Product Description

Not one to rest on her sugary laurels after cofounding and running the famed Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village, Jennifer Appel headed to midtown Manhattan and opened the Buttercup Bake Shop. Already praised across the country in publications ranging from Glamour to The New York Times, the Buttercup Bake Shop offers a creative and mouthwatering selection of old-fashioned dessert delicacies. Revealing the secrets of luscious homemade treats to bakers of all skill levels, Appel invites readers to return to the comforts and rewards of baking from scratch.

Including a chapter of seasonal and holiday delights and a delectable assortment of breakfast treats, The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook serves up more than eighty old and new classic recipes, including Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies, Whole Wheat Maple Syrup Muffins, White Layer Cake with Chocolate Chips (try it with Peanut Butter Icing), German Chocolate Pie, and White Fudge with Walnuts and Dried Cranberries.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41653 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-02
• Released on: 2001-09-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 128 pages

Amazon.com Review
Think Caramel Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting, Strawberry Banana Muffins, Lemon Meringue Pie, and Sour Cream Coffee Cake. These old-fashioned comfort sweets are among those that Jennifer Appel turns out at her Buttercup Bake Shop. And while The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook evokes lazy afternoons in small towns, white picket fences, well-worn aprons, and warm fruit pies cooling on the window sill, the Buttercup Bake Shop is actually in Manhattan. Appel has included 80 bakery favorites in this little gem of a book, and the recipes are easy to follow and easy to make, and read like a list of favorite American desserts: Rice Krispies Treats, Gingersnaps, Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Pie, Glazed Pumpkin Squares, and Rice Pudding. Keep this wonderful cookbook in the kitchen, close at hand, so that with just a moment's notice you can whip up a special sweet something that'll make everyone smile. --Leora Y. Bloom

About the Author
Jennifer Appel is the proprietor of the Buttercup Bake Shop on the east side of Manhattan. Along with Allysa Torey, she founded the Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village and coauthored The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. She lives in New York City.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Caramel Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting

A very popular choice among my cookbook tasters -- a cake with a unique flavor and stupendous icing, especially winning with the caramel-loving crowd.

Cake

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/3 cups sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup Caramel (page 108) plus 1/2 cup water, combined

Frosting

2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

6 tablespoons (I stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and lightly flour two 9 x 2-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with waxed paper.

To make the cake: In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in thirds, alternating with the caramel mixture, beating after each addition until smooth.

Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cake cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the frosting: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, place the brown sugar, cream, and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat and let cool for about 20 to 30 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat with an electric mixer until the frosting is perfectly smooth. If too thick, beat in a bit more heavy cream.

When cake has cooled, ice between the layers, then ice top and sides of cake.

Copyright © 2001 by Jennifer Appel

White Layer Cake with Chocolate Chips

While white cake is usually not too sweet, the chocolate chips add a lovely touch and make it a fun option for a child¹s birthday party, especially with Peanut Butter Icing.

3 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 teaspoon (1 1/3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large egg whites

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and lightly flour two 9 x 2-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with waxed paper.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix the milk and the vanilla extract together. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and the vanilla extract mixture, beating well after each addition.

In a separate bowl, on the high speed of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into batter, making sure no streaks of white are showing. Then gently stir in the chocolate chips.

Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cake cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.

When cake has cooled, ice between the layers, then ice top and sides of cake.

Copyright © 2001 by Jennifer Appel

Chocolate Chunk Macadamia Coconut Cookies

This outrageously chocolaty cookie gets the thumbs-up from our most die-hard chocolate lovers.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups (2O sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted (see Note)

2 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 to 2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks

1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts, unsalted

1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugars until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and mix well. Add the chocolate, milk, and vanilla and incorporate thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients and beat well. Stir in the chocolate chunks, nuts, and coconut.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

* Note: To melt chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Stir occasionally until completely smooth. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes.

Copyright © 2001 by Jennifer Appel

White Fudge with Walnuts and Dried Cranberries

This is a great holiday treat to give as a gift, or to nibble on while wrapping presents.

4 cups vanilla chips or white chocolate chips

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup vanilla buttercream (store-bought, or make your own)

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1 tablespoon orange zest

Lightly grease an 8 x 8-inch baking pan.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the chips with the butter.

On the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the sugar, the cream cheese, and the buttercream until smooth, about 2 minutes. Blend in the melted chips. Stir in the remaining ingredients.

Pour into the prepared pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour (or more) before cutting and serving.

Copyright © 2001 by Jennifer Appel

Peanut Butter Icing

This icing is great for kids (of any age!).

10 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

6 cups confectioners¹ sugar

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk, more if necessary

In a medium bowl, sift together the cocoa powder and sugar. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the peanut butter, butter, and vanilla until fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add in the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly, along with the milk. Add droplets more of milk if needed to make the icing smooth.

Copyright © 2001 by Jennifer Appel

Customer Reviews

Truly old-fashioned, comfort desserts to tuck into
I agree with the first reviewer of this book that the key word here is "old fashioned." These are the desserts that you turn to when you want something warm and familiar, and that'll settle into your stomach with a delightful plop.

Right from the start, the author makes it clear that all her desserts are made from scratch with whole milk, real butter, and white sugar. While die-hard health buffs might scream at the thought of no low-fat anything in this book, most dessert lovers like me revel in the Red Velvet Cake, Banana Cream Pudding (presented in a most novel way!), Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies, cupcakes, and Rice Crispies Treats, which, (for me) was a hard to find recipe until I bought this book.

This book is simple pleasure and it takes you back to the joy of baking. There are no fancy, gravity-defying desserts here - just sheer delicious desserts you can make at home.

My favorite baking book
This book is fabulous; it's full of old-fashioned, butter-laden, comforting treats that are easy to make, and a pleasure to devour. Lots of people seem to be wondering where the cupcake recipes are: you just make the regular cake recipes in cupcake wrappers and bake for slightly less time! The buttercup golden layer cake recipe is to die for when coupled with the american buttercream frosting, by the way. The recipe for fresh peach pie is dreamy as well. Everything I've made in this book -- and I've made many things -- has turned out wonderfully. My copy is all warpy and dog-eared from constant use... maybe it's time to buy another...

sweetness!
I am loving this book, but let's get one thing straight. This is not a cupcake book, as the cover would lead you to believe. In fact, I only saw one reference to a cupcake from a regular layer cake recipe, even though it is written by one of the owners of New York's famed Magnolia Bakery, which has gained notoriety for its cupcakes. At any rate, the recipes contained in this book are pure magic. So far I have made the white layer cake with chocolate chips and peanut butter icing (as suggested), and it was quite a hit with friends and family. Other recipes I'm going to try in the next few days are the sour cream coffee cake and the buttercup golden layer cake. This book is all about making things from scratch like they did in the olden days, but you could also mix and match homemade cakes with store-bought icing or vice-versa. Read the introductory section with tips and pay attention to the details (e.g., use cake flour instead of all-purpose or self-rising, use butter/sour cream at room temp., etc.), which will make all the difference. The section with icing recipes is short but covers a variety of flavors. It's definitely not an Atkins-friendly cookbook or any of that, so you know it's good for your sweet tooth! I would definitely recommend this book to any baker, novice or expert, and am looking forward to buying 'The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook' (co-authored by Appel) next.