Product Description

"When I bring one of my sweets into the room—whether at a wedding or an intimate dinner party—the expressions on people's faces turn that celebration into a memory I'll never forget. That's what baking should be."

Many people are coming to recognize the merits of eating organic ingredients, but the idea of "organic baked goods" may bring to mind food that is more boring than beautiful and delicious. But in Organic and Chic, custom cake baker Sarah Magid uses her background in jewelry and shoe design to create vibrantly colored, highly original, delicious organic cakes and other desserts that are perfect for all kinds of celebrations.

Filled with gorgeous photographs, Organic and Chic features recipes for delectable baked goods you'll be excited to re-create and serve to family and friends, from modern floral cakes and cupcakes to rustic farmer's-market sweets made with seasonal fruits:

• Red Velvet Love Cake frosted with Vanilla Whipped Buttercream and garnished with edible flowers
• Vanilla-Bean Butter Cake filled with Sweet Chocolate Ganache and decorated with hand-sculpted butterflies
• Minty Strawberry Shortcakes, celebrating the bounty of the summer
• Goldies, a tasty tribute to America's favorite cream-filled sponge cake

Whether you're preparing some simple Double Ginger Cookies for a block party or bake sale, or experimenting with a rich and luscious dark chocolate birthday cake, you can be confident that you're serving desserts that are gorgeous and flavorful without resorting to fake, chemical-laden ingredients. Magid offers detailed step-by-step decorating instructions and enough inspiration to help even the most novice baker create bold cake-decorating effects, including eye-popping flowers, hand-sculpted leaves, and metallic-painted brushstrokes.

A must for every health-minded baker, this unique cookbook balances exquisite flavors, organic ingredients, and stunning visuals to help you create your own masterpieces.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #152221 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-01
• Released on: 2009-06-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780061673580
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Throughout this otherwise lively new collection of wholesome, sophisticated baked goods, Magid uses the word "organic" like a cudgel-seemingly every ingredient is prefaced with the word. Though the term gets tiresome, Magid presents a measured argument for organic eggs, flours and sugars in her creations (though, puzzlingly, she has no problem with food coloring) as well as sourcing suggestions. In 60 recipes, Magid offers up crowd-pleasers like oatmeal raisin cookies and flourless chocolate almond cake, as well as homemade variations on childhood all-stars like Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies and Hostess Sno-balls. Grown-ups will swoon over her Lovely Lemon Cake with marshmallow frosting, Minty Strawberry Shortcakes and her Chocolate Love Blossom-a multilayer chocolate cake filled with vanilla whipped cream and/or a red currant curd, and covered with a rich ganache. Though the titles may sound ambitious, most recipes are more than manageable; Magid even includes an easy recipe for no-bake honey peanut dough to keep the kids busy.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"There's nothing crunchy about these stylish desserts." (New York Times )

"With this cookbook, Magid upends many conventional recipes, and she offers recipes that promise attractive organic desserts. Her greatest contribution is a handful of cookie and cupcake recipes specifically designed to discourage children's overconsumption of ubiquitous, industrial, mass-produced sweets." (Booklist )

"Magid attempts to re-invent the way we think about organic baked goods. Instead of dense, bland nut loaves, she offers Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese-Lemon Zest Frosting, Double Ginger Cookies, and Goldies, her organic take on Twinkies. Magid's style combines vivid colors, delicate details, and a serious dose of whimsy." (Epicurious.com )

About the Author

Sarah Magid has a custom cake business based in New York City. She has worked for top fashion companies, including Tommy Hilfiger, J. Crew, Coach, Liz Claiborne, Frye, and Henri Bendel. Her cakes have been featured in magazines such as Domino, InStyle Weddings, Cookie, Brides, The Knot, New York, and Martha Stewart's The Art of Cakes, as well as numerous style and food blogs. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and two young children.

Customer Reviews

Gorgeous Cookbook!

ORGANIC AND CHIC: CAKES, COOKIES, AND OTHER SWEETS THAT TASTE AS GOOD AS THEY LOOK by Sarah Magid is AMAZING! It is absolutely one of the most beautiful cookbooks that I have ever seen. As you can see, the cover photo is just filled with incredible looking desserts; and all of the pictures in the book are just like this. I would actually consider placing this cookbook on my coffee table because it's that gorgeous. Plus, I'd kind of like to have it handy because I really enjoyed looking at all of the recipes and decorating ideas.

Not only is this cookbook filled with beautiful pictures, but there are just loads of yummy-looking recipes. The book starts with recipes for cakes and cupcakes (along with frosting, curds, and filling recipes), then it has a section on cookies and bars, a section on reformed junk food, and one on farmers' market sweets. There is another section that will appeal to a lot of moms titled children's goodies which has easy, cute recipes geared towards little ones. The book ends with a wonderful chapter on Ms. Magid's design techniques along with step-by-step instructions.

I was pleasantly surprised by this cookbook not because of its recipes and photos, but rather because the instructions and explanations were so detailed and clear. The recipes and instructions for decorating were extremely easy-to-follow. Now making my cakes as gorgeous as the ones in the book might be a challenge, but I think that's because of my lack of skill and definitely not the fault of the instructions. And since I am not a regular consumer of organic foods, I loved how Ms. Magid explained the benefits of going organic as well as some name brands for organic baking goods. The last few pages of the cookbook also include explanations of various baking tools and how best to use them. I actually learned a great deal just by reading Ms. Magid's advice.

beautiful and practical too
this is a visually appealing book and full of wonderful recipes. I have a list I want to try. I made the ginger cookies last night and come home from work with the crumbs. This book has recipes to WOW and dazzle while some recipes are amazing for their sweet simplicity! Included a helpful tips. She does incorporate whole wheat flour and raw sugar which is a great baby step toward baking with less refined foods!

Amazingly Great & Organic
In the 1960s--70's many of the natural food cookbook recipes resulted in heavy products that I threw in the compost pile. Now many years later with the demand for purer food with less additives, Organic and Chic author Sarah Magid has created some fabulous recipes. When her young son wanted Twinkies, she experimented with recipes to create "junk food gone good." She likes her family to eat organic and encourages readers to support the small farms and local farmers' markets. She includes a guide to buying organic ingredients. Her fantastic recipes include step-by-step decorating instructions and inspiration so even the beginner will want to try "cakes, cookies, and other sweets that taste as good as they look."