Because I edit so many cookbooks, you most likely think I’d blog a new favorite recipe, say, from Steven Raichlen’s forthcoming Planet Barbecue, or maybe something dessertish from Anne Byrn’s The Cake Mix Doctor Returns. Nope—because when I get over-reciped, I turn to knitting. I can’t pass a yarn store without going in (knitters—you know what I mean). I can’t go in without buying something (knitters—you really know what I mean). I have a great big yarn stash that makes me happy (knitters with great big yarn stashes are very happy). But I don’t only like to look at my stash. I actually love to knit. And what better place to find the perfect pattern than—where else?—Stitch ’N Bitch, by Debbie Stoller. In fact, there’s a pattern I like so much (the Big Sack Sweater on page 203), I knit it twice. Actually, I’m considering taking orders (okay, not really). Below are both sweaters, as worn by America’s Next Top Models (aka myself and my assistant, Erin).
–Cookbook Director Suzanne Rafer just won’t put the needles down.
My friends are always asking me for recipe advice. It’s not because I’m a brilliant cook, (I’m not) it’s because I have access to the latest Workman cookbooks and love to share the recipes!
But a recent recipe request had me stumped. My friend Anita had volunteered to bake cupcakes for her office’s Haiti earthquake relief bake sale fundraiser and asked for a recipe that would be unique enough to grab the attention of her officemates but simple enough to put together after work one night. I immediately thought of the adorable cupcakes in Anne Byrn’s Cupcakes! from the Cake Mix Doctor, but cringed at the thought of beautifully decorated icing on the bumpy New York City transit.
Luckily I was able to get advice Cake Mix Doctor herself, Anne Byrn! She immediately suggested the Bake Sale Caramel Cupcakes from her newest book, The Cake Mix Doctor Returns. Well, why didn’t I think of that? The caramel icing is cooked and it hardens slightly as it cools on the cupcake, keeping it from getting messy in transit, and the classic flavor is perfect for a bake sale.
Anita’s cupcakes were a huge hit at the bake sale, which raised over $2000 in just one lunch hour! Anne shared the recipe, as well as some other bake sale tips, over on her blog at CakeMixDoctor.com.
I’m a long-time fan of The Cake Mix Doctor–it was with Anne Byrn’s recipes that I first experimented with making icing from scratch (believe me, once you try it, you will never buy canned icing again). As soon as The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! landed on my desk, I was already picking out which cake I was going to make first.
I went with the Fresh Orange Birthday Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting. The freshly squeezed orange in the cake and zest in the icing had my kitchen smelling incredible before I even got the pans in the oven. The result was a decadent icing paired with a light and refreshing cake so good that we ended up eating a generous slice for Sunday brunch! One of my favorite things about the Cake Mix Doctor books is how easy it is to mix and match the cakes with different icings, and I’d love to try this one with a chocolate frosting or glaze with some orange zest sprinkled in, but I’ve got 159 cakes to get through before trying repeats!
Fresh Orange Birthday Cake
Vegetable oil spray, for misting the pans
Flour, for dusting the pans
1 large orange
About 1 cup orange juice from a carton
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
½ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below)
12 to 15 fresh orange slices, or candy gum drop
orange slices, for garnish
For a full-color look at all of the cakes in the book and four recipes including Fresh Strawberry Cake and Orange Birthday Cake, click here or read the excerpt below.
It’s the return of The Cake Mix Doctor, and Anne Byrn’s latest book is full of brand new recipes that turn ordinary cake mix into unique, delicious treats. Below, Anne shares some snapshots from the photo shoot for the book.
Workman Art Director Lisa Hollander, photo stylist Susan Sugarman, and her assistant work out details before shooting begins on the 163 cake photos in The Cake Mix Doctor Returns!
A huge slice of the Smith Island Cake waits to have its photo made. You cannot imagine the temptation present in this New York loft studio where cakes were frosted, sliced, photographed, then sampled, for five delicious days.
You can see from the fuzziness of this photo why I am a food writer, not food photographer. This darling Blueberry Muffin Crumble Cake, is one of my favorites in the new book. And I promise it will look a lot better in the book than in this photo.
A sumptuous Chocolate Chip Layer Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting rests on the cake stand. There’s a funny thing about photography sessions. Once you’ve seen one cake, you’ve seen them all. I love this cake and yet the food stylists and art director aren’t thinking about how gorgeous this cake looks on that stand. They’re thinking the next cake and the next…
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