A one-stop cookbook for cakes—birthday, chocolate, coffee, Bundt, upside-down, loaf, and more. From pound cake and angel food (with many variations) to genoise and streusel-topped, from comfort classics like red velvet, six-layer coconut, rich chocolate, lemon meringue, and cheesecake to sophisticated grown-up fare including chiffon cakes and tortes with luscious fruits, these 150 recipes and color photographs cover techniques, decorating, and gifting ideas for every taste and occasion, whether no-fuss or fancy. Baking trends come and go, but cakes are timeless. From the editors and photographers of Martha Stewart Living , Cakes includes classics (German Chocolate, New York-Style Cheesecake), crowd-pleasers (Baked Alaska, Hummingbird), and cakes with unique, sophisticated flavors and embellishments (Pecan Torte with Lemon Curd, Saffron-Scented Pear Upside-Down Cake). Whether you need a birthday cake (for any age!), have bake-sale duty, want a travel-friendly coffee cake, or seek to impress at a dinner party or with a handmade gift, Martha Stewart's Cakes has more than 150 cakes plus ideas for decorating, gifting, and storing. Beautiful color photography that shows you just what you're aiming for and dozens of make-ahead tips make baking low-stress. Featured Recipes from Martha Stewart's Cakes Download the recipe for Hummingbird Cake Download the recipe for New York-Style Cheesecake Download the recipe for Pumpkin, Sage and Browned-Butter Cakes Martha Stewart is the author of more than 75 books on cooking, entertaining, crafts, home-keeping, gardens, weddings, and decorating. She is the host of Cooking School on PBS. For more than twenty years, the food editors and chefs in the kitchens at Martha Stewart Living have produced dozens of bestselling cookbooks, including Martha Stewart's Cooking School, Martha's American Food, Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, Everyday Food: Great Food Fast, and Power Foods. Loaves These are anytime cakes, easy ones you want to whip up and keep on the kitchen counter to enjoy for breakfast, slice for snacks and lunchboxes, or serve with pots of tea. Rich pound cakes may be the most familiar, but plenty of other batters can be baked in the familiar rectangular pans, too. The loaves are also a cinch to dress up with fresh fruit, sauces, curds, compotes, or whipped cream for a plated dessert. Pound Cake Light on effort, heavy on satisfaction, pound cake owes its name to the traditional ingredients—one pound each of flour, butter, sugar, and eggs—which remain essentially the same today. This batter makes a delicious classic pound cake, and it’s also the base for the variations on the following pages. A couple of tips for success: Leave the butter and eggs out at room temperature for an hour before mixing; if they’re cold, the batter will not be properly smooth. Creaming the butter and sugar thoroughly is crucial, because it gives the batter the necessary volume. Makes two 9-by-5-inch loaves 2 cups (1 pound) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans 1 pound (about 3 cups) all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon coarse salt 2 1/4 cups sugar (1 pound) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 9 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten Whipped Cream, for serving (optional) Macerated Berries, for serving (optional) 1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt. 2. With an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 8 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to medium; beat in vanilla. Add eggs in 4 batches, beating thoroughly after each and scraping down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture in 4 batches, beating until just incorporated. 3. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans. Tap pans on counter; smooth tops with an offset spatula. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 65 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 30 minutes. Turn out cakes onto rack to cool completely. Serve with whipped cream and macerated berries, if desired. Five More Pound Cakes Vanilla Bean–Ginger Pound Cake Follow Pound Cake recipe, substituting seeds of 1 vanilla bean (split lengthwise and scraped) for the vanilla extract. Bake and cool as directed. For the ginger glaze: Heat 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk and 1/4 cup sliced fresh ginger in a saucepan over medium heat until milk begins to simmer. Let cool; discard ginger. Stir in 2 cups confectioners’ sugar. Drizzle over cooled cakes. Sprinkle chopped candied ginger on top. Chocolate-Chip Pound Cake Follow Pound Cake recipe, folding 2 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips into finished batter. Bake and cool as directed. Serve cake with Chocolate–Coffee Liqueur Sauce and vanilla ice cream. Blueberry–Sour Cream Pound Cake Follow Pound Cake recipe, substituting 1/2 cup sour cream for 1/2 cup butter. Toss 2 cups fresh blueberries with 2 tablespoons flour; fold into finished batter. Before ba