Melissa Gray

This book orders cake recipes by difficulty, which was really nice as I've never read a cookbook that does that before. Something really upset me though: most recipes in this book do not belong to the author. She basically took other people's recipes, some of them professional cooks, some aren't, and reprinted them. Which is a huge disappointment for someone looking for completely NEW content. It'd still be nice for beginners though who haven't seen a lot of recipes.

I'll try a few.

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I actually got this cookbook as an e-book from the library, and I enjoyed READING it. I really like how Melissa Gray made a point of ordering these recipes so that you build your baking skills as you go. She is very clear in her instructions, and is also careful to warn the reader/baker when a particular recipe requires a different technique than was taught earlier (like the order in which you mix wet and dry ingredients). She shares her own experiences, both good and bad, which really helps the reader to feel more confident that making mistakes is all part of the learning process.

I really enjoyed hearing the "gossip" about her colleagues from NPR's All Things Considered, and how each of them responds to the different types of cake. Although silly, one of my favorite things about reading this book was being able to see the spelling of each staff member's name. During the program, the hosts and reporters will say their names aloud, and it is somehow really satisfying to see those names written out, with the strange spelling that you often see in people's last names, and still be able to know exactly how that name should be pronounced.

The recipes themselves were tempting enough, that half way through reading this cookbook, I actually ordered a hard copy of the book (and a cake carrier) so that I could try the recipes.… (more)