Layered: Baking, Building, and Styling Spectacular Cakes

by Tessa Huff

Overview

“Tessa elevates the art of layer cakes to new heights . . . [She] will have you whipping up drool-worthy, gourmet cakes at home.” —Carrie Selman of The Cake Blog

It’s time to venture beyond vanilla and chocolate and take your baking skills up a notch. We’re talking layers—two, three, four, or more!

 

Create sky-high, bakery-quality treats at home with 150 innovative recipes from Tessa Huff, the founder of Style Sweet. They combine new and exciting flavors of cake, fillings, and frostings—everything from pink peppercorn cherry to bourbon butterscotch, and pumpkin vanilla chai to riesling rhubarb and raspberry chocolate stout. Including contemporary baking methods and industry tips and tricks, Layered covers every decorating technique you’ll ever need with simple instructions and gorgeous step-by-step photos that speak to bakers of every skill level—and to anyone who wants to transform dessert into layer upon layer of edible art.

“Tessa Huff is a cake whisperer. Every cake you will immediately want to bake . . . everyone will be gobsmacked by a multi-tiered, multi-component offering.” —The Cookbook Junkies

“Ms. Huff has created a beautiful book, loaded with equal measure classic technique and modern flavor sensibility. Anyone who considers themselves a baker will feel their pulse subtly accelerate simply by thumbing through these pages.” —Leslie Bilderback, author of Mug Meals

“Layered is a book that will have a permanent spot in my kitchen. From the stunning imagery to the decadent recipes, Tessa has created a must-have book for all bakers and cake lovers. She’s an amazing stylist and her recipes are flawless!” —Courtney Whitmore, author of The Southern Entertainer’s Cookbook

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613129432
Publisher:	ABRAMS, Inc.
Publication date:	03/31/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	508
Sales rank:	602,170
File size:	30 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Tessa Huff is a trained baker, recipe developer, food photographer, and creator of the cake and pastry blog, Style Sweet CA. She is a regular contributor for The Kitchn, Food Network CA, Brit + Co, and The Cake Blog. Huff was named one of Better Homes and Gardens’ 2014 Best Baking Bloggers and her work has appeared online and in print for West Elm, Cake Central Magazine, BuzzFeed, Better Homes and Gardens, Yahoo Food, Brides, and more.

Table of Contents

Introduction: It's a Sweet Life 9

Reach For New Heights 13

Why Layer Cakes? 13

How to Use This Book 14

A Well-Layered Pantry 17

Ingredients 17

Tools of the Trade 20

Cake Making and Decorating 101 22

Baking and Pastry Techniques 23

How to Frost a Cake 26

More Simple Finishes 30

Piping Bag Finishes 32

Piping Techniques 36

The Final Touches 38

Sweet Staples 40

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream 41

Salted Caramel Sauce 43

Dark Chocolate Ganache 45

Classic Cakes 47

Neapolitan Cake 48

The Birthday Cake 52

Strawberry Shortcake 55

Red Velvet Cake 58

Boston Cream Pie 62

Lemon Supreme Cake 65

French Opera Cake 69

Black Forest Cake 72

Brooklyn Blackout Cake 77

Chocolate Cakes 81

Ultimate Candy Bar Cake 82

Mocha Spice Cake 85

Peanut Porter Cake 89

Chocolate Matcha Cake 93

Chocolate Hazelnut Praline Crunch Cake 96

Peanut Butter Lover's Chocolate Bombe 100

Red Currant Chocolate Cake 103

Cookies and Cream Cake 107

London Fog Cake 110

Chocolate Coconut Cake 114

Casual Cakes 119

Honey Apple Cake 120

Lemony Zucchini Cake 122

Honey Fig Cake 125

Gateau aux Framboises 129

Sweet Tea Cake 133

Peach Spice Cake 136

Apricot Carrot Cake 139

Espresso Walnut Cake 142

Blood Orange Thyme Cake 146

Hummingbird Cake 150

Whimsical Cakes 155

Rainbow Sprinkle Cake 156

Cinnamon Roll Cake 158

Oatmeal Cookie Cake 163

Mango Coconut Cream Cake 166

Banana Cream Cake 170

Blueberry Pancake Cake 173

Orange Passion Fruit Cake 176

S'mores Cake 180

Banana Split Ice Cream Cake 184

Strawberry Confetti Cake 188

Adventurous Cakes 193

Raspberry Stout Cake 194

Lavender Olive Oil Cake 197

Butterscotch Bourbon Cake 200

Pink Peppercorn Cherry Cake 204

Banofree Tiramisu Cake 209

Yuzu Citrus Cake 212

Coconut Mojito Cake 216

Riesling Rhubarb Crisp Cake 220

Red Wine Blackberry Cake 224

Pumpkin Vanilla Chai Cake 228

Holiday Cakes 233

Chocolate Pomegranate Cake 234

Golden Champagne Celebration Cake 238

Strawberry Rose Valentine Cake 242

Lemony Carrot Cake 246

Caramel Apple Cake 250

Pumpkin Pie Cake 253

Pecan Pear Crunch Cake 256

"Winter Peppermint Cake 260

Gingerbread Coffee Toffee Cake 264

Bittersweet Chocolate Orange Spice Cake 268

Bonus Three-Tier Wedding Cake 272

Mix and Match 279

Acknowledgments 281

Sources 283

Index 284

Editorial Reviews

"Layered is a book that will have a permanent spot in my kitchen. From the stunning imagery to the decadent recipes, Tessa has created a must-have book for all bakers and cake lovers. She's an amazing stylist and her recipes are flawless!"

author of Frostings and Pizzazzerie.com Courtney Whitmore

"Stacked tall and frosted to perfection, Tessa elevates the art of layer cakes to new heights. With ingenious flavor combinations, foolproof recipes, and beautifully illustrated techniques, Tessa will have you whipping up drool-worthy, gourmet cakes at home. Layered is simply a treasure for every cake loving baker."

Carrie Selman of The Cake Blog

"Tessa Huff has a way with cake. In her hands, butter, sugar, flour, and eggs become something more than mere ingredients in a recipe, and cake is elevated to art form. I could happily feast for days on just her photographs of these creations, but Tessa's companionable presence and quiet insistence throughout this book that I, too, can make these beauties for myself pulls me straight into the kitchen. Too pretty to eat? Nah. Grab a fork."

Recipe Editor for The Kitchn Emma Christensen

"With the delectable cakes in these pages, the hardest thing is to decide which recipe to try first. The gorgeous photography and styling amazingly does justice to the incredibly rich but straightforward recipes.

author of The Confetti Cakes Cookbook and Confetti Elisa Strauss

"Ms. Huff has created a beautiful book, loaded with equal measure classic technique and modern flavor sensibility. Anyone who considers themselves a baker will feel their pulse subtly accelerate simply by thumbing through these pages."

Leslie Bilderback