Simple Cake: All You Need to Keep Your Friends and Family in Cake [A Baking Book]

Product Description

A nostalgic ode to the joy of homemade cake, beautifully photographed and with easy mix-and-match recipes for a sweet lift any day of the week.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES AND FOOD52

Everyone has a favorite style of cake, whether it's citrusy and fresh or chocolatey and indulgent. All of these recipes and more are within your reach in Simple Cake, a love letter from Brooklyn apron and bakeware designer Odette Williams to her favorite treat.

With easy recipes and inventive decorating ideas, Williams gives you recipes for 10 base cakes, 15 toppings, and endless decorating ideas to yield a treat—such as Milk & Honey Cake, Coconut Cake, Summer Berry Pavlova, and Chocolatey Chocolate Cake—for any occasion.

Williams also addresses the fundamentals for getting cakes just right, with foolproof recipes that can be cranked out whenever the urge strikes. Gorgeous photography, along with Williams's warm and heartfelt writing, elevate this book into something truly special.

Top Reviews

Maybe because I did not receive it for free...
by Nikki N. (3 out of 5 stars)
March 29, 2019

I am one of the few that disagreed with other 5-star reviews.

To begin with, there are basically 10 basic recipes in the book--or 7, if you leave out madeleines, meringue, and almond gato. The last one also doesn't come with a picture so I still have no idea of what it is. The rest 2/3 of the book are about ways to make variations out of whatever. I wouldn't say the cookbook is bad, but it is overpriced.

It is also very basic. I don't think "simple" and "basic" are always synonymous, but the basic here means you could also easily find other similar cake recipes online (i.e. basic chocolate cakes, basic vanilla cake, and Ina's famous lemon yogurt loaf etc.). If you happen to have other cookbooks on baking, you'll most likely already have those recipes. I wouldn't say the recipes are bad, but they are not special or unique to me.

If you don't have any, this could be a nice "introductory" cake book for you. But if I were a true novice for cake-baking, would I be willing to pay for $15 (+Tax) for this book (as opposed to getting some recipes from the Internet to start with)? I probably wouldn't.
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This is NOT the only cake book you'll ever need
by lady_lyn (4 out of 5 stars)
March 12, 2019

I would really like to give this 4.5 stars because this book is excellent at what it sets out to do (provide unfussy, delicious cake recipes) but does have some significant gaps.

Simple Cake IS for you if you:
~Want a few carefully curated recipes with LOTS of suggested variations to customize them. I call this book choose your own adventures with cake because each recipe has a list of flavor, size, and topping variations that makes it easy to have an astonishing amount of variety from just ten base cake recipes. It's incredibly fun.
~Live surrounded by chaos and still want to bake. The author is a parent who bakes with her family, and it definitely shows with recipes that use minimal dishes and can be followed even while distracted. I successfully made the coconut cake with simple glaze while talking on the phone and the lemon yogurt cake with silky marshmallow frosting with interruptions and intermittent help from my six- and nine-year-olds, and it all turned out scrumptious.
~Gravitate toward simple, rustic, unfussy bakes. Many of these recipes are designed so that you can be sitting down eating your sugary creation an hour and a half after you started baking. It's very nearly instant gratification.

Simple Cake is NOT for you if you:
~Want carrot cake. (I'm slightly bitter because as soon as I found out that I was getting this book, I planned to make carrot cake the instant it arrived. I was SO EXCITED to try a new take on my favorite cake only to find out when the book arrived two weeks later that there's no carrot cake recipe. Boo.)
~Want a comprehensive book of cake recipes and techniques. In spite of the incredibly audacious claim that these are the only only cake recipes you'll ever need, there are some big omissions. Even if you don't count some of the trickier cakes (and I DO count them) like swiss rolls, angel food, genoise, etc., there are classics that are conspicuously absent. Where's the German Chocolate Cake? Where's the cheesecake? Where's the *cough, cough* CARROT CAKE?
~Want a cookbook that includes decorating techniques and tips for polished finished products. This book is all about simple and quick and charmingly rustic rather than flawless. It's a breath of fresh air, yes, and makes everyday cake friendly and accessible, but if you're aiming for fancy, special occasion polish, look somewhere else.
~Want vegan cake. A couple of the recipes could easily use egg and milk substitutes, but I think you'd have to be a fairly experienced baker to figure out how make it work. It would have been nice if the author had included a few vegan substitution suggestions in the plethora of possible variations offered. There's a gluten free recipe, why not include a vegan one as well?

One final note: If you are a high altitude baker, the necessary alterations for your cakes to bake correctly are not included in the text. Usually adding an additional 1/4-1/2 cup of flour to the dry ingredients does the trick, but sometimes cooking times and temperatures need to be adjusted as well.

Thank you, @tenspeedpress for the free book!
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Beautiful book with simple recipes
by laura ✨ (5 out of 5 stars)
April 3, 2019

I bought this book a little over a week ago and couldn't wait to get baking. This weekend I made the lemon yogurt cake and added poppy seeds and cream cheese frosting, as well as the chocolate coconut cake. They were well balanced and not overly sweet (but not under, I do like my sweets). The recipes are easy to follow and don't call for fussy ingredients. On top of that the book is beautifully written, designed, and photographed. I bought this on a whim and have zero regrets. :D
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Skimpy
by Shailja Sharma (2 out of 5 stars)
April 29, 2019

I was excited about this book but it basically has ten cake recipes and a bunch of suggestions for glazing, icing, serving etc. Not a whole lot for a whole book.
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Beautiful!
by AKOShea (5 out of 5 stars)
May 9, 2019

Odette's wit and wisdom make this cookbook such an enjoyable read (even if you're not the type to sit and read a cookbook from cover to cover, as I am). Her recipe directions are easy to follow, don't require bizarre, hard to find ingredients (imported coffee extract, anyone?), and she even puts together a bunch of suggestions for cake and topping combinations, in case you're not feeling super inspired to come up with your own. The gorgeous photographs just top the whole thing off, and make me want to buy 10 more to give as gifts. Super impressed!
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A Step Above Box Mixes / Choose Your Own Cake Adventure
by Ehmuhlee (4 out of 5 stars)
May 7, 2019

This is a pared down or modernized rendition of a book that's been done before - Cake Magic by Caroline Wright, which I also own. The differences are Cake Magic is brimming with special dietary needs or ideas to adapt them while this one has 10 cakes, 15 toppings, and make with it what you will attitude with a few additional suggestions. It's a choose your own cake adventure of sorts in both books. Simple Cake also has far more personal stories and memories woven through for a sentimental heart string tugging approach. The recipes are very basic. Still, I was obviously curious enough to purchase this one.

On a scale of box mixes, box mix with add-ins, made from scratch, advanced, and pastry chef style cakes, this falls in the beginner / easy make from scratch and if you frequently bake it won't stretch your skills.

There are a lot of things I love about this book - the matte pages, the interesting cake variations, the touches of Brooklyn, and the weight measures to name a few... it's a very concise book of cakes and definitely not the only book you'd ever need unless having baked a cake before. In fact, if you have many cookbooks you likely have very similar recipes already.

The things I don't particularly love are the heavy Australian notes with Lamington and Meringues (not my favorite), but I get it, those are touches of "home" for the author. Despite the professional images there is a very made at home feeling to all of these cakes that are a touch rustic. The personal family celebrations and memories thread runs through this one in a big way. If you're looking for some new family traditions based around cakes this one might be great for you. If you're after an array of more versatile recipes without lots of stories and want to push your skill set you may feel a little disappointed.

The title says it all. It's a simple and concise collection of recipes.
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Perfect book!
by Carla Twigg (5 out of 5 stars)
May 21, 2019

For a sometime novice baker, this book is perfect. I love the author's attitude that cakes are for family and friends, not mile-high confections to be stared at. She has 10 basic cakes and 15 toppings, and shows which ones can be successfully combined. Her recipes are easy to follow (and to be successful they MUST be followed), but are not I-could-do-it-blindfolded easy. My only complaint is that I wish she showed a picture of each completed cake. However, in the back of the book she combines the toppings and the cakes with a story of when and how that happened, and has better pictures. The stories are a nice addition too.
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Simply delicious!
by Nora (5 out of 5 stars)
April 19, 2019

I am NOT a home baker. Not even remotely. But this amazing baking book makes me feel like I am! The super fun mix-and-match format takes all of the guesswork out of composing a masterpiece (you really can't go wrong) but leaves an unadulterated sense of creativity! Sort of reminds me of how accomplished I felt after a solid session of tracing Fashion Plates in the 80s (but much prettier and way more delectable). Gorgeous photos and so many sweet reasons to let them eat cake. Simply perfect!
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You can bake your cake and eat it too.
by SabJur (5 out of 5 stars)
June 9, 2019

I am not much of a book reviewer, neither am I much of a baker. Luckily this book helps me fix one of those two things. Odette Williams' book "Simple Cake: All You Need to Keep Your Friends and Family in Cake" helped me impress my loved ones with delicious cakes, from simple to elaborate.

Odette writing style is very personal and sweet, which makes it fun to read and engage with.

She includes recipes for favorites such as Chocolatey Chocolate Cake, Olive Oil Cake, Madeleines and Meringue. For every cake she provides additional variations for baking as well as toppings to choose from, with accompanying recipes.

I love her Cake-Worthy Moments chapter, which provides great ideas for cakes for any special occasion you can think of.

My first Williams cake I baked was the Chocolatey Chocolate Cake with a German chocolate Ganache. Both, cake and topic recipe are well-written and easy to follow with the ingredients listed on the left and baking instructions on the right. Measurements are listed in decimal and metric.

The colour photography throughout the book is stunning.
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Beautiful book, wonderful recipes. Deserves to be adored.
by Elizabeth (5 out of 5 stars)
March 26, 2019

Such a beautiful beautiful book. It really belongs on the coffee table, inspiring another coffee and piece of cake. Odette, this is a truly glorious cake experience, and thrilled to find a pavlova inside too. Highly recommend to anyone who has a family and loves to occasionally (now a lot more often) bake cake! Simply a joy. Must buy. Especially lovely gift for a friend, take a cake from the book along too! :)

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