Sunday, June 14, 2020

BEVELYN BLAIR'S EVERYDAY CAKES by Bevelyn Blair


PUBLISHER: Hill Street Press, 6/2001
PURCHASE: link
MY GRADE: B

FROM PUBLISHER: The ultimate workday, weekend, and special occasion cake book. The contents include Cakes and Frostings, Angel Food Cakes, Cheesecakes, Coffee Cakes, Fruit Cakes, Pound Cakes, Refrigerator Cakes and Desserts. *Previously published in 1984 as Country Cakes.



THING'S I'VE MADE

CHERRY UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE


The topping for this is made the same way as that of a pineapple upside-down cake but with white sugar instead of brown and a can of drained tart pitted cherries. I added a little almond extract to the melted butter so it would mix in with the cherries. The cake batter is basic- made with softened butter. It's sweet, good, and the edges are crunchy where it browned but it's very dry. I added a little more salt. I baked this in an 8" square/2 qt. dish. It baked in 35 minutes and I wouldn't make it again because of the dryness.


DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE


This is a very good, basic chocolate cake that's made with cocoa powder and butter. I made half the recipe in a 9" x 1.5" cake pan and lined the bottom with wax paper for easy cake removal. A 10" pan would have been better since this was slightly too much batter for the pan I used and it made the cake thicker. The recipe called for no salt at all so I used 1/2 t. for half the recipe and it's the perfect amount.


MY THOUGHTS: This book is a small hardcover with dust jacket. There aren't any photos inside, which is always a disappointment. This small yet heavy 2001 edition is the revised version of 1984's Country Cakes. The recipes in each category are in alphabetical order. For some types of cakes, such as lemon and chocolate, there are multiple recipes. In most cases are there two recipes per page.

I've only baked two cakes out of this so based on just that, I'd give this a B/4 stars. I saw the author present this book on QVC at the time it was out.

I purchased this book myself.


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