It’s that very special time of year. Fall cookbook releases are right around the corner!
Below I share a few words about each of the books that have caught my attention.
Grandbaby Cakes from my pal, Jocelyn Delk Adams, is a stunner baking book out this Fall. It’s a must have! Also, please see the bottom of this post on how to enter to win a copy of this wonderful book!
My review:
Cakes like grandmothers brought to the table but with a modern twist is the focus of Jocelyn Delk Adam’s debut cookbook, Grandbaby Cakes. We’re headed in to explore this tempting world of cakes, grab a glass of milk and join us.
The Overview
Jocelyn Delk Adams, has been writing about cake for over three years now. She started her blog as a tribute to her grandmother when she realized that she inherited the family baking gene. Grandbaby Cakes is a collection of her time honored recipes, modernized for today’s baker. The subtitle of the book says it all — Modern Recipes * Vintage Charm * Soulful Memories. Jocelyn serves up exciting bold new cake recipes made with the heart and soul of her past.
Chapters are organized by cake type – Pound, Layer, Sheet, Baby Cakes, Celebration and Seasons & Holidays with a wonderful variety of flavors and combinations. Photographs of the finished creations will have you eager to get into the kitchen, sifting flour and cracking eggs in no time.
What We Loved
Sea Salt Caramel Cake, S’more Lava Cakes and Peach Cobbler Shortcake are extraordinarily beautiful and if they taste half as good as their photographs look we will be thrilled. We love the soulful memories that Jocelyn shares about her family and especially her grandmother. Her Grandbaby Notes on the recipes are there to assist us in making the best product possible. Being “from scratch” bakers we love that the recipes use wholesome ingredients but also for those that might not be ready to dive head first into full blown cake baking, the author gives permission to use a cake mix on some of the recipes to get us into the kitchen. The Snickers Cake, Blood Orange Mimosa and Arnold Palmer Cake also are tempting and truth be told, every recipe is in this book is crave worthy.
The From Scratch Mix is a prepare in advance hack to avoid having to use a store bought cake mix – make a batch and use when needed. Perfect for a busy weekend when you are juggling dishes for a get-together as half the measuring work is done.
What Inspired Us
We are inspired to try Dreamsicle Punch Bowl Cake, Original Gooey Gooey Cake and Nana Puddy’s Tiramisu Cake which would become the centerpiece of our dinner tables just as Jocelyn’s grandmother’s cakes were the centerpiece of her table. The recipes in this book will create a modern show stopper cake while adding a touch of nostalgia. There are cakes that would be wonderful for a dinner party and will impress your guests and cakes that you can surprise your family after a Sunday dinner.
Want to take your cake presentation skills to another level? The Real Deal Caramel Cake is a stunner of a cake with ripples of caramel dripping down the sides onto your cake plate. The Ultimate Birthday Cake is another cake that will leave them thinking you are a cake boss.
What Intimidated Us
The Peach Cobbler Shortcake which is stunning might intimidate some with it four components and half page of ingredients. Most of the recipes are not quick and easy. There are numerous books on quick and easy and while these recipes might not be quick – they are not overly complicated or difficult to execute. After all, we want recipes that will challenge us and impress ourselves and guests with great taste and beautiful presentation when we decide to bake from our heart and soul.
The Food Lab, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s James Beard nominated Serious Eats column comes to cookbook form. Again, I have a piece coming out soon for TasteBook on this gem. Everyone needs this book! Joy of Cooking on steroids.
Sweet Middle East, by the well respected star of Middle Eastern cooking, Anissa Helou, offers us 70 classic desserts enhanced with spices, honey, dates, and nuts. I love exotic cookbooks and this one will be on my shelves!
Mission Chinese Food The wildly popular restaurant, Mission Chinese Food, finally will arrive in our homes to up our cooking game. I love Danny Bowein’s fusion of Chinese and American classics. Kung Pao Pastrimi anyone?
Zahav is Israeli cooking at it’s finest with some of Solomonov’s star recipes from his Philadelphia restaurant. Not all restaurant recipes but his famous hummus and pomegranate-glazed lamb shoulder recipes are included. If you love Middle Eastern food this is the book for you.
Gjelina California Cooking from Venice Beach Gjelina, is a highly acclaimed Los Angeles restaurant featuring Cal-Med cuisine. The book shares 125 of the restaurants recipes that have patrons waiting for tables since the restaurant opened. Gorgeous book with stunning photography.
Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes – Lucky Peach – Asian Recipes. Enough said.
Lidia Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine Lidia – Italian Enough said.
The Violet Bakery Cookbook A promising book from the ever popular London bakery owned by the former pastry chef at Chez Panisse utilizing natural sweeteners, whole grain flours and seasonal ingredients.
Simply Nigella Nigella – Enough said.
Home Baked Another gem from the Yvette van Boven. Her previous three titles are favorites in my kitchen. This book, of course, focuses on baking and includes step-by-step instructions to recreate deliciousness in our homes.
Metamorphosis of Taste is the highly anticipated debut cookbook of Dominique Crenn, the first female chef in America to be awarded two Michelin stars. Her food focuses on organic, sustainable ingredients with stunning presentations.
Four Seasons of Pasta by Nancy and Sara Jenkins, famed mother and daughter duo, deliver a book containing 120 recipes for pasta dishes from easy to extravagant.
Tacos Recipes & Provocations New York City chef Alex Stupak explores the world of tacos in this title. Moles, barbacoa, carnitas and more are tackled.
This is Camino from Chef Russell Moore the famed Oakland, California restaurateur delivers wood-fired cooking favorites. If you don’t have a wood-fired oven – have no fear – stovetop recipes are included here as well.
Sarabeth’s Good Morning We’ve been waiting for a follow up to Sarabeth’s From My Hands to Yours and it is here. Breakfast and brunch favorites await us in Sarabeth’s Good Morning.
Nomad Cookbook Daniel Humm is back with a true chef’s cookbook with a back panel that hides a second book on cocktails. To some this will be a coffee table book – to others – a source of inspiration.
Nopi Ottolengthi. Could say enough said but a little more – this book delivers head chef Ramael Scully’s Asian-inspired cuisine with Ottolenghi’s Middle Eastern influence and delivers the restaurant’s favorite dishes. Now, enough said.
Hot Bread Kitchen Hot Bread Kitchen is a bakery that employs and empowers immigrant women, providing them with the skills to succeed in the culinary field. Hot Bread Kitchen delivers authentic multi-ethnic breads from these talented bakers.
Bien Cuit is a serious bread bakers book. Recipes from the Brooklyn bakery which is known for super-crusty, dark breads are compiled in this bread baker’s dream book.
Tacopedia An encyclopedia on tacos from Phaidon. A must have.
Mexico Inside Out Enrique Olvera, chef owner of Pujol was ranked the #1 restaurant in Mexico and #20 in the world at the World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards. Mexico Inside Out is his debut cookbook on Mexican cuisine from Phaidon.
Chef Next Door Amanda Freitag, Chopped judge and chef at New York’s Empire Diner has finally delivered a cookbook to teach us to create restaurant quality meals in any kitchen.
Arzak Secrets Juan Mari Arzak is the owner and 3 Michelin star chef of the Arzak restaurant in San Sebastian, Spain. His restaurant is now rated 8th best in the world, and Juan’s daughter Elena, who cooks with him, was voted best female chef in the world in 2012. He finally delivers his wonderful book in English.
Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees offers an introduction to Chinese home cooking, focusing on its basic cooking methods from culinary expert Kian Lam Kho.
Soup for Syria – celebrity chefs, recipes and all profits go to food relief — win win win.
Other titles coming out this fall that you may wish to check out – a few I will be covering in my TasteBook column others will be hitting my shelves soon Near & Far, My Pantry, Olympia Provisions, My Kitchen Year, Jacques Pepin Heart and Soul, Vegetarian India, Heartlandia, Maverick New Mexico, A Real Southern Cook, Besh Big Easy and Something Sweet.
Random Number Generator picked #55 — 
Tina Hoerauf congratulations! Email your mailing address to icywit@gmail.com.
GIVEAWAY: Thanks to Agate Publishing, I have a lovely copy of GRANDBABY CAKES to give away to one of you. Please leave one comment here telling me which cookbook you are most excited about this Fall. For an extra chance, share this post on Facebook, Twitter and leave a second comment telling me you did. Giveaway open to U.S. addresses only. Good luck. Giveaway will end on September 15th when a random winner will be chosen.
Links to Amazon are affiliate links (or when you shop now at the top of this page), I get a small fee to help defray the cost of maintaining this site and to fund giveaways! Thank you.
I am excited about Simply Nigella. I don’t have any of her books…yet.
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I’m a complete taco-holic, so I have to admit Tacopedia has me pretty pumped.
Shared on FB!!
I’m most looking forward to, “Jacques Pepin Heart and Soul in the Kitchen.”
Most curious about Tacopedia. Seems pretty innovative to me.
Anything by Jacques Pepin is special to me.
Simply Nigella. I spent several days working through some of her other books this summer. Enjoyed them very much. Looking forward to her new one!
I will love to have the Grandbaby cakes cookbook
love the smell of fresh baked bread, love to have hot bread kitchen
Gjelina California Cooking from Venice Beach
Simply Nigella. The best books.
the Art of Italian Cuisine
I’m looking forward to Nopi. I love his books
Shared on fb
I loved to watch Nigella’s food show on tv so I am looking forward to her cookbook
Too many to count! I’m super-excited about Zahav, Essential Turkish Cuisine, Vegetarian India, the US edition of “Made in India, Cooked in Britain,” “Donabe,” “Hey There, Dumpling!” and a host of others (I already have a stack of review copies ready to dive into!). Looks like there will be a bounty of cookbooks this fall!
nopi!
The Four Seasons of Pasta looks like it would be great.
I would like one more Asian cookbook, so I am most excited about Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes. I do have one that is a self-published book by a Chinese priest. It’s his mother’s recipes that he adapted to the American cuisine. Not too happy with that one anymore since we have more of an opportunity to get more Asian ingredients now than 30 years ago.
I am always excited to see a list of new cookbooks. I am all about the baking books and I’m most excited about Grandbaby Cakes, closely followed by The Violet Bakery Cookbook, Home Baked and the bread books.
I am most excited about Grandbaby Cakes with Nigella’s following a close 2nd. Thanks for the chance.
Great summary. Thanks for sharing.
Is this where I’m supposed to make your post all about me, hijack it, and talk about review copies? Hahahahahahaha
I’m torn between Mission Chinese, The Food Lab, and Arzak Secrets, because GAHHH!!! I can’t pick just one lol.
The ones that peak my interest…(I own none by these cooks) are: Sarabeth, Nigela, and Grand baby cakes.
I would love Sarabeth’s cookbook and the grandbaby cakes is perfect since I just got my first grandbaby and we will be baking together asap
I shared on Facebook.
Zahav — I look forward to this one because, since we transplanted out of NY, there simply isn’t any place I can go for middle eastern food, which is one of our favorites!
I am excited to see the “Four Seasons of Paste”! I just purchased 10 lbs of various Italian dried pasta this week in anticipation of fall and winter Italian meals. Thank you for the giveaway and for this website!
Just posted the giveaway on our FB page. 🙂 Thanks again!!
I was most excited for zahav but hit bread kitchen sounds awesome
I shared on Twitter
I really like the Sweet Middle East cookbook.
I shared the giveaway on Facebook.
I would love the Grandbaby Cake book. I am also interested in Chef Next Door.
Shared on FB!
Excited about Tacopedia!
Besides Grandbaby Cakes, I’m also excited for another blogger cookbook, The Sugar Hit. I’m also excited for Amanda Frietags book as well as Tacopedia
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I’m also excited for The Sugar Hit and th Chef Next Door. Tacopedia sounds good too!
It’s hard to choose cause they all sound awesome, but I will say Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees — love the title!
Love Grandbaby Cakes!
I’m so excited for grandbaby cakes!!
Since I will be at home more taking care of my Dad, I’m thinking Hot Bread Kitchen sounds like it could inspire me to start baking more bread. (Dad likes bread!)
I’m most looking forward to Nopi. I’ve had it preordered for what feels like forever!
Grandbaby Cakes for sure!
Hot bread! I love their ethics and empowering women
Chef Next Door
I am incredibly excited for Everyday Baker by Abigail Dodge to ship. I’ve had it pre-ordered forever! Abigail has been posting the most incredible pictures on FB, so very tempting. Her recipes are always tested again and again, and I haven’t had a fail yet.
Nothing but good comments about Grandbaby Cakes, would love to bake from it too!
Looking forward to grandbaby cakes. Sounds wonderful
Nopi! Also looking forward to Soup for Syria.
I’m definitely most excited about the new Pepin. Jacques Pepin is sort of the wise grandfather of the culinary world. His experience and skill are unmatched. Even many years ago, he had achieved mastery that made him the voice of skill and expertise. We love him!
Grandbaby cakes for sure! Looking forward to quite a few of the others, as well
Grandbaby cakes!
Your review of Grandbaby Cakes sold me! If I don’t find myself a winner of your copy I will be heading out to buy it shortly after!
Love your wonderful reviews of the diverse selection of cookbooks.
I like cooking, but I love baking, so Home Baked would be at the top of my list. And I’m also a big Nigella fan, so Simply Nigella is up there, too. Great assortment of cookbooks!
I tweeted about your Fall Cookbook Preview blog post and the Grandbaby Cakes giveaway.
Hard to choose with so many exciting choices but I narrowed it down to Chef next door & grandbaby cakes. Would love to win. Shared on Facebook & twitter as well.
Hot Bread, Soup for Syria and Jacques Pepin ‘ s book 🙂
Shared on FB