Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Book to collect
Review: Rose Levy is the Goddess of Pastry. In the Cake Bible, you will find all the basic recipes and techniques of pastry and much more. Rose has a gift, not only because of her Chemistry expertise, but the ability to teach in a very clear way, and share funny stories that illustrate the origin of some of her cakes. She has wide connaisance of European Pastry making as she studied with some of the best Chefs in France, this book encompasses both European and American styles and the format of the recipe in itself includes both the metric and US systems for measurements, the procedures are well explained and most recipes include variation or alternatives. Others found it very difficult to follow but I guess her book was written in a very professional way.
Rating: 
Summary: I don't understand
Review: why everyone has such high praise for this book. I am already a good cook-- and expected to become a better one....
I really wanted to love this book and was so excited when I got it. I spent a fair amount of money on proper pans, ingredients and decorating tips. But the recipes didn't work for me, the cakes were dry. The decorating section was too complex, the book had me jumping all over it to accomplish one cake, and finally I had to quit, just give up and start from scratch with a book that I love called Great Cakes, by Carole Walter.
The strangest part was that for the money, there are really only a few recipes in The Cake Bible.
The hardest part was that I thought the book was going to be user friendly-- but unlike charming books like Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin, and The Way To Cook by Julia, this book never felt like a personal friend--. And in the end, after following recipes to the letter and spending a lot of time in the kitchen, I had nothing great tasting to show for it.
I know that almost everyone loves this book, and that we who have had a hard time with it are the minority. But I feel that the minority of the harsh reviews really care about good tasting cakes. The majority-- the great reviews care about how a cake looks. I would never sacrifice looks over taste and in the case of fondant with piped royal icing, Rose said that she would. (Trade looks for taste.) It's tempting. The white on white look achieved with fondant and piped icing is stunning. But to me, it tastes bad.
The woman who made my wedding cake had set ideas about cakes. She wanted a butter cake with layers of strawberries and whipped cream. Because of her needs, and because I never spoke up as much as I should have, I ended up with a frozen wedding cake-- the cook was so worried about the whipped cream running, the entire cake was frozen. It didn't bother her because the cake looked beautiful. But I was somewhat shocked-- microwaving my wedding cake wasn't what I had in mind while people were trying to have some cake and say goodbye to me on my wedding day.
So perhaps there are the looks people and the taste people and I put taste first. Of course I'd like to have both. And for that reason, The Cake Bible still has me scratching my head-- struggling for something nice to say, and needing to tell anyone who agrees about taste to check out some of the wonderful recipes on epicurious.com and books liker Great Cakes by Carole Walter. If I decide that I have been a harsh critic, or that I have done something wrong in following these recipes I will update this review.
Rating:
Summary: simply THE BEST cake book ever!
Review: If you only bake a cake occasionally, this book might seem complicated. But if you really want to learn how to make cakes, this book will teach you. I have used it almost exclusively since it came out 15 years ago and have become reknowned for my cakes.
There is a set of beautiful color photographs at the beginning and each entry has an introduction to help you choose if this the right cake for the occasion. (Other books list 3 different chocolate cakes with no comments: why pick one over another?) The layout of the book makes it easy to refer to while baking - unlike the unfriendly Martha Stewart baking book I recently received as a gift. Information is placed logically and consistently on the page; oven temperature, pan size, recommended adornments, storage time, etc. The instructions are precise, thorough and consistent; she'll often even describe how to correct if something goes wrong. Years ago, I would simply sit and read this book.
I have given this book to at least a half a dozen people over the years and am buying two more copies now. Even when I (rarely)use a recipe from somewhere else, I benefit from I've learned from Rose about ingredients and methods.
Not to pick on Martha Stewart, but I baked a cake recently from her book which included the cake, a filling and an icing: The information was hard to find on the page, the cake pans (recommended size) overflowed, I had at least 2 cups of extra filling and a cup and half of extra icing! The cake was tasty but the contrast between that sloppy experience and the incredible professionalism of The Cake Bible was striking.If you want to learn how to make cakes, buy this book. PS. If I could bake only one cake for the rest of my life it would probably be Bert Greene's Special Sponge Cake.
Rating: 
Summary: Too complicated
Review: Most if not all of the "fancier" cake recipes were too cumbersome to bake, requiring lots of prep time to make the frostings, fillings, etc., thus, leaving lots of room for error. Maybe if I had the leisure to spend this amount of time to bake, I wouldn't mind; however, this isn't the book for the not-so-serious baker.
Rating:
Summary: Must Have
Review: THE essential book for cake recipes from simple to extravagant. Precise directions and explanations of each recipe, plus perfect descriptions allowing you to choose the right cake every time.
Rating:
Summary: Very indepth study of cakes
Review: If you are looking for a book that breaks cake making down into the science that falls behind cake making, this is the book for you. This book serves as a primer as well as a source for recipes. The book contains a great deal of extra information on ingredients, basic tips, decorating, and much more. So you are getting more than just recipes. The recipes that the book does contain are varied. She has many different categories of cakes; Butter, fruit, custard, breakfast, sponge, showcase, low cholesterol and low saturated fat, without flour, cakes to make ahead of time, cakes that need to decorating.
All in all a great book. There are a few color pictures in the begining of the book. There are many illustrations throughout the book that cover the recipes or a particular decorating technique. Once again if you are looking for something more than your average cookbook this one is for you.
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Summary: Once again, I'm sharing the recipes with dinner guests
Review: I love this book. I discovered it in my local library, checked it out, and made several of the recipes before deciding I'd like to have a copy. That was in 1992, and my copy is now falling apart from hard use. I have occasionally had recipes fail when I became distracted from following the directions meticulously, however. This is not a cookbook for those who like everything too sweet -- but my husband, whom I kid about having the tastebuds of an 8-year-old, loves these cakes. So do my children, my dinner guests -- you name it. Just last night, I served the Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Torte with Raspberry Sauce to rave reviews and demands for the recipes. I haven't made all the recipes yet, but I hope to someday.
A word of caution: if you don't have uninterrupted time to read the directions thoroughly and follow them carefully, don't bother -- buy a boxed mix. These are recipes sensitive to ingredient quality, technique, temperature, and even weather. (Boxed mixes, I've learned, contain stabilizing ingredients that make them taste okay even when you screw up.) Another word of caution: Many of the ingredients (the "finest" chocolate, walnut oil, unsalted pistachios, for example) are difficult to find and/or quite expensive if you do not live in a large urban area. Word of caution #3: I have also occasionally had trouble with a recipe from this book when specialized equipment (I don't have a food processor) is involved. However, even my failures have tasted good. I've read some of the other reviews commenting on the dryness and heaviness of some of the cakes, and am surprised since I haven't had problems in this regard. I may never learn how to make an icing rose, but there are plenty of other decorating options for those of us not so creatively gifted.
I am yet again giving a copy of this book to a dear friend interested in baking delicious cakes, and also considering replacing my own copy, which is stained and losing pages.
Rating:
Summary: Enough recipes and variations to last for years.
Review: I have never seen such an informative cookbook dedicated to baking cakes with as many variations on flavors, textures and styles. Start with any of Ms. Beranbaum's pound cake recipes to familiarize yourself with her unique but easy to follow methods, and then spend the time your fragrant, moist but not bricklike cake bakes to choose which cake you want to make next. I come from a larga family, and I could bake a different cake for each parent, sibling, niece and nephew and not repeat a recipe for at least a year! If you are interested in catering or are baking for a shower or celebration, you will find the calculations and advice you need to get professional results. I made my brother's wedding cake from this cookbook, and he was quite proud of the result.
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Summary: A well-rounded, well-researched, wonderful classic
Review: Rose Levy Beranbaum's "The Cake Bible" has justifiably become a classic in the many years since its original publication in 1988. Aside from bearing the seal of approval of the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals, which awarded the book its "Cookbook of the Year" prize in 1988), take a look at the fact that this book is still not only in print--it's in print in hardcover! That says a great deal about the value and information the book provides. I can attest personally to the fact that the recipes WORK. This is the number one test for any cookbook, yet it's astonishing to me how many recipes DON'T work--either because of unclear or poorly worded directions, or because of lack of thorough testing on the part of the author. I have never yet made anything from this book with which I was disappointed, and have made a number of recipes which have entered the hallowed pantheon of family favorites. Beranbaum's White Velvet Butter Cake has become a de rigeur choice for birthday, confirmation, and other special occasion cakes--it's a fine-crumbed, velvety, melt-in-your-mouth cake that's like the best wedding cake or petit four you've ever put in your mouth. And the Neoclassic Buttercream gives you a meltingly delicious frosting that's the color of cheesecake--richly ivory and silken smooth. Beranbaum is a companionable writer--her essay on "My Brother's Wedding Cake, or the Snowstorm of 1983" has become something of a Murphy's Law baking classic--and she's a learned and intelligent teacher. This book was the first to introduce me to the novel idea of weighing ingredients, rather than measuring them by volume. The result is much greater accuracy, which in turn gives you a much higher chance of turning out stellar baking results. I bought a scale shortly after receiving this book as a gift for my birthday in 1989, and have never looked back. In fact, when I wrote my own culinary newsletter from 1993 to 2000, I usually did all the recipes giving both weights AND measures, trying to encourage my readers to try the weighing method. Once you try it, you'll never go back. The photography is gorgeous (although I have always wished there were more of it!). The cakes fairly gleam with rich color--you can practically taste them just looking at the photographs (check out especially the handsome Strawberry Maria, named for editor Maria Guarnaschelli, and the dramatically decorated Art Deco cake). In addition to the cake and icing recipes, there is worthy advice on everything from tempering chocolate to creating three-dimensional cake decorations to unusual sources for cake and cake-decorating supplies. The bottom line is that any home cook can create gorgeous, sumptuous, outstandingly delicious cakes from Beranbaum's book--and isn't that what a cake bible should be all about?
Rating:
Summary: Get this book if you ever bake a cake
Review: I got a copy of this book way back in 1989, and have sworn by the cakes featured in it since. My other books just sit around collecting dust, while the cover for this is now stained with metled chocolate, butter and batter; and it's falling apart at the seams. This book has so me inspired that I now run a small home-baked cakes business, making extensive use of the recipes from the book. I've baked the Sour Cream Coffee Cake countless times for parties and gatherings and have never failed to win raves. This is the only cake I've seen ladies going back for second helpings! Another must try is the Bittersweet Cocoa Genoise. Rose's approach to baking is exactly how it should be, a science and not an art. Each and every ingredient used has a reason. Then you use your creativity after the cakes is baked to creat beautiful cakes. This is the only book I've come across that delves into the whys of doing things and how different ingredients interact with one another. With every cake, on the sidebar, you will find information of how the cake will appear after baking--how tall the cake will be; whether it'll be flat, taller in the center; whether the sides move will move away from the sides of the pan after removing it from the oven. So just by visual inspection of the cake after it comes out from the oven, you'll know if you got it right. I've not had any disaster baking from this book. Even after more than 10 years using the book, I still find new information everytime I read it. The book is not for someone who wants to look at pictures of cakes; but HOW to bake the best cakes. Just one comment, can you make future prints of this and your other books with stronger string bindings instead of perfect binding? Rose, if you are reading this. Thank you!
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