The Cake Club: Delicious Desserts and Stories from a Southern Childhood

by Susie Quick

Book Overview

Hardworking. Loyal. Outspoken. Ahead of their time. Hilarious. The "Fancy Frosters" of Charleston, West Virginia, were a close-knit and devoted circle - a merry band of Southern women who got together once a month to swap recipes and stories, to cook and bake together, to celebrate friendship and have some hearty laughs... and of course to eat.Food editor and cookbook author Susie Quick's mother Emma was a member of this very special circle of sisters,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031224374X
• ISBN13: 9780312243746
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 7.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Delightful

This book will actuall inspire you to bake. I have never been much of a scratch cake baker but after reading through this book I just wanted to say to someone "here, I baked you a cake" so I did. I wanted to make memories too. Watch a teenage boy's eyes light up when you present him with a sumptious home made chocalate buttermilk cake (with cream cheese icing) for no reason - and on a rainy Sunday when football is on from dawn till dusk! Now that's heaven. This book is unique becaue it is more than a cookbook. It entertwines recipes with a tribute to inspirational women in the writer's life and it's filled with stories and anectdotes you can read while you wait for your masterpeice to bake. It's a joy that you can keep handy for everything from special occasions to times when you just want to endear yourself to someone in your life.

My favorite cake recipe book, now!

This is a most delightful cookbook with the combination of wonderful sounding recipes and humorous insights into the lives of the author and her family. One of the tales about her aunt and uncle, who were always getting even with each other had me in stitches, laughing until I cried! I haven't tested the recipes, yet, but I'm a veteran baker, and can tell most of these recipes will make it to my "favorites" list! I needed another cookbook like I need a lobotomy, but couldn't resist the ad. I'm glad I got the book! I have made the Coca Cola Cake, before buying the book, and it is great, using the Coca Cola Icing. The book also contains recipes for pies and some other treats, taking up the last half of the book. All very tempting, I might add. If you like to bake and enjoy home made cakes and desserts, I highly recommend this book!

....and it's a great read

When I first started flipping through Susies new book (I already own and have spattered and tattered her "Quick Simple Food"), I was firstly seduced by the wonderful black and white photographs taken straight from her family photo album. I kicked back one Sunday afternoon with "A Proper Cup of Tea".....and read for a couple of hours, all the funny stories and memoirs that reminded me of many times in my childhood, and some of the characters that were part of that whole 60's experience I now remember from black and white photos.I laughed out loud and have read and re-read some of my favourite chapters, dog earring the pages to share with friends later on. It's a suprisingly good read for a cook book. All this and no mention of the recipes? Haven't tried them myself yet......but as I actually shared a house with Susie in Woodstock NY one summer, I've already tested quite of few of her scrumptious sweets and believe me, there's absolutely nothing like Sister Nell's Prune Spice Cake. Oh..my...God!!!

THIS BOOK SHOULD BE A MOVIE!!!!

What a fabulously entertaining book! The Cake Club reminds me of the YAYA SISTERHOOD though with less drinking and more food! Susie Quick's family escapades will emind you of the OSBORNE'S, minus the profanity and drugs. "Emma" her mom is everyone's Jewish mother, practically smothering guests with sugary sweets (even diabetics) "a little can't hurt!" Such a great combo--A comic memoir with great dessert recipes and inspiring stories of Susie's friends (I feel like I know her), all of whom you want to invite to your next party. Particularly her famous model friend Lisa who writes about "A Proper Tea," and like the other reivewer, their life in Woodstock had me laughing in my mixing bowl. "A Good Man Really Is Hard to Find (especially in Nashville, Tennessee)" reminds me of every romance gone south I ever had. Just who IS that mysterious famous musician? You'll have to buy the book to find out. My favorite recipes: Choco Buttermilk Layer Cake with Dark Choco Orange Icing, Becca's Almond Marcaroons (awesome!) and all the "Lady Food" I could handle.

Batter Up!

This book had me laughing in my mixing bowl. The author's stories may be about her childhood in the South, but they manage to send you back to the kitchens and recipe boxes of your own past. I want to bake all the recipes here and maybe even invite my friends over for a luncheon of "Lady Food." I guess that's how you become a member of the Cake Club, too.