Vintage Cakes: Timeless Recipes for Cupcakes, Flips, Rolls, Layer, Angel, Bundt, Chiffon, and Icebox Cakes for Today's Sweet Tooth [A Baking Book} Hardcover – July 31, 2012

Just want to add my five stars to all the others. I have made a number of the recipes from this book and they have been really good. This is probably not the right book for a first time tentative baker, but those with a little experience and and a sense of adventure will very much enjoy it. This book is about the flavor and quality of the product, not about how it looks. There are clear instructions on how to get complete every step of the cake baking process, and then how to assemble them. The decorating is left to your imagination (just look at all the beautiful customer photos to confirm), and that makes it even more fun. I have not baked every cake in the book yet, but every one I have has received multiple praises. My most recent was the double-dip caramel cake (don't have the name right). I only had two cake pans and cutting them in thirds proved to be a little steep for my skill set...let's just say there was no question the cake was homemade. However, I received a response from one experienced cake eater that it was one of the best cakes they had ever eaten. Anyway, I look forward to the challenge (and so does my family) of having to bake this cake a few more times to get my assembling technique ironed out. This is my new go to cake book and if you are actually interested enough that you are reading this review, then you should make it yours too. Thank you Julie Richardson for sharing these great recipes as the East Coaster may have never been able to experience your wonderful cakes otherwise. Lastly, anyone who thinks as highly of this book as I do should look at First Prize Pies (by Allison Kave) as a complementary pie baking book. Her pies are not necessarily vintage, but very creative, from scratch and fun and challenging in the same way these cakes are.

I’ve been delighted by this book - the layout, the writing, the recipes, the photos, everything! I’ve made a few of the recipes so far, and they’ve been terrific. The Italian Cream Cake was amazing (although I made a traditional cream cheese frosting for it), and the Tropicake recipe is the perfect pineapple coconut cake recipe that has eluded me for years. Actually, the Tropicakes I made as mini-bundts, and they were the best bundt cake I’ve made in a long time, despite all my bundt-specific cookbooks. Malted milk cupcakes too, yum! I bought a number of cake books around the same time and figured I’d make one recipe from each, rotate them for awhile, but now I think I’ll just stick with this one until I’ve made everything I want to try, since the few recipes I have tried have been so superior to others and the selection of recipes is so interesting. I realize that these are supposed to be traditional cakes, but most of them are new to me, not just updated versions of something I’ve had before. I should also mention that the book doesn’t have as many pictures as I would normally like (which some kind reviewer here prepared me for), but it’s so well written that I haven’t minded that at all. I don’t need the picture to convince me to read or try the recipe. I only have a few cookbooks of which that’s true. Anyway, I highly recommend this book, I cannot imagine someone not liking it!

Another cookbook with cakes all baked in two 9" round pans or three 8" round pans. You may have the 8" on hand, I don't. The 9" I have recently discovered, when iced don't fit in any of my cake stands with domes. Even my huge cake plate dome is too small for easy covering and uncovering of an iced cake.I did like the fact that weights were given as well as volume measurements. But I still will end up wasting the extra batter so I can use my two 8" pans. That is 2 cups of leftover batter. I guess i could make a cup cake or two, but I don't have room to cook them all at the same time. Sorry, I am not the stop in the middle of the cooking time to revolve pans let alone trying to keep track of a few cupcakes.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes to bake or would like to learn to bake. The recipes range from simple to complex and the sections Tips and Techniques, Cake Baker's Battery, and Cake Baker's Cupboard contain information for the beginner and the experienced. I had a cream cheese frosting/berries problem and solved it by switching to Julie's buttercream recipe. The chemistry lessons are great for everyone and a must for anyone who wants to bake with success. Knowing how ingredients interact to achieve the desired results will save you a lot of heartache. I have a book on baking dedicated to this subject and much prefer Julie's explanations - short, well explained, and to the point.While some of the recipes are more involved, have a number of steps, and require a time commitment, baking is my stress release, so I thoroughly enjoy being totally focused on a more complex, time consuming recipe. However, there is something for every occasion, and level of experience in this book, along with recipes that are quick, or more complex.The lack of photographs does not bother me, as this leaves more space for recipes, but I understand the desire for a visual comparsion of your cake and that of the author. This is not a make or break (for me) for purchasing this book.Love, love this book and it is my new favorite!!!!! I give it a 10.