American Cake: From Colonial Gingerbread to Classic Layer, the Stories and Recipes Behind More Than 125 of Our Best-Loved Cakes

This book has beautiful pictures and great researched history. I am very good at baking. I tried the brownies and a cake recipe and neither turned out well. The brownies, in particular, looked nothing like the picture and were so super sweet I could not eat them. If you love American history/food history this may be interesting. It is a heavy book full of great images. If look for excellent recipes, I would maybe research the title but look on-line for the best recipes. I am not familiar with this lady or her books. She seems popular from the reviews. I just prefer extremely reliable and tested recipes with complete photo accuracy. I will probably read the history part one day.

I saw this book at the library and tried the Mary Ball Washington Gingerbread. It didn't turn out right. Mine was short, dense and dark. I took a picture of my cake next to the picture. I knew I still needed this book for the history alone so I bought a copy. I've since tried many recipes and they've each been excellent.The ones I've tried and the photos include:Mary Ball Washington Gingerbread, a failTunnel of Fudge Bundt Cake. This was the first cake I made in my new Anniversary Nordic Ware Bundt Pan. The book includes the history of this pan.The Coca Cola Cake. Pretty good but there are better tasting chocolate cakes. My favorite is the Texas Sheath Cake. I can't find the picture of that one.Wacky Cake. An interesting way to make a dairy free cake in one pan. This one tasted like childhood because my mom would sometimes make this one when I was a kid.The Hershey's Chocolate Cake. It was good but the batter tasted stronger than the cake. Wonderfully moist, soft crumb, it was niceFruit Cocktail Cake. This one is delicious and makes a good breakfast cake. We grew up eating cake for breakfast and I still like partaking in this tradition.Angel Food Cake. Mine was short and light tan in comparison to the picture and the ones I've seen at the store but my was it delicious. It tasted so good I don't care what it looked like. I found online a recipe called a 12 Yolk Pound Cake that I made with the 12 yolks and it was a delicious cake as well.Chocolate Stout Cake. I've been making this cake each year for the Super Bowl since about 2011 and the recipe in this book is the exact recipe I found online and have been making each year. It was fun to learn the history of the cake.I also have learned so many things like how the 9X13 cake pan was popularized by the recipe for Rice Crispy Treats.Definitely a wonderful book and well worth the purchase.

The cookbook traces American cake recipes in a timeline format. I will say that I was skeptical using a pound cake recipe circa 1700's - so different than contemporary recipes and I was so pleased with the results. The pound cake recipe with its 6 eggs, and butter etc....and no leavening agents produced a cake with a smooth moist crumb but with a crusty exterior (much like Maggiano's pound cake recipe). Be prepared to add a piece a foil on top of the pound cake as it cooks because it browns quickly due to the amount of sugar before the cake has completed cooking.The book is also a good read.

What an awesome book! I also heard the author on the Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast, and immediately looked up the book. Once I got it, I made a cake with my grandson and ordered my daughter a copy. If you grew up in the 50s or 60s, you'll remember a lot of these. If you have kids, you have to make the oil and vinegar chocolate cake. They just love making it, it's dead easy, and it's a really good cake to boot.

What a lovely book! The photos are beautiful, and the narratives provide a perfect "slice" of history. My husband picked up the book and was mesmerized by the recipes and descriptions.I've already made the Orange and Olive Oil Cake TWICE to rave reviews. As with other Anne Byrn books, the recipes are easy to follow and require no extraordinary skill. Yet, the results are a crowd-pleaser!

I thoroughly enjoy this cookbook--I wish there were more historical cookbooks! I will probably pick up the author's book on cookies. The photos are fantastic, and the recipes are easy to follow. The history also sheds light on different areas of American living. My only complaint is that I'd love to have a snippet or two describing how each cake tastes--obviously you'll find out once you make it, but for some of these cakes, it would be nice to know what I'm in store for (or how this particular gingerbread differs in taste from the several others in the book).

If you love baking and eating cake, and learning about the history of cake in America appeals to you, you'll love this book. I've enjoyed reading it cover-to-cover as much as I've enjoyed baking from it. So far I've baked several cakes, including the pineapple-upside down cake and the blitz torte. My husband and my four-year-old have devoured all of my bakes from this book, and I plan to bake many more. This book will have a place on my shelf for years to come. It's a wonderful resource for classic cakes and cakes that deserve another chance in the spotlight! I'll note that I've baked from all of The Cake Mix Doctor books in the past, but I was delighted to see Anne Byrn come out with a more serious, from-scratch cookbook. As an avid baker, I wholeheartedly recommend this cookbook to other cake lovers!

Wow -- not only is this a collection of everyone's all-time favorite American cake recipes, but it also contains the story behind each of the cakes. If you have ever wondered who first made a particular cake or how it got its name, this book may very well have the answer. Scattered throughout the book are sidebars covering everything from specific ingredients, to cake pans, to baking celebrities. Well-researched, with mouth-watering recipes and eye-popping photos, this little gem is something I will refer to again and again. Even in my very crowded collection of cookbooks, this new addition ranks near the top. Highly recommended!

Well-researched and beautifully presented cookbook. The recipes have been sensitively updated to suit modern palates and kitchens. Unlike so many cookbooks, there isn't a cake in here I won't get around to baking.

Quelle belle idée de fournir les recettes de gâteau tout en racontant l'histoire de sa provenance. Moi qui adore l'histoire et la pâtisserie je suis comblé. Bravo !

I love this book with it's collection of history and recipes. Who knew that the history of the country could be reflected in it's cakes? Here are pound cakes from English settlers, cowboy cakes made in a casserole dish over the fire, wartime cakes from the First World War, elaborate over- decorated cakes from the 50's and 60's and the plain health-conscious Californian cakes of the late 20th century. Now I wish there was a British version!