Cupcakes: From the Cake Mix Doctor

The cupcake is America’s darling. It’s celebrated in upscale bakeries, on Sex in the City, on the cover of Gourmet, and in thou-sands of classrooms—where every day, it seems, a parent has sent in a batch for the kids to share. The very word conjures up whimsy, coziness, pleasure, nostalgia. Not to mention the fact that their diminutive size means you can eat a lot of them.

Once upon a time, a family had only two recipes for cupcakes—chocolate and vanilla. Not anymore. Now Anne Byrn brings them to the next level. And who better? Recognized as the master of cake-mix baking, Anne is the author of The Cake Mix Doctor and Chocolate from the Cake Mix Doctor, which have a total of over 1.8 million copies in print. In Cupcakes she offers 135 tempting recipes for children and grown-ups, for special days and everyday, lunch bags, holiday festivities, and an unexpected dinner party dessert.

I love to bake, and appreciate the convenience a mix can offer....but have never liked their flat and artificial taste. Scratch baking is great, but is a lengthy process with an even lengthier ingredient list! This book combines the best of both worlds - a mix with a few added ingredients that result in a moist flavorful cupcake. New bakers will benefit from the "keep on hand lists" and "tips for success" while more experienced bakers will enjoy experimenting with different cake / frosting combo's.

Their are great frostings in the book - all are from scratch, all are easy, and all will insure that no one knows or cares the cakes started with a mix! philly cream cheese cake recipes

This is a great collection of cupcake (and also muffin) recipes, with some really good ideas on how to turn out fantastic cupcakes. The tips and hints throughout the book are also really helpful, for instance offering ideas on what can and can't be substituted in the recipes. On the negative side, I thought there could have been more colour pictures of what each cupcake looked like when finished, as only a handful of the cupcakes are featured in colour in the front of the book. Also, if you are like me and live outside the US, be prepared to find that some packages of things like cake mix and instant pudding (which are the basis of most of these recipes) are different weights than those called for in the book.

Get now at Cupcakes: From the Cake Mix Doctor