Imagine traveling the world and tasting 150 cakes representing different countries. Better yet, imagine doing it with your favorite professor who has a passion for baking, a genuine interest in world cultures, and an entertaining and informative way of conveying what she knows. In A World of Cake, Krystina Castella takes us on this journey with the goal of redefining and contemporizing the word “cake” for today’s world.
Staring with a brief history of cake and methods of making it, the book moves on to talk about how cake has influenced culture and played a role in tradition. Along the way are plenty of recipes. color photos, interesting facts and anecdotes and even cake family trees.
What I like best about the book is that it covers the cakes an intrepid baker might already know about such as Moon Cakes, Honey Cakes, Tres Leches and Stollen, but it also introduces some cakes most Americans have never heard of. My favorite example of that is the Marta Rocha cake, a Brazilian cake made in honor of a runner-up in the Ms. Universe pageant who lost because her hips were too wide. (?!?!)
The recipes aren’t necessarily complicated, but they do take some time. Everything is scratch, but the recipes are easy to follow so if you read closely and schedule yourself accordingly (for instance, you may want to make lemon curd a day ahead and or get a jump on the cake by making frosting first), you’ll find a rhythm. Most of the frosting and fillings are Krystina’s favorite tested recipes. They’re all at the back of the book, so a recipe may give you ingredients for the cake, but say “turn to page 224” for the filling or frosting.
I’m really enjoying this book and learn something new every time I open it. Plus, the recipes I’ve tried so far (peanut frosting, Kolaches and Black Forest Cake) have been good.
Of course I’d like to hear what you think, and so here’s a chance to get a copy of your own from Storey Publishing. For a chance at a free copy of the book, write a comment telling me your family’s favorite cake. I will pick a winner on Saturday morning. Deadline for entries is this Friday at midnight.
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Hard to pick one favorite, but Boston Cream Pie is definitely very popular around here!
My family’s favorite cake is chocolate with chocolate buttercream frosting and chocolate ganache filling,
My family’s favorite cake is good old yellow cake with chocolate frosting.
i have to pick my infamous carrot cake with chunky nutty cream cheese filling and white choco coconut ganache. it’s heavenly
Strawberry cake (from scratch) with vanilla icing. It’s usually what we use for the kids birthdays, but I’ll be trying your Magnificent Moist Golden Cake Friday for our oldest daughter’s birthday, since she wants a “rainbow cake”.
Black Forest Cake for sure!
chocolate fudge cake
Good ole chocolate with chocolate frosting.
Definately Red Velvet but with buttercream frosting
What a fun giveaway–my family loves carrot cake!!
Devils food with 7 minute icing. Thanks!
Texas Sheet Cake – yum!
Our favorite cake is lemon or carrot cake—a toss up!
I go for a yellow cake with mocha frosting.
Given that my family’s background is West Indian the cake that is truly beloved may be in this book. Depending on who is writing it may be called Jamaican Fruitcake or Jamaican Blackcake (the cake is really dark in color) though it is not necessarily a cake associated only with Jamaica. In my house this cake had a truly special honor of ONLY coming out at Christmas time given how much work, time and $$$ (good port wine, candied fruits, etc.,) go into making it for everyone who wants one. The cake is very heavy and dense and if you walk into the room where it is being served you likely can smell the port in the cake.
Carrot Cake!!
No contest – our favorite is tiramisu. I think you’d have to classify that as a cake, although maybe it’s “just a slice of heaven.” If I have to pick something else it would be the fruitcake that I just finished making with two of my brothers (the 3rd brother doesn’t know where the kitchen is). It’s so much fun to make together and even better to eat when they’re gone.
Made the peanut butter cookies with the peanut and chocolate drizzle on them today – deeeelicious! Thanks for the link.
Growing up my Dad’s favorite was German Chocolate Cake. Now my husband’s favorite is Red Velvet. Thanks for the giveaway.
Marble pound cake definitely pleases everyone here.
Our family loves a sour cream chocolate cake with sour cream chocolate frostingg!
Angel food cake. One time when we were all going home for Christmas, I asked my mother what I should bring and she said “an angel food cake with the glaze from the Betty Crocker cookbook (she just assumed I had that cookbook).” I made the cake and hoped the glaze was right. When we got there my husband saw her cake and asked me why I made the same cake and I said “I just followed orders.”
Coca cola cake!!
Oh it would so be a chocolate cake with a chocolate ganache frosting.
my family actually doesn’t have a favorite cake because everyone else isn’t much about sweets. mom favorite would be pound cake. but me and my sister loves any cake with cream cheese icing.
I love lemon cake!
I’ve rarely met a cake I didn’t like
I love a simple Texas sheet cake with the dark fudge icing that you pour all over it and then can’t wait to eat. I usually get a tongue burn or two from the molten lava chocolate, because I am impatient.
One tradition we have in my fam is birthday cake. It doesn’t matter who’s birthday it is, we make a Betty Crocker yellow layer cake with food coloring swirls on the inside. We ice it with brown beauty icing (the only icing I actually like because it’s not too sweet) and decorate the top with all sorts of ridiculousness like dinosaur candles, corn cob holders, toys out of vending machines…you get the idea. It’s so festive!
Our favorite cake is a sponge cake filled with fresh cream and strawberries.
The one cake that gets made the most is yellow cake with chocolate frosting. It’s the standard “birthday” cake and everyone just loves it.
We really enjoy the Coca Cola cake. Can’t go wrong with chocolate cake with a nutty fudge frosting.
My family’s favorite cake is chocolate with chocolate frosting!
We love “Poor Man’s Cake” or “Crazy Cake”–chocolate cake made without milk, eggs, or butter.
A handed down recipe for Chocolate Cake No. 1… it’s actually not chocolate at all.
my family’s favorite cake is a sour cream coffee cake i make… YUMMM
black forest cake!
We love strawberry shortcake!
My family’s all time favorite cake is the Pineapple Carrot Layer Cake. The recipe is from the first cookbook put together by The Junior League of Houston, 1968. It is an oldie but a goodie! Even after trying all different kinds of cake recipes, we always go back to this recipe! I loved it as a child and now my children love it too!
My family’s favorite cake is Chocolate Chip Pound Cake. It is always so moist and delicious. We always make it when we have company!
I’m a big fan of a homemade angel food cake.
Dark chocolate cake with fluffy white frosting is tops at our house.
We absolutely adore Devil’s food cake.
Red velvet with cream cheese frosting!
any and all variations of the chocolate cake!
Our current favorite is a cake made with pureed whole oranges with an orange juice/syrup icing. It’s moist, tangy and refreshing.
hubby loves chocolate cake with chocolate frosting; for me it’s limoncello cake.
German Chocolate Cake is our favorite
Too many to choose from…. but carrot is popular in this house.
My family’s favorite cake is Orange Swan Cake…We like to make it at Christmas time…Thanks for the chance to win…e*
my family loves this italian cream cake i make with a coconut cream cheese icing. delish!
Our family cake favorite is a yogurt cake. It’s just a cake mix with some fruit yogurt thrown in the batter and then cool whip with more yogurt mixed in for the topping! Yum!
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