Sheet cake Easy one-pan recipes for every day & every occasion

"The goal of these cake recipes is not to create something perfect... what you baked with care will still taste delicious," writes Dodge (The Everyday Baker), a James Beard--finalist for baking and dessert, in this delightful guide that relies on a single pan to deliver 50 delicious recipes and showcases her talent for tailoring pro advice to the kind of projects even a novice can master. Familiar flavors of chocolate and peanut butter, carrot, butterscotch, gingerbread, red velvet, and classic yellow that are baked and decorated in a single layer are also rolled with fillings and carved into rounds that stack to become layer cakes. Dodge cleverly transforms leftover bits into crumbs for toppings and coatings, and "croutons" for decoration, as with the artfully stacked cubes atop her ginger-apricot angel food cake. To keep the goods moist, she offers the option of soaking syrups--including cream, chocolate, and coffee variations--and sprinkles in "flavor swaps" and fruit curd recipes to mix up creations. Instruction comes by way of Dodge's fuss-free best practices, such as preferring table salt for its fine grain and measuring consistency and providing foolproof tips for assembling a jelly roll (the "roll" should take place while it's still hot). This is an all-around treat. (Aug.)

Introduction As a cookbook author, recipe developer, and instructor, I've spent my career streamlining, demystifying, and modernizing baking for home bakers of all experience levels. My goal is always to guide you through each recipe, offering all the instructions, tips, and techniques you'll need for baking with confidence and success. Sheet Cake exemplifies and highlights this philosophy. Within its pages you'll discover that one half-sheet pan--the same one you already own and use for shortcut dinners--is the only pan you need to create fun and festive cakes that are surprisingly easy to make. No matter which cake style you choose--classic, stacked, or rolled--it will bake in a fraction of the time that traditional cake layers take, it will cool even faster, and it can be ready to serve, in many cases, in under an hour. I've laid out fifty cakes, teamed with soaks (sometimes optional), frostings, and, when applicable, fillings, along with some tasty accompaniments that add to the cake's already great flavors. With so many fillings and frostings, soaks and sauces, the mix-and-match options are practically endless. Experiment and have some fun creating new cake combos. The goal of these cake recipes is not to create something perfect. It doesn't matter a lick if your finished cake looks like mine, or if the roll is cracked or the stacked cake is lopsided, or if the frosting is speckled with cake crumbs. What you baked with care will still taste delicious and will tickle the taste buds of your family and friends. I am always here to help, so if you have questions or need some baking encouragement, please visit me at www.abbydodge.com and "Ask Abby." I can't wait to hear from you! Excerpted from Sheet Cake: Easy One-Pan Recipes for Every Day and Every Occasion: a Baking Book by Abigail Johnson Dodge All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.