Everyday Cake

Using ingredients that are readily available, these cakes are unfussy yet sweetly indulgent. Recipes are arranged using pans most of us already have in our kitchens: round, square, loaf, rectangle, sheet, and bundt. Flavors include warm spices, herbs and flowers, and sweet essences, plus chocolate, fruit, nuts, and seeds. An appealingly wide range of cakes will tickle every fancy:The Vanilla Malted Milk with Milk Chocolate Frosting would be perfect for a birthday celebrationThe Lemon and Lavender Yogurt cake would be quick to make and satisfying with cup of teaThe Roasted Strawberry with Whipped Crème Fraiche Shortcake would be the perfect way to end a summer supper.There's something for every mood and craving in Everyday Cakes.

"The cakes included here are designed for 'day-to-day moments that warrant a spark of joy.' And how joyful they are! Chesnakova has compiled a selection of cakes bursting with colors, from familiar treats to inventive combinations, with flavors spanning common fruits to rich spices and in a range of complexity and time consumption."—Booklist ". . . creative new classics divvied up by the type of cake pan that serves them best."—Seattle Times"Innovative. . . New bakers will find comfortable possibilities here, such as the Russian Napoleon Cake that uses a packaged, rather than homemade, puff pastry. Bakers with developed skills will also find new flavors to try. Top picks include the delicious birthday cake with malt powder in the batter and frosting, and the salted butterscotch fudge sheet cake, which is too yummy for words."—Library Journal

Polina Chesnakova is a Seattle-based food writer, recipe developer, and cooking class instructor whose work has been featured in Culture, The Washington Post, Saveur, The Kitchn, and Seattle magazine. She is also the author of Hot Cheese: Over 50 Gooey, Oozy, Melty Recipes (Chronicle Books). In addition, she serves as the culinary director at Book Larder, Seattle’s only cookbook shop.