Cake Magic!: Mix & Match Your Way to 100 Amazing Combinations

This is the cookbook that every cake baker should start out with. This author has created a system in which almost endless varieties of cake flavors can be created by using a base recipe and then customizing from there by adding easily found ingredients. The flavor additions can be easy mix INS and layering flavors using simple syrups and customizing Ingredients which can add to, change or enhance the base flavor. This author's system is nearly full proof. Novice to expert cake bakers will find her system easy to use with results that are reproducible time after time by following this remarkable efficient cake creating system. If I had this cookbook and system when I first started baking it would have taught me all the foundations needed to become a proficient cake baker. (And saving me a number of mistakes and less than perfect cake results when I was first learning.)This is the first and one of the best cake creating cookbooks every aspiriring cake baker or pastry chef needs to provide a logical and systematic way to make incredible cakes.

Most clever cake book! Combinations are phenomenal and just delicious.

Ordinarily, this would not be a book for me, because the recipes are far too sweet for my taste. However, the author has come up with amazing “paleo” variations, meaning grain-free and far lower in sugar. You can google “Cake Magic! Paleo”or the author’s website to get them. When I stumbled upon them, I was inspired to buy the book and give them a try. I am gluten-intolerant, so, to see whether the gf or paleo mix was preferred, I invited 3 friends to test two versions of the same cake, the Orange-Cardamom Cake with Honey Frosting. I made the gf version with the syrup, exactly as described. But, to reduce sugar, the syrups are not used in the paleo version, so I added ground cardamom to the cake when I mixed it. (Cakes are fine without the syrup; I just like to mimic the flavorings in the book.) Two of us liked them both the same, two strongly preferred the paleo cake. Since there is no dietary requirement for cake, it is important to me that it be fun to eat, and I feared the twigs and grass version. But, lo and behold, it was moist and scrumptious! The Paleo Buttercream is delicious and worth the effort.The book consists mostly of photos of truly inspired and original cakes with a small section at the back with all necessary instructions. Since then, I have made three other cakes. It is a game for me to figure out how to replace the syrup and still get the flavor into the cake. For the banana caramel cake, I made a generous recipe of caramelized bananas. I poured about half the banana cake recipe into a bundt pan, laid them across the batter, and then poured the rest. For the spiced apple cake, I added a generous portion of cinnamon, plus allspice and cardamom and topped the honey glaze with chopped freshly toasted pecans. (My husband said he would never have believed a gf cake would be so light.) For the vanilla olive oil cake with lemon pudding frosting, I boiled dried rosemary leaves in water and let them steep for hours. I then used enough of the rosemary water to get the flavor I wanted and made mini ice cubes of the remainder. For the future, I’d probably steep the rosemary in the olive oil. Since the paleo buttercream already has egg yolks, I cheated on the frosting. Instead of making the lemon pudding, I just added plenty of zest, lemon juice, and a few drops of vanilla extract. The result, as far as I am concerned, is one of the best cakes I have ever tasted. In other words, the book is a stepping stone to limitless possibilities.This book is an inspiration for playing in the kitchen. Who knew making a cake could be so much fun?

Lovely book to look at pictures, a tad tedious to use... First, you look at photos & pick on a cake that looks good literally. Then you flip to those 3 pages to make that one particular cake... You think it’s just flipping through 3 other pages, but nope. When you go to those pages, it’ll list the ingredients including an ingredient that requires to flip to another page in the book. I’m not even kidding you- I attached a photo for you to understand better what I’m saying. You see all those pink & yellow pages- those are all recipes that you need to make in order to make the cake that you want in the photo. Now, I have only made one & that is the Horchata & Caramel Cupcakes. Those 5-6 tabs are for those cupcakes alone..As for the recipes, they are super easy to follow & make, accurate, & results are as seen in photos.Taste buds for:1) Horchata & Caramel Cupcakes- the vanilla cake were delicious. Flavor & taste- excellent for a sweet tooth person, but maybe a little too sweet for the semi-sweet person. Still, it was really good..I try to look to see what the heck you do with the syrup, but since I’ve made cakes in the past that required syrup drizzle on top of cake before the frosting- I went ahead and did the same thing. Would’ve been nice if the book specifies what to do, at least for those who just started baking..As for directions- for the most part, super easy. I do feel like the cakes could’ve had a little more directions via incorporating eggs one at a time into the dry ingredients. I think this is self explanatory for someone with experience, but frustrating for someone that’s a novice..All in all- I need to fiddle around the book some more to see if it’s actually worth the hassle.

For a non Baker like myself I have found the recipes super easy and amazing, with Gluten and Vegan options. Perfect perfect. Thank you so much!

Best cake book I've own and I've had hundreds. Had so many compliments. Very versatile recipes. Ive made so many and every one has come out perfect. Would definitely recommend.

Brilliant book, very simple to use, full of tasty recipes.

Love book arrive in time .plenty to bake.

love it