Cakes taking a starring role in cookbooks, on TV

Last week the Deseret News devoted its Food cover to pies.

But I'd have to say that we're in a major cake era. What other dessert stars in its own TV series, such as "Ace of Cakes," "The Cake Boss" and "Wedding Cake Wars"?

Cupcakes are responsible for part of that popularity. Once the mere staple of kids' birthday parties, cupcakes have sparked "cupcakeries," such as Mini's, So Cupcakes and Diva's, locally.

As further signs of the times, quite a few new cake and cupcakes books have come across my desk:

"101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 Minutes," by Utahn Wendy Paul (Cedar Fort, $16.99), starts out with boxed cake mixes and dresses them up with a variety of flavorings, fillings, frostings and toppings.

For instance, Black Forest with Chocolate Ganache uses cherry pie filling and a chocolate cake mix; Give Me S'more uses a white cake mix and marshmallows, chocolate fudge sauce and graham crackers. There are some mouthwatering photos, too. Paul, of West Jordan, is doing book signings up and down the Wasatch Front in the next month. You can find a schedule at www.wendypaulcreations.com.

A few weeks ago "Cake Mix Doctor" Anne Byrn was in Salt Lake, promoting "The Cake Mix Doctor Returns!" (Workman, $15.95). It's the latest addition to her popular "The Cake Mix Doctor" cookbooks. Her new book contains 160 recipes for cakes, cupcakes, muffins, bar cookies and even a wedding cake, using boxed cake mixes. She wrote that cake mixes are so widely used because they remove the "variables" that might cause failure. You don't have to sift flour, accurately measure leaveners or gently fold in egg whites.

"They bake, they rise, they turn out of the pan. You just need to make the results interesting, but that's where I come in."

For those who'd rather bake from scratch, "Cake Keeper Cakes," by Lauren Chattman (Taunton Press, $17.95), is the cookbook for you. Chattman, a pastry chef, said her family gave her a glass domed cake stand for a Mother's Day gift. Since then, it's been her mission to keep a simple but delicious cake under the dome at all times.

"I used to keep a cookie jar stocked for these purposes, but the idea of always having a cake on display inspired me to change my routine," she wrote. And there are some interesting ones: Citrus and Black Pepper Pound Cake, Neoclassic Gingerbread and Dulce de Leche Coffee Cake, for instance.

Chattman added that it's often quicker and easier to bake a cake than to bake a batch of cookies.

It happens that I was also given a clear glass domed cake-keeper a couple of years ago by my family. I don't feel any inclination to keep a cake it in at all times, but that cake stand makes everything I do bake look more impressive.