I Was Told There'd Be Cake
Sloane Crosley$14.00(USD)
Wry, hilarious, and profoundly genuine, this debut collection of literary essays is a celebration of fallibility and haplessness in all their glory. From despoiling an exhibit at the Natural History Museum to provoking the ire of her first boss to siccing the cops on her mysterious neighbor, Crosley can do no right despite the best of intentions-or perhaps because of them. Together, these essays create a startlingly funny and revealing portrait of a complex and utterly recognizable character that's aiming for the stars but hits the ceiling, and the inimitable city that has helped shape who she is.
I Was Told There'd Be Cake introduces a strikingly original voice, chronicling the struggles and unexpected beauty of modern urban life.
Fashion Nugget
Cake$13.98(USD)
The twisted cover of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" is a statement of intent, while the cool jazz riffs from the band's trumpet player are part of what makes tracks like "Daria," "It's Coming Down," and "Frank Sinatra" so original. "The Distance" is a funked-up jam with a Chili Peppers chorus.
--Jeff Bateman
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The Cake Mix Doctor: Deluxe Edition
Anne Byrn
The Cake Mix Doctor is in! And the prescription is simple: By doctoring up packaged cake mix with just the right extras--a touch of sweet butter here, cocoa powder there, or poppy seeds, vanilla yogurt, sherry, eggs, and grated lemon zest for the Charleston Poppy Seed Cake--even the least experienced baker can turn out luscious signature desserts, time after time. The proof is in the taste, and the taste never stops--from Toasted Coconut Sour Cream Cake to Devilishly Good Chocolate Cake; from a to-die-for Caramel Cake and a Holiday Yule Log to cheesecakes, coffee cakes, sheet cakes, pound cakes, bars, brownies, and those all-important frostings, here are 175 fast, foolproof recipes that will transform the art of home baking in America.
Who could believe these cakes came out of a box? Moist, tender, rich, deep, and complexly flavored, without a hint of artificiality, each cake stand up and delivers. But without any of the fuss of baking from scratch. Anne Byrn, an award-wining food writer and self-described purist, creates recipes that employ a cake mix's strengths---convenience, ease-of-use, dependability, and almost imperviousness to overbeating, underbeating, overbaking, and underbaking.
In addition to the recipes are the Cake Mix Doctor's Q&A's, extensive "Doctor Says" tips, lists--15 Beautiful Birthday Cakes, 15 Cakes That Will Cash in at a Bake Sale--and more, all illustrated in a full-color photographic insert.
B-Sides and Rarities
Cake$9.99(USD)
Since breaking on to the music scene in the early nineties, CAKE has not only survived, but thrived in a tumultuous industry where major labels have continued to merge themselves out of existence, indies are regaining power, and the average band's life span is a meager two albums. CAKE's distinctive brand of music has transcended scene and genre alike for over a decade, garnering the band several platinum records and a dedicated following. The band now brings forth a unique collection of "b-sides and rarities", their first release since 2004’s studio album "Pressure Chief". Songs on the album were originally sung by legendary singers such as Frank Sinatra, Barry White, Buck Owens, George Jones, Ozzy Osborne, and Kenny Rogers. The band has used these songs to find new creative elements within themselves, producing eloquently accomplished tracks that simultaneously maintain the band's own unique stamp. CAKE's "b-sides and rarities" comes complete with a collectible "scratch and sniff" CD package and features re-mixed and re-mastered tracks, plus an exclusive live bonus track of "War Pigs" with Steven Drozd of the Flaming Lips.
The Cake Bible
Rose Levy Beranbaum$35.00(USD)
"If you ever bake a cake, this book will become your partner in the kitchen." -- from the foreword by Maida Heatter
This is the classic cake cookbook that enables anyone to make delicious, exquisite cakes. As a writer for food magazines, women's magazines, and newspapers, including The New York Times, Rose Levy Beranbaum's trademark is her ability to reduce the most complex techniques to easy-to-follow recipes. Rose makes baking a joy. This is the definitive work on cakes by the country's top cake baker.
The Cake Bible shows how to:
Mix a buttery, tender layer cake in under five minutes with perfect results every time
Make the most fabulous chocolate cake you ever imagined with just three ingredients
Find recipes for every major type of cake, from pancakes to four-tiered wedding cakes
Make cakes with less sugar but maximum flavor and texture
Make many low- to no- cholesterol, low-saturated-fat recipes
