Gesine Bullock-Prado - Bake It Like You Mean It: Gorgeous Cakes from Inside Out

PHOTOGRAPHS BY Tina Rupp

Stewart, Tabori & Chang New York

Published in 2013 by Stewart, Tabori & Chang

An imprint of ABRAMS

Copyright 2013 Gesine Bullock-Prado

Photographs copyright 2013 Tina Rupp

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress.

ISBN: 978-1-4532-7691-4

Editors: Natalie Kaire and Dervla Kelly Designer: Alissa Faden Production Manager: Tina Cameron

The text of this book was composed in Archer, Chalet Comprime, Gotham, and Walbaum.

Printed and bound in the U.S.A.

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Allow me to introduce my sweet friend, Cake. Cake, meet my fellow bakers. Fellow bakers, meet Cake. Youve met her beforeperhaps in chocolate or vanilla, possibly presented to you in a sheet or sliced from a small round. But now weve got an opportunity to ask her a few questions, so lets go!

BAKER: You cant attend a celebration without cake appearing at some point, surrounded by fanfare and flickering candles. Have you always been so popular?

CAKE: Yes. But dont hate me because Im beautiful and delicious. Ive been around since ancient times, the delicacy of pharaohs and reclining Grecians. Back in the day, I was most likely a honey-and-nut confection, a bit more breadlike than fluffy. And when all things sweet were a genuine treat, too expensive for common folk to get ahold of, I led a rarified life among royalty and fancy people. Once sugar manufacture became mechanized and efficient, I was made available to all and sundry, and now anyone at any time can be graced with my delicious presence. Youre welcome.

BAKER: What constitutes a cake, exactly?

CAKE: How dare you! Dont try to pigeonhole me with such a question; Im multi-faceted and complex! Just think about this: When you assemble a birthday cake, you layer cake with a luscious filling, and then usually you ice the whole thing. And what do you call the lovely creation you just made? Thats right: cake. So Im an element of the whole and Im the whole. Existential, aint it? And I come in many guises: cupcake, round layer cake, single-slab sheetcake. I can be made fluffy by whipping eggs into a frenzy, or springy by adding baking powder or baking soda. Some of my brethren even use natural yeast to get high and mighty. Thats right! Yeast, in cake! Sometimes Im composed of layers of meringue instead of spongy pastry, and sometimes Im a jewel-toned mousse. Some of my family members are gluten-free; others are chock-full of flour. Some people call me a gteau or a torte. I am all these thingsand more.

BAKER: Arent you a symbol of all thats wrong with modern cuisine, an instrument destined to make our children obese and sick?

CAKE: Anything in excess is dangerous. Confine your diet to a strict regimen of kale and carrots, and youll be sick in no time. Im pretty irresistible; of this I am acutely aware. Im tasty, contain very few nutrients, and am very hard to say no to. Id rather you save me for special occasions and even then, savor me in moderation. I hate to be thought of as common, so keep me special and use me with care.

BAKER: Is this a decorating book or a baking book?

CAKE: First, let me just say that every cake should be beautifully made from the inside out. When you embark on a cake journey, you should approach it with care and thoughtfulness. Remember, Im multifaceteda feast for all the sensesand Im not going to let you forget it. Above all, you should strive to make me outrageously delicious. But as you go about developing my flavors and luscious textures, you must also take care to make me visually sumptuous. My purpose in life, after all, is to be eaten, and for this to happen, you must come upon me and see something on the outside that entices you. And then youll take a knife to me and scar me permanently... but thats a story for my pastry therapist and not something we need discuss any further. The bottom line is, baking and decorating need not and should not be mutually exclusive. If you approach cake making as simply an exercise in advanced arts and crafts without paying heed to the fact that your intended audience will also be ingesting your visual masterpiece, youve missed the point of my existence entirely. By all means, dress me in edible haute couture, but never lose sight of the fact that its whats inside that really counts.

BAKER: Is this book for the beginner?

CAKE: This book is for everyone. Some recipes are easy peasy. Some are complex. As you become more adept at the simpler techniques, you can start taking on the recipes that once intimidated you. Each chapter is devoted to a technique of making cake (me) and will begin with my most streamlined iteration. As the chapter progresses and your confidence grows, you will see how complex I can become, and then youll be able to mix and match as you see fit. And you can always visit me at https://www.facebook.com/bakeitlikeyoumeanit for extra help!

BAKER: So what do I need to start?

CAKE: Beautiful ingredients and a stand or hand mixer. Most people have a cake pan or two; youll need a few of those. But most important, you have to bake it like you mean it. If youve got the right attitude, youll make great cake.

My baking philosophymy mantrahas always been bake it like you mean it.

To bake with an eye for the details and the pleasure of the process. To bake with the intent to create desserts that are delicious and beautiful from the inside out.

And Im finding that home bakers are chomping at the bit for new and amazing ways to work with cakes and pastries. If popular cookbooks geared toward designing ever more extravagant treats are any indication, its obvious that both serious and occasional bakers are seeking out the different and challenging. Whats even more exciting is that its possible to make a visually stunning masterpiece without complicated carving and manhandling of cake layers.