Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought this book based on all the exceptionally positive reviews and have been sorely disappointed. It has numerous errors both baking and editorial, some serious, some not so, but altogether resulting in a sloppy effort that even a folksy tone and some good photographs can't disguise. I am particularly surprised that anyone thinks this is a cookbook for beginners. Ironically, the author's complaint about old, inherited recipes is that they aren't clear enough, which is exactly the problem with hers. Here are just a few examples of many: Most cookbooks begin with a discussion of basic materials and techniques, most of which sound virtually the same because they impart the same basic information, except for Gray's, which is more about being cute than being right. The section on pans revolves around bundt pans, with no mention of the layer cake and springform pans shown in the photo on the opposite page, both of which are used later in the book. The implication is that her not particularly helpful advice in this chapter applies to all pans, which it certainly does not. She dismisses "teflon" because the coating isn't stable, but I'm not sure "teflon" pans are even sold any more, at least not those of yore whose coating scraped off with the most minor touch of a metal instrument. Nonstick pans these days (such as those in the photo) are incredibly durable and the choice of many professional bakers. The cheap "Baker's Secret" nonstick pans sold in grocery stores are even recommended by Marcel Desaulniers, author of Death by Chocolate, one of the best bakers around. When it comes to layer cake pans, some experienced bakers prefer the nonstick ones (which tend to be costly) because the dark coating adds a slight browning to the cake and makes it "sturdier" if that's the right word. Some prefer the your basic uncoated aluminum pans, which come in a wide variety of sizes and are the standard (and relatively cheap) pan used in bakeries everywhere. The choice is not about price but preference. She also fails to mention that one of the real secrets to making good-looking layer cakes is to choose pans with straight sides, which because they can't be stacked are a pain to store, but keep the sides of the cake flat. Springform pans bring yet another set of choices. Most cookbooks also include discussions of ingredients, which again all sound very similar except for Gray's. Under "Eggs" she wastes a paragraph on why one shouldn't crack an egg on the edge of a mixing bowl with the mixer running, which could be handled in one sentence. And I don't think her alternative is much better, particularly for beginners--cracking eggs too "gently" just squashes the sides, and you can still get eggshell into the batter. To avoid the problem all together, really careful bakers crack their eggs into a separate bowl and slop them in approximately one a time. (The important part is to add them gradually not precisely.) While she mentions later in the the book that eggs should be room temperature, she fails to alert her readers that instead of putting them on the counter and waiting for an hour, they can drop them in warm water, which will get them up to room temperature right quick (sorry her tone is contagious). And in the butter section, she suggests cutting the butter into tablespoons AFTER it has come to room temperature. Doing this right when it comes out of the refrigerator speeds up the process considerably. Most egregiously, her suggestion to measure the dry ingredients in the one-minute intervals between adding the eggs (using a timer no less--Is this Beat the Clock with eggs?) violates one of the few basics of all cooking and baking--have all your ingredients measured and ready before starting. Making sure you have the right ingredients (e.g., baking powder not soda) in the right amounts is far more important than the precise time you beat between adding eggs. One of the things that caught my eye first, was Gray's suggestion throughout the book to use 8-inch and 9-inch pans interchangeably, especially after all the talk about pan volume in the bundt pan section section. An 8-inch x1.5 inch round pan holds 4 cups, while a 9-inch x 1.5 inch pan holds 6 cups. Therefore 2, 8-inch pans hold 8 cups, while 2, 9-inch pans hold 12 cups. Every other baking book I've seen suggests using 2, 9-inch (12 cups) or 3! 8-inch pans (12 cups). Having a "wee" oven that can only hold two pans doesn't change the laws of physics. The batter for a 2 layer, 9-inch pan will not fit into 2, 8-inch pans. And if her solution to the problem is to fill the 8-inch pans correctly and discard the extra then shouldn't she say exactly how full you can fill a pan for the cake not to overflow as it rises? And then there is the difference in baking times, which she never mentions. As Gray notes, few ovens heat to exactly the time on it says on the gauge. But instead of "getting to know whether your oven is fast or slow" (this isn't a date for gosh sakes!) simply heat your oven with a thermometer inside instead of a cake and see what happens. If your oven is larger than "wee," you might consider putting the thermometer in each of the four corners as well as the center. By doing this I discovered that my oven is about 25 degrees "slow" so I've put a piece of tape alongside the the gauge indicating where 350 degrees really is--just to make sure I don't forget. I also discovered that the front right and back left corners are even "slower," so when I have two layers, I position them along a left to right diagonal (this sounds more complicated that it is) and no longer have to guess about anything. As I mentioned at the beginning the best thing you can do for any baker at any skill level is to be as specific as possible. In the "Heaven or Hell" cake, is it processed or natural peanut butter, salted or unsalted? They are not the same. The shortening and sugar in Skippy will change the flavor, and natural peanut butter just doesn't work in some recipes. It's also more important to be helpful and correct than humorous(?) and wrong. It's the frosting and filling not the cake part (especially angel food) that makes the whole thing "rich." Halving the cake and thereby doubling the proportion of frosting will not save lives: It will actually make it twice as rich and twice as likely to cause a sugar coma. And it's French buttercream that has the egg yolks. Swiss is the one with just egg whites and the one you WANT. Dorie Greenspan did not make this mistake, and the publisher should not have let it go uncorrected. I could go on... but then I'd be writing a book! Loving NPR is no reason to buy this book.