Zoë François - Zoë Bakes Cakes: Everything You Need to Know to Make Your Favorite Layers, Bundts, Loaves, and More [A Baking Book]

Acknowledgments

Any gratitude I express for the love, support, guidance, and help that my husband, Graham, has provided needs to be multiplied a million times over. Thank you, Graham, this book would simply not exist without your constant, steady hand and head. Henri and Charlie, my sons, thank you for always eating the cake and being so damn honest about what you think of my bakes. I know this book is good because it has your stamp on it! Rafman and Miles (the poodles), thank you for leaving me just a little butter to play with and for keeping me company in the kitchen. Thank you, my family, I know the sacrifice was real, but at least there was cake!

Thank you, Jane Dystel, for believing in me and having my back during the past fifteen years of creating books. I have such peace of mind knowing that you, along with Miriam Goderich and Lauren Abramo, are there to guide and represent me through this not always intuitive process.

I got off my first phone call with my new team from Ten Speed Press and I told my husband that something special was going to be created with them. They instantly got it; it was as if I was talking to old friends about my dreams. They understand what this book means to me as an author, a photographer, and baker. They know that it is written from my heart and soul; and from the outset, they wanted to help me create my vision. I am so grateful to have them as a part of this project. Thank you Kelly Snowden, Betsy Stromberg, Doug Ogan, Emma Campion, Jane Chinn, and Dolores York, for helping me create the book of which Ive always dreamed.

Jen Sommerness, thank you for being my cheese, and eating more cake than youve ever wanted. Thanks for opening the door when I carried the hundredth cake across the street to your smiling face. Heather, Jason, and Rowan, thank you for taking cake off my hands with such enthusiasm. Craig and Patricia Neal, my folks, thank you for enthusiastically eating cake and more cake. Lorrain Neal, my mom, thank you for everything, including all the stressed-out dog walks, recipe testing, and loving book edits. Leslie Bazzett; Jay, Tracey, Gavin, Natalie, and Megan Berkowitz, and Leila Quinn; the late Sarah Berkowitz; the late Barbara Neal; Marion and John Callahan; Adam Cohn, thank you for taking all my calls, graciously guiding me through all my contracts and even testing the occasional recipe. Barb and Fran Davis, thank you for always supporting me and running over last-minute props. Todd France, thank you for patiently guiding me through the technical side of my camera and being my birthday-cake muse. Anna and Ewart Franois, thank you for inspiring me with hazelnut cake. Mathew, Jen, Madison, Dylan, and Sydney Franois; Maxine and Bob Kelly; Kathy and Lyonel Norris; Kristin Neal and Bill Freeman; Carey, Heather, Victoria, and Bennett Neal; Sally Simmons and David van de Sande, thank you for all the love and support, always. Stephen Tedesco, thank you for being the trusted navigator on my cake walk. And Amy Vang, thank you for making my work space shine.

Thank you to Joanna and Chip Gaines for giving me a home at Magnolia where I can play in my kitchen and share my love of sweets.

Gratitude to colleagues in our baking and culinary adventures past and present: Steven Brown of Tilia and St. Genevieve; Stephen Durfee of the Culinary Institute of America; Bill Hanes, Kelly Olson, and Linda Nelson of Red Star Yeast; Ragavan Iyer, who explained how the publishing world really works; Riad Nasr of Frenchette; Karl Benson, Marie, and the team at Cooks of Crocus Hill; the entire family at Quang; Suvir Saran and Charlie Burd; Tara Steffen and Susan Jardon of Emile Henry & Mauviel; Madeline Hill, Dusti Kugler, Kelly Lainsbury, Patrick McMahill, Patrick Weiland, Andrew Zimmern, and the entire team at Intuitive Content/Food Works for believing in my cake walk and taking it beyond; Eliza and Ann from Blue Star; and Brian and Ali from Kerrygold.

Thanks to Randee Zarth and Jennifer Burkholder, my first teachers; Stephen Durfee, Thomas Gumpel, and Stacy Radin from the Culinary Institute of America; Michelle Gayer, my friend and mentor; Dorie Greenspan, my baking hero; Abby Dodge, my cookbook mentor; Kevin Masse, a baking fast friend; Manuela, encouraging me from afar; Thank you to Stephanie Meyer, Stephanie March, Kim Kolina, Molly Hermann, Kellee OReilly, Ali Kaplan, and Eliesa Johnson, for pushing me to be my best self; Judy Kim, for always being there to support; Brian Hart Hoffman and the incredible team at Bake from Scratch; Julie Jones, pastry artist; and Helen Goh, for being an inspiration.

Appreciation to David Lebovitz, for being a constant source of inspiration in the kitchen and on the page; Candace Nelson, for making cupcakes cool and all the sage advice; Molly Yeh, for being so smart and generous and talented.

Jeff Hertzberg has been my coauthor and friend for well over a decade. I really missed our collaboration while I was working on this book, but he was there for me when I needed a dose of encouragement and a bowl of pho.

Stephani Johnson, thank you for helping me build ZoBakes into a better, smarter, more fun place to work and freeing me up to bake more cakes. Thank you, Joy Summers, for helping me get words to paper and push past the fear, such a gift. And all my gratitude to Sarah Kieffer, for always sending just the right text to make me laugh and for being my creative sounding board. Thank you also for taking photographs that tell the story I wanted to convey, not to mention being the wizard of Lightroom.

I had several people test recipes for me, but Sara Bartus baked them ALL! I am so grateful for her honest insight, and masterful attention to detail. This book is better by her testing, and she taught me the phrase Hot Bottom Cake!

About the Author

Zo Franois studied art at the University of Vermont while also founding a cookie company as a way to earn extra money. She then traveled throughout Europe, tasting pastries along the way, and later studied at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Since then she has been a pastry chef at several Twin Cities restaurants and has worked repeatedly with Andrew Zimmern. Together with Jeff Hertzberg she wrote the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, which turned into a bestselling series. She created the Zo Bakes website in order to share her passion for pastry. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Graham, and two sons, her best creations yet!

SOURCES

You will find links to all the products I use for my cakes on my website, zoebakes.com.

Ateco: nycake.com/ateco-usa
Cake turners and decorating supplies

Bobs Red Mill: bobsredmill.com
Specialty flours and other dry ingredients

Breville: breville.com
Mixers and other small appliances

Driscolls: driscolls.com
Year-round source of berries

Emile Henry Cookware: emilehenryusa.com
Cookware and ceramic dinnerware

Kerrygold: kerrygoldusa.com
European-style butter

King Arthur Flour: kingarthurflour.com
Flour, specialty cake ingredients, and baking supplies

KitchenAid: kitchenaid.com
Mixers and small appliances

Magnolia Market: shop.magnolia.com
Cake plates and tableware

Maryfrances Carter: maryfrancescarter.com
Cake stands

Mauviel: mauviel-usa.com
Cookware

Nordic Ware: nordicware.com
Bundt pans and other baking equipment

Penzeys Spices: penzeys.com
Spices

Seed+Mill: seedandmill.com
Halva and tahini