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

I’ve yet to bake from this but have read it in its entirety. It’s a great read for a novice baker. She explains just enough to have confidence that any one of these simple and straightforward recipes will be fun and easy to make.

Oddette makes a strong case for just making cake whenever and often. Nothing fancy, no fuss. Just have cake! We’ve made most of the basic cakes in the book and keep coming back again and again. These are great little cakes. I’d say this is my top go-to cake book these days and one of my top 10 cookbooks period. She’s also right about taking the extra steps to prep the pan. Easy and effective. I love using the big 13” round and also the 6” little rounds. Different sizes for different occasions. Thanks for adding cake to our family life, Oddette!

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 too fussy of ingredients. On top of that the book is beautifully written, designed, and photographed. I bought this on a whim and have zero regrets. :D Update: After having this book for a little over a year I still love it. In quarantine I've gotten into the habit of baking something sweet every week and I am consistently reaching for this book. I read a review before saying that the recipes aren't complicated and you could find something similar online. That might be perfectly true (the book is called Simple Cake after all), but for everyday cakes and a beginner/intermediate baker I find that they are just unique enough. If there was one downside to the book I would say that she provides alternative pan sizes for all of the cakes, but they feel random to me and I only have 3 pans myself (a cake, bundt, and cupcake pan. I would prefer if she added a chart that showed pan size and bake time for all of the cake recipes. Even with that gripe, I plan to cherish this book for many years and will be buying it as a gift for others.

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.

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.

I was borrowing this cookbook from my library but when I realized I had borrowed it almost continually for eight months, I knew I needed to just buy it. It's my go to cake book. Ever single recipe has become an absolute favorite for our family. The cakes have wonderful flavor without being too sweet. And the author gives wonderful recommendations for variations and several icing and decorating options for each cake. And each icing option comes with wonderful variation ideas. She provides the right amount of guidance before leaving you to be as creative as you want to be. This will be my go to gift from here on out. Because everyone needs a little simple cake now and then. Oh, and a wonderful bonus- the photographs are beautiful.

Williams' book has only been with me a short while, and, in that time, it has become my go to for cakes. Not a book I was sent to review but one I treated myself to (and I'm so glad I did!). Reading through Williams' Introduction makes me a bit emotional -- it's all about nostalgia and memories. About Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book, eating more batter than cake, her father, and her children and family. Not only is her introduction about all these things, it's about luring the home baker into the kitchen with the promise of cake. Simple and joyful. I appreciated her warm tone -- one that told me baking a cake isn't complicated. Simple Cake is organized into 4 main chapters: Let the Baking Begin!, Cakes, Cake Toppings, and Cake-Worthy Moments. I appreciate how she begins by outlining all the essential advice, equipment, and techniques you'll need and, follows this with the cake recipes and toppings. Williams even offers instructions on how to bake up cakes for any event or reason -- I already know that the "How Did You Get So Big?" Cake will be the one I bake for my daughter's upcoming birthday. Doesn't chocolate cake with marshmallow icing sound perfect? There's also a small section at the back of the book that is dedicated to ingredients. I appreciate that the book is called Simple Cake and the recipes contain a very small number of ingredients. How simple is that? The ingredients are all ones you most likely have in your pantry right now, and if you don't, then you can find them easily at the local supermarket. I love to bake with my daughter and, Simple Cake is a great first cookbook for young bakers. With 10 cakes and 15 toppings the possibilities are limitless and offer what kids love the most: experimentation. A "choose your own cake adventure" if you will. It started with a fistful of leftover candy canes and some peppermint bark. We decided on the recipe for Very Vanilla Cake and instead of adding sprinkles for the Funfetti variation we added crushed up candy cane to the batter and a bit of peppermint extract. Our glorious creation was frosted with her Easy Creamy Icing and was then topped w/ chopped up peppermint bark. My daughter was so proud of our "Ode to Christmas" Cake! We sliced it up and she gleefully took her first bite. The look on her face is what childhood is all about. And, in case I'd forgotten, my first bite tasted like childhood too. This is also a fun book to hand to any visitors that come to stay. Once the book is in their hands you tell them to choose a cake to make. When my dad was here, he picked out the Cinnamon Spice Cake and when my MIL came to stay, she chose the Bribery Cake (the Chocolatey Chocolate Cake topped with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream). My Mother-In-Law loves anything chocolate (my husband comes by it honestly!) so I was excited to bake her something special. This cake is perfection on a plate but, to be honest, it’s so much more. About three years ago I saw a gloriously layered and buttercreamed cake I wanted to make for my daughter’s birthday. The cake turned out fine, but that buttercream was such a fail that it brought me to tears (and, of all the things that do bring me to tears, food usually isn’t one). But with Willams’ tips and instructions I was able to overcome my fears and try again. This luscious frosting has been renamed (in my mind) “No Tears Swiss Meringue Buttercream” — it’s the perfect topping for a cake that I’m calling the “Have Faith Chocolate Cake” because when you pour the batter into the cake pan it’s so soupy you wonder (doubt) how it will ever bake, but, it does! (A good metaphor for life when you wonder how it can get better/turn out, then magic happens). Another favourite I enjoyed making was the Cinnamon Spice Cake (full of beautiful ingredients like spelt flour, honey, and applesauce) which I frosted with the Cream Cheese Frosting and sprinkled with chopped, toasted pecans. The cake smelled like a dream while it baked! I chose to bake it as a 9X13" sheet cake but Williams also gives options (as she does with all of the cake recipes) for other sizes. Just as the cake for Cookbook Club was finishing baking, I got to work mixing up the Very Vanilla Cake recipe using the Funfetti variation for my family. I made it in a 6" springform pan -- a perfectly petite afternoon treat and, I also used some clear, imitation vanilla extract to really double down on those Betty Crocker-laced memories of funfetti cakes of my childhood. As soon as the cake cooled, I dusted it with icing sugar and then I whipped up a batch of Nutella Whipped Cream. Some cookbooks can act like a safety net -- even when you're not sure of anything you can trust the recipes. Simple Cake is the cookbook I turned to so that I wouldn't show up empty handed to my cookbook club meeting and as I took the carrying lid off my cake carrier at the meeting, I knew that the cake would be loved. Sharing it with the group, I think that this is a cookbook everyone should have in their life. Even with a small, unassuming book like, Simple Cake, it's one that will bring much joy to your kitchen like it has in mine.

I am surprised at the negative reviews! I am a terrible baker and my cakes nearly always fail. Since getting this book that has all changed! I love it - I love that its 10 recipes with masses of variations, alternative frostings, shapes, flavours and additions which totally change the characteristic of the cake with little fuss. There really is a cake for every occasion and absolutely everything has turned out perfectly. I agree the chocolate cake is not chocolatey enough for my liking but is still delicious. I think this book is a true find and I love the way its written and presented!

To quote another user: 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. Perhaps this is just an "introductory" cake book. Waist of money.

The book is superb! Can’t wait to try out the recipes however, the book is torn from the corners.

This is a gorgeous book - to touch, to look at and to read - as well as a fabulous cookbook. The photos are beautiful. I have cooked several cakes from it and they all work. I like the menu set up so you can vary the cakes and match them with various toppings according your needs. It's a nice idea - simple, delicious cakes for home cooks, made with love.