/his creativity in the kitchen would bother to start with a MIX!

Even the best mixes taste like chemicals, if you taste thoughtfully.

Why not try a recipe instead of a BOX??
Rating: 1 / 5

I must say I have enjoyed using this book, and I’m NOT a big cake eater. I have made several of the cakes, and have particularly enjoyed the Lemon Buttermilk Poppyseed and Chocolate Pistachio cakes. I was disappointed in Susan’s Lemon Cake and the Fresh Orange cakes, not because they weren’t good but because they were somewhat boring. For example when making the latter I added orange zest and chocolate chips to the batter, and put a chocolate glaze on top. I don’t think my additional efforts were worth it, though, because it still tasted like cake from a mix. I believe that novice or occasional bakers will appreciate this book, but the more adventurous will grow bored with the results of some of the recipes and begin to look for ways to doctor them even more (which, I suppose, can be fun in itself, provided the efforts are worth it). However, in the final analysis, nothing takes the place of the flavor, texture, and wholesomeness (remember that word? One that Little Debbie and Sara Lee, with their chemical-laden, tasteless concoctions, would just as soon you forget?) of a cake baked from scratch, and those who enjoy cooking just as much as eating don’t necessarily consider it a complete burden to take the extra steps; on the contrary, with scratch cooking the ends often very well justify the means. I would not recommend this book to someone who just wants to bake something quickly so they can eat it and get even fatter. Americans need to learn a lesson from their thinner, healthier bretheren over in Europe, which is that when it comes to food, convenience is not everything, and often means sacrificing purity and healthfulness and increasing fat and calories instead of flavor. Therein lies the Achilles Heel of books like this. How healthy is it to eat something that was invented in a corporate laboratory, deliberately to appeal to mass consumption? Think about it. THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE PUTTING INTO YOUR BODY.
Rating: 4 / 5

Seriously, take a look at the cover and you’ll notice that there is a thick layer of “icing” between the cake and the plate, an obvious fake. That cover photo is pretty indicative of every recipe in the book, which are all versions of “take a cake mix- add some more faux ingredients, like, perhaps, a can of tomato soup, and call it homemade”. The results are chemical-tasting fluffy rubber cakes that have become the norm of the industrial age. It’s so sad that most ” cake ladies”, even the ones with fancy websites are not doing any authentic baking anymore.

If you want to bake for your family, try “The Weekend Baker” which gives good strategies for a home cook to produce excellent baked goods.
Rating: 1 / 5