CakeLove: How to Bake Cakes from Scratch

Warren Brown wants you to bake your cake and eat it too. And he wants you to conquer your fear of flour and learn to love every step of cake baking--including, of course, the step in which you present your made-from-scratch masterpiece to bedazzled, hungry-eyed family and friends. (Not to mention the moment when you yourself get to sample a slice of that lovingly crafted creation.)

For Brown, love and baking are inseparable. After all, he abandoned an unrewarding career in law to do the work--baking cakes!--that he finds truly emotionally satisfying. Every page of CakeLove communicates that satisfaction, as well as Brown's can-do approach to the art of baking. As he asserts, baking cakes isn't a cakewalk, but it's not rocket science, either--and getting it right isn't nearly as hard as you think.

Pound cakes, butter cakes, sponge cakes, cupcakes. Glazes, frostings, fillings, meringues. Brown provides all the basics on ingredients, equipment, and techniques, as well as recipes for more than 50 cakes that range from the classic (Chocolate Butter Cake) to the adventurous ("Sassy," a pound cake made with mango puree and cayenne pepper). The informative step-by-step shots make you want to run to the kitchen and start baking, and the scrumptious color photos of completed cakes look good enough to sink your teeth into.

Publishers Weekly

Brown takes the intimidation factor out of baking with easy-to-follow recipes while entertaining with his upbeat and casual writing style. The former lawyer and bakery owner, fulfills the promise to take readers on a "tour of how and why I bake cakes," weaving his personal journey that led to sugar and flour as the tools of his career. Chapters include those featuring types of cake (pound, butter, foam), as well as sections on frostings and glazes, fillings, meringues and cake assembly. The fun and informal recipes, such as Sassy, and Mr. Banana Legs, consist of clear, numbered steps and are accompanied by informative headnotes. Full-color photos illustrate step-by-step techniques and showcase the cakes that are chockfull of appeal with their less-than-perfect appearance and convey the author's philosophy that baking shouldn't be an uptight endeavor; as long as a cake is homemade, it deserves respect. (May)

Warren Brown has a bachelor’s degree from Brown University, and a J.D. and master’s degree from The George Washington University. After establishing a career in health education and law, he realized his calling was in the kitchen and starting baking. In 2002 he opened his bakery, CakeLove, and LoveCafe followed in 2003. He lives in Washington, D.C.