The Story of Cake by Norah Smaridge is today's pick for CakeBook Monday. Published in 1978, and aimed at young readers, it's a short book of interesting tidbits, a few recipes, and some out-of-date facts. The real gem is the author. Born in Liverpool, Smaridge came to the U.S. as a child with her sea captain father and became a prolific author of books for young adults including the straightforwardly titled You Know Better Than That. All that said, The Story of Cake is not a must-have unless you're an obsessive like me or have a thing for late-70s illustrations.
CakeBook Monday (on Tuesday): IMPORTANT ARTIFACTS by Leanne Shapton
I find it hard to explain this book, or even remember the mouthful of a title, Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry, in its entirety, but it is one that I treasure. Art-meets-novel, its creator, Leanne Shapton, uses words and images to tell the story of a relationship in an unusual format: an auction catalog. Designed from cover-to-cover to replicate an actual catalog, it features the contents of one couples now dissolved relationship up for sale. Cool, huh?
But what does this have to do with cake? Quite a lot, actually. The female protagonist—Lenore—pens a column about cakes and baking for the New York Times called Cakewalk. I'd forgotten all about this detail until I was scanning my bookshelves for CBM and, drifting beyond the baking book shelves, spotted Important Artifacts and knew immediately it belonged here.
So much of what I love about cake is not just the deliciousness or the celebratory dress it always wears, but the way that cake fits into the narrative of our lives and our history (hence, the focus of this blog as stated in the subtitle) as well. Just the way that a person or a pet or even old t-shirt can be a character in a story—real or imagined—cake can too. And it does it so well here.
CakeBook Monday: BIRTHDAY CAKES by Kathryn Kleinman
This spectacular collection of birthday cakes features a quirky range of recipes and stories from bakers such as Alice Medrich, James Beard, Julia Child, and Maida Heatter. Julia Child's contribution, Le Kilimanjaro, is a cone-shaped ice cream cake that features a fire gently burning in the shell of half an egg placed a top. There's even the recipe for Vert-vert (Green Cake) which was baked every year at Giverny for Claude Monet by his cook, Marguerite.
It's out-of-print (seems to be my forté), but available online for just a few cents.
CakeBook Monday: HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN LAYER CAKE
This slim volume, published in 1997, comes from the knowledgeable folks at Cook's Illustrated. In less than 100 pages How to Make an American Layer Cake lays out recipes for basic chocolate, white, and yellow cakes (with a few variations on the standard), as well as frostings and fillings. The signature CI illustrations run throughout the book which also includes sections devoted to technique and decorating suggestions. It's worthwhile to add to your collection if you're searching for a concise, pared-down handbook on layer cakes or if you are a layer cake (or just cake) devotee. That said, this is another out-of-print volume, but copies go for pennies (literally) online.
CakeBook Monday: SKY HIGH by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne
Sky High is one of those books that you pull out when you want to impress. There's just something about three layers that always proves breath-taking.
I first heard about this book through Deb of Smitten Kitchen when she posted on the Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze. That mind-twistingly-named, beautiful behemoth became a must-bake for me—and it did not disappoint.
Since then, I've baked quite a few of the cakes in Sky High—the Chai Cake with Honey Ginger Cream being another standout—and consider it an integral part of my collection.
Sadly it seems to be out-of-print, a fact I just learned when going to grab the link to post here. Used copies don't come cheap, but it is available an an e-book.